The standing ovation is a filthy American habit.- Page 4

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 10:19am

I think it's unfortunate that this devolved into a Boston Tea Party. If the article hadn't been presented as a Brit vs. American thing, I imagine the subsequent discussion might have gone differently.

At any rate, in my opinion, the gesture of the standing O has become rather devalued. I can't recall a musical or, interestingly, a play with a movie star in it in the last ten years that didn't get a standing ovation.

"Nothing wrong with"; "doesn't hurt anyone"--true. But it's lost its specialness. As someone pointed out, applause used to be the way you showed approval of a show; a standing O indicated that you felt you'd seen something far above average.

Giving a standing ovation at the end of every performance is rather like saying "I love you" as your standard greeting to everyone you meet.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 1:04pm

Maybe some people just make the mistake that people getting up to leave is a standing ovation?

[Scripps2]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 3:19pm

Reginald Tresilian and those quoting Mr Sondheim make the most perceptive and articulate posts on this thread. And, yes, it's disappointing to see how this has developed into a spat of national prejudices.

Much of this difference in culture also has something to do with the differing scope of the New York and West End theatre scenes as well. For example, this thread is very musical orientated - how would the debate go if it were to equally represent audience responses to Ibsen, Chekhov, Shakespeare or Miller on both sides of the Atlantic?

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 8/5/08 at 3:55pm

Good point, Scripps.

Here's a thought...now the West End is getting bombarded in force with the kind of junk that people have been complaining about Broadway doing for years, only even trashier (We Will Rock You, Dirty Dancing). They are doing less and less straight plays. These types of musicals tend to bring in the masses who aren't really informed in what we would consider to be normal theatre ettiquite and assume that a standing ovation at the end of the show is normal, especially since these shows tend to be so "high-energy." Would this account for Mr. Pretentious Whatshisass' complaints about Brits adopting this "filthy American habit"?
Updated On: 8/5/08 at 03:55 PM

[Scripps2]

Posted: 8/6/08 at 2:48pm

"Would this account for Mr. Pretentious Whatshisass' complaints about Brits adopting this filthy American habit?"

Very possibly!

I tend not to equate the clap-along, dance-along megamix finales with standing ovations but, like you say, not everyone may see it that way.

[playbills]

Posted: 8/6/08 at 3:07pm

I definitely agree about the overuse of the standing ovation but calling it a "filthy habit" is going a bit to far.

There are people that genuinely enjoy shows for what they are and give the actors the ovation that they think they deserve. There are people who give standing O's because they paid 100+ dollars for a ticket and damn it to hell if they didn't enjoy the show.


When I saw Spring Awakening a few weeks ago, everyone around me in the front of the Orchestra gave a standing ovation and I just sat there in my very nice second row seat. My friend gave me a look and I gave her one back.

I wouldn't say it takes a lot for me to stand - if I really enjoyed a show as a whole, I'll stand at the final bow for the whole cast. It takes an extraordinary actor for me to stand for their singular bow.