Standing ovations for plays?

[Weez]

Posted: 7/14/07 at 8:24pm

Here in dear old Blighty, we're rather more conservative with our standing ovations than American crowds, a fact that has been noted by audience members and performers alike, but we're still known to rise to our feet when *especially* taken with a production. However, I don't recall ever being part of a standing ovation for a straight play. Musicals, yes, much of the time. Straight plays though? Never seen it happen. Do you get standing Os for plays in the US? Or have you witnessed a standing O for a play in the West End?

[Katurian2]

Posted: 7/14/07 at 9:06pm

No- standing ovations for plays are very very rare. I've only seen an audience-wide standing o' for one straight play in all my show-seeing on Broadway, and this was the final part (Salvage) of the Coast of Utopia marathon.


(Of course, I've been among the dozen or so standing for other shows, such as "Pillowman" and "History Boys")

Updated On: 7/14/07 at 09:06 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/14/07 at 9:09pm

In the past year:

Moon for the Misbegotten, Deuce, Blackbird, Little Dog Laughed, Journey's End, The Scene, The Clean House, King Lear, Inherit the Wind, Radio Golf, Coast of Utopia...

[B3TA07]

Posted: 7/14/07 at 9:12pm

Why stand?! They just talk! In musicals they talk and sing and dance! But in plays they just talk! Why stand for that! I could talk myself if I really wanted to! I could dance and sing, too, but I can't stand up and clap for myself, just clap, so I'll just talk and sit down and clap at plays and that is that!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 12:54am

The Vertical Hour also often got them. At least the times I saw it (10).

[Sondheim Geek]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 12:57am

B3TA07 - darling, you go up there, and do what Frank Langella or Vanessa Redgrave or countless other actors and actresses are doing every night. See if that's 'just talking'.

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 1:09am

JOURNEY'S END.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 1:12am

So far in my theatergoing career, as for straight plays, I've seen the following:

TALK RADIO - March 7, 2007 @ 2pm
Center Orchestra - Row AA - Seat 106
I STOOD for Liev. Stellar performance worthy of one.

INHERIT the WIND - May 3, 2007 @ 8pm
On-Stage Seating - Row BB - Seat 1
I STOOD for Brian and Christopher, and when they took notice, they both motioned to those standing in the juror's box.

FROST / NIXON - May 26, 2007 @ 8pm
Center Orchestra - Row BB - Seat 107
I STOOD for Frank, Michael and Full Company bows.

JOURNEY'S END - June 5, 2007 @8pm
Center Mezzanine - Row A - Seat 107
I didn't stand ... but only because I up quite high.

RADIO GOLF - June 20, 2007 @8pm
Center Orchestra - Row BB - Seat 106
I STOOD for Henry Lennix and Full Company bows.

DEUCE is next on Friday, August 17th. Front row.

[TapTapTapioca]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 1:48am

When I saw The Farnsworth Invention people were standing before the lights even came up for the Curtain Call.

[allvocal]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 3:40am

I agree in that I think we give the STANDING O a little too much.. I'm usually the one that doesn't stand if I didn't like the show... unless it would be really awful If I didn't... With Musicals people just JUMP up.. as soon as bows being.. kinda annoying.

I've stood for Coast of Utopia, The Retreat From Moscow, and Journeys End... latley

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 3:43am

People don't always jump to their feet for musicals. When I saw Sweeney Todd, no one stood until Manoel came out (I would have stood earlier, but I was in the front row, and didn't want to be the first to stand.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 8:37am

This thread reminds me of my first trip to London in the 70's. Angela Lansbury had just opened in GYPSY and, of course, I attended. At the end of "Rose's Turn" I bolted up and began shouting "Bravo!"--only to find that I was the only one in the theater doing so.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 8:58am

While I agree we give standing ovations to just about everything on Broadway (more for our own egos demonstrating that we're SURE we got our top-dollar money's worth), I have seen Standing O's at many plays going all the way back to Torch Song Trilogy and Agnes of God, when I first starting seeing Broadway shows in the early '80s... and recently Doubt (with Cherry Jones) received a one when I saw it in L.A.

[Bwayfan4]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 9:15am

EVERYONE was standing for Journey's End when I saw it back in April.

[mattonstage]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 10:43am

I led the standing ovation for Christopher Plummer back in the 80's when he played Iago in Othello with James Earl Jones. I thought he had given the most amazing performance I had ever seen. I agree with best12bars (and Sondheim) that most standing ovations seem to be for the audiences gratifications that they didn't spend all that money for nothing. This also goes back to Blood Brothers touting their standing O's in their ads, so everyone probably felt they needed to get on the bandwagon.

[Producer2]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 10:58am

There was a major standing ovation for Nathan and Matthew in The Odd Couple.

[Songsstresss]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 11:16am

We all stood for Vanessa Redgrave at Magical Year of Thinking a couple weeks ago.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 11:16pm

The History Boys got one almost every single time I saw it (24) and the Pillowman (which I saw 6) got one over half the times. Also, Journey's End got one when I saw it.

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 11:26pm

I was at Journey's End back in May and it got a unanimous standing ovation.

Sondheim, I think you missed B3TA07's sarcasm (at least I hope that was sarcasm).

[Roscoe]

Posted: 7/15/07 at 11:31pm

I've been to musical performances without standing ovations. When I saw the most recent revival of OKLAHOMA at the Gershwin, there was no standing ovation, nor was one even remotely deserved.

[ashbash1990]

Posted: 7/16/07 at 12:18am

The Odd Couple (lane/Broderick), the tour of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf>

[jordangirl]

Posted: 7/16/07 at 4:10am

Ah yes. I forgot The Year of Magical Thinking. Gotten a standing O every time I've seen it.

Eve Best got standing Os the couple of times I saw Moon. The first time, most people were already standing because of Spacey, but the second only a handful stood for him, but most everyone I saw stood when Eve came out.

As for Talk Radio, I left too quickly to see. Could not get away from that quickly enough.

[pab]

Posted: 7/16/07 at 4:29am

It seems as if most people will stand for anything these days.

[AnnaLouise1986]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 11:52am

Everyone who was at standing ov shows for Journey's End is so fortunate...I saw it late in March and the crowd I was with was shady, at best. A couple of people stood but it was hardly the house. One guy in front of me even fell asleep, another guy (real sex bomb) got up and left because he got splashed. I should have seen it again.

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 7/18/07 at 11:54am

Saw Journey's End twice, stood both times.

I would have stood up for The Normal Heart @ the Public, but I was unable to move.