Standing Ovations

[DoogieB]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:14pm

What's the norm regarding standing ovations? Is there usually a standing ovation after every show? I've been to a decent amount of shows and the only one I haven't seen the cast get a standing ovation for is THE ODD COUPLE. What are some shows you've seen where the crowd didn't stand as cast took their bows?

[Blue J]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:18pm

I never know when it is considered appropriate to stand. Like do you stand right at the beginning with the ensemble bows or wait for the leads? I like to stand towards the beginning, but don't want to block the people behind me (especially if it's lotto/rush seats). Usually I just wait and follow the crowd I guess. I'm such a sheep - haha.
Updated On: 1/5/06 at 08:18 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:18pm

Standing ovations aren't special anymore....everyone gets it...the only people who I've seen who deserve it, I believe, were Nathan Lane after the Producers, Bernadette Peters after Gypsy, the whole cast after Sweeney Todd, and Judy Kaye after Souvenir.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:19pm

I'm often surprised by the shows that get ovations versus those that don't. Like, Brooklyn got one? Please!

Chitty was hard pressed to find one, even though the audience was usually roaring with applause. meh. I suppose I can understand why it didn't get them, but the audience seemed enthusiastic at curtain call until they might have to move their bodies to stand.

[guitargeek0624]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:19pm

When I saw Phantom in late November, only a few people stood, including my family and me. I thought it was a fantastic show, but I guess others either didn't agree, or were just plain rude. But then again, the audience took forever to quiet down before it began, so maybe it was just the fact that they were rude.

[Magdalene]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:24pm

I guess it would depend on how you feel about a particular show, or actor, or performance. I didn't even realize I was standing at some shows, that's how swept away I was!

[Katurian2]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:28pm

Plays don't receive ovations nearly as much as musicals do, especially crowd-pleasing ones. (i.e Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Wicked) When I was at The Pillowman, the cast only got a partially standing ovation (me included), and at the Odd Couple, almost no one stood. The rarest thing to see is a standing ovation at the beginning of curtain calls. I know for Sweeney the entire crown was on its feet even before the cast had walked out there.

[Lamc16]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:29pm

Most shows I go to get most if not all people standing in the end. However... when I went to London a few years ago, I went to the theatre every night and no one in the audience ever stood except me and my sister. When we saw The Graduate, I was, in fact, the ONLY person (and it was a large theatre) who stood up to recognize the cast during the curtain call. It worked in my favor, though, because when I went to the stage door Kathleen Turner--who was surrounded by middle-aged men--singled me out, walked directly over to me and asked if I was the girl who stood in the end. She graciously thanked me and stood talking to me for a few minutes. She even took a picture with me.

[Blue J]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 8:32pm

When I saw The Color Purple, everyone was immediately on their feet and their was thunderous applause, hollering, etc from the audience. Plus, so many people were crying by that time. When the cast did the final reprise of the song "The Color Purple" after their bows, everyone remained standing and clapped along.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 9:15pm

Standing ovations are definitely overused and taken for granted in this day and age. Usually, the people standing are tourists who are rewarding THEMSELVES for paying $100 for a ticket and making it through till the end of the show.

That said, I take it on a case-to-case basis. If everyone else in the theatre is standing and I don't feel the show deserves a standing O, I have no problem being the only person sitting. Likewise, if I feel a show truly deserves it and nobody else does, I have no problem being the only person standing.

The last time I gave a standing ovation was SWEENEY TODD. I think I was the only person in the entire theatre who didn't stand for THE COLOR PURPLE, and I just couldn't stand for Chita because the show was such dreck.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 10:48pm

Stand if you are moved to; don't if you're not. It's pretty simple.

Who cares what anyone else does? (Although sometimes I have to stand--even when I don't "mean it"--just to be able to see. But if you don't care about "seeing," just sit back and relax.)

[WalveMalve]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 11:03pm

I've found that matinees tend to get less standing ovations mainly because they tend to have less energy in general and the cast is more rushed to get off stage and get their break. The only recent production I can recall that had a standing ovation for the ensemble was in La Cage Aux Folles and the Cagelles most definitely deserved it.

It seems like one of the reasons they're so common now is that so many shows have someone famous in a lead role. People are excited to be in their presence; they get applause for entering the stage, they get standing ovations before they leave it. Christina Appelgate who got mostly negative reviews for her performance in Sweet Charrity often recieved standing ovations from her fans after most performances not necessarily because she was good but because of who she was.

A general necessity, however, for a standing ovation is a nearly full house. People won't stand for a curtain call if there isn't an energetic intimate audience. Audiences often get a 'team' feeling for cheering on the actors and when it seems like that 'team' isn't there, they are less compelled to feel involved with the show and therefore won't stand for the curtain call.

And let's also face the fact that age of the audience changes whether or not an audience will stand. I've been to plenty of shows where the eldery won't bother standing and a lot of little kids need their parents' motivation to stand during the ovation.

When I saw The Producers for the first time soon after it had opened and it had just received its rave reviews, Nathan Lane got a standing ovation mid-show (keep in mind this is about 5 minutes into the show if you include the overture and opening announcement). Also, Brian Stokes Mitchell got a mid-show standing ovation both times when I saw him in Man of La Mancha for singing The Impossible Dream -- which I suppose could be expected.

What probably annoys me the most is when I see people leaving during a standing ovation or curtain call in general. It's become more and more common, as is the tourists common attempt to steal a picture during a curtain call, overutre or occasionally a brave mid-show picture.

[lilprima2b]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 11:43pm

I stand if I think the show is worth it... which is usually, because I'm not much of a theatre critic. Sometimes I'll be one of the few standers because people here (Vegas) are rude and lazy, but I like to think that maybe the performers feel a little bit better knowing that at least a few people are standing for them. I think it shows respect for all the energy they're putting out, you know?

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 11:47pm

Personally, I think standing ovations SHOULD be pretty commonplace. Those people putting on the shows work really hard. That said, if I think a show is terrible, I don't usuallly stand. But, for the most part, it isn't that much extra energy, and those people (most of the time) deserve it. Even though you may have paid megabucks, they still spent 2+ hours entertaining you.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 11:47pm

Great article:

http://ny.metro.us/metro/blog/my_view/entry/Standing_ovations_no_longer_sit_well/537.html

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 1/5/06 at 11:56pm

The standing ovations I've seen always seem awkward, which probably means that they aren't totally deserved. A few people stand, and then a few more, etc., until eventually most of the audience is on its feet. That article that Margo posted put it well in saying, "The undeserved standing ovation creeps across the theater like a plague." I don't mind ovations like these, but just once I'd like to see an honest-to-goodness standing ovation, where everyone is excited and stands immediately because they were just that inspired by a particular performance, not because they feel that politeness obligates it.

[thibodeaux]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 1:11am

Hitting on plays vs. musical ovations, the whole crowd stood ater the performance of Take Me Out.

but, i mean, come on--it deserved it!

[ALWrules]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 1:26am

I think that the standard for Standing ovations have become too low. Yes, it is good to appreciate the work of the cast, but I think a standing ovation is something that should be saved for a really special occasion, where either a specific performer or a whole company really gave an exceptional performance that is nothing short of legendary in its quality.
I have given probably around 7 ovations in my experience with theater, and I think only 3 of these were for musicals.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 1:27am

"I know for Sweeney the entire crown was on its feet even before the cast had walked out there."

When I saw it, the entire crowd was on their feet before the lights on the stage dimmed completely. No one even tried to walk out during the curtain call. It was so amazing.

[iliketheater]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 2:02am

*That was great Margo - funny & true*

To answer your question, when I saw Piazza (sp?)everyone did not participate in the standing-O, but almost everyone was up for Victoria Clarke (sp?)

I agree with what's been said here & what was said in the article. When you feel very moved to stand. Stand.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 2:11am

I haven't been to tons and tons of shows, but I have been to quite a few. I can't remember a time there hasn't been a standing ovation. I think sometimes people get a little too picky about when there should be a standing ovation. It's one thing to deserve it if you are a Broadway legend, like Bernadette Peters or Nathan Lane, however if the audience sees something they like, why not? I thought the point was for someone to show their appreciation and enjoyment of something.

Updated On: 1/6/06 at 02:11 AM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 2:16am

Is Nathan Lane widely considered a Broadway legend?

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 2:20am

Well, okay, if you think that...I guess I meant someone who theatergoers generally enjoy watching on stage...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 2:40am

While it might seem a bit early yet (he doesn't even turn 50 until next month) and I think even he'd be a bit hesitant in embracing the title ("legend" sounds too much like people are expecting you to die in the near future), with two Tonys and 5 Drama Desk Awards in over a dozen Broadway plays in two decades , I think Lane deserves to be considered a contemporary Broadway legend at this point.

And I think Sondheim has said it best -- audiences now pay so much money to see a show, the standing ovation is a means for them to congratulate themselves on having made such a good choice. It has NOTHING to do with what has happened on the stage in front of them (too many truly awful shows get standing ovations regularly).

Updated On: 1/6/06 at 02:40 AM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 1/6/06 at 3:18am

"legend" sounds too much like people are expecting you to die in the near future

That's why I thought it sounded odd. I think he's worthy of recognition, but I feel weird putting him in that category because of the age factor, and because he's still consistently working.