Theater Etiquette-GRRR — Page 3

I'm an actor too. I don't think I care really what people wear. I'd rather see people in the theatre being who they are. Though I am the one to dress up for a Broadway or touring shows. I don't dress up for high school or some local theaters. The only time I didn't dress up for a Broadway show is when I went to see Spring Awakening. Which some would say it's fine. I wore a polo shirt, plaid shorts (Jonathan Groff said he liked them), and my favorite white NIke slip on sandals. I was going to dress up, but by the time I got to my hotel I noticed I didn't have much time to dress and get to the theatre on time. I honestly don't care what people wear and if I don't feel like dressing up, I wont. I mean I wont be the one that looks thrown together, roll out of bed. But I defiantly wont be dressed up.

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My sister and I have gone to shows where the majority of the audience was adults and seniors so we were literally the youngest people there. We try to dress decently, but we’re more concerned about comfort and keeping warm while walking in the city and don’t have that nice of clothes. Sometimes we feel weird sitting next to older ladies with fur coats and even some women in dresses and whatnot, but as long as we behave I don’t think what we’re wearing matters too much.

Respect is the most important for me. So if it seems I’m not making an effort to dress up, my effort to show respect is definitely there.. respect to both the actors and my fellow patrons. And I’m just so happy and appreciative about being at the show in the first place.

"Why do patrons need to earn respect when seeing a show? "

My point wasn't that patrons need to earn respect when going to a show. That's absurd.

I was going off on a tangent. I'm sorry for changing the subject, but it just popped into my head~

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I don't think the way people dress matters one bit. I've seen the most shabily dressed people act wonderfully during a show. I have also seen people dressed to the nines who have behaved horribly: not turning off cel phones, talking during a show, eating noisily.

At the Xanadu Wednesday matinee this week a man sitting on the stage has wearing a fedora. Jackie Hoffman had an ad lib where she went off to him and said, "Sir, it's really so refreshing to see in a man wear a fedora to the theatre. Nobody does that anymore."

The audience went wild. It stopped the show for at least 30-45 seconds. She then added, "Unless he's an asshole." The show stopped for another 30 seconds. It was so brilliant.

As for the issue at hand, I think anyone who has a problem with wearing jeans to a show obviously doesn't live in New York and attend the theatre regularly. There are many days where you have tickets to something and just aren't feeling like getting dressed up or sometimes even going at all. You just go to see the show and don't really care what anyone else thinks.

As people have said before, as long as people behave themselves in terms of talking, cell phone, arriving on time, etc. that's what matters.

"As for the issue at hand, I think anyone who has a problem with wearing jeans to a show obviously doesn't live in New York and attend the theatre regularly"

Well, think again. I have lived in NY for over 30 years and have worked in theaters continually, daily, for the past 8 years. This is all a matter of opinion and no one is wrong or right.

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I agree with Vespertine1228's comments about living in NYC and seeing a show verses the ones brought upon by people who don't live here or visit. I live in the suburbs of NYC but still. I don't have the mind set of " I'm going to see a BROADWAY SHOW!!!" I mostly have the mindset of "sure I'll go to the theatre why not." Only because I live here and going to the theatre is something I enjoy beyond words. But, it is still something that is more day to day for me then anything else.

Eponine3: "I also feel that with the prices we pay for tickets that absolutely the theater should be considered an event and you should dress and behave as such."


The only people who pay those prices. The prices that are enough to consider the theatre an event are mostly tourists who don't know of anything like broadwaybox or any sort of discount code. And, there are people who rush for shows. They certainly don't spend enough money for theatre to be considered an event. Why can't they go casual? This isn't the fifties anymore where you HAD to wear fancy clothes at all. The only place where I would even wear khaki's and a polo shirt is at the Met. Not at a Broadway show.

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When I go see a Broadway show I don't stay overnight in the city, so I don't have a hotel room. I take a 4 hour train ride there, then walk around the city all day before going to the show then take the train back home. I'm not about to do all of that in heels and a skirt; it's just not practical for me. When I see touring companies close to home I get more dressed up but I'm not about to be uncomfortable all day so I don't offend a few people with my jeans during the brief interval the lights are on in the theatre.

So you dress up. Don't force your personal beliefs on the world.

I don't mean to sound mean, but seriously. This is about like the kid in California who has declared a "no cursing week".

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Updated On: 5/7/09 at 08:22 PM

LePetite- I should have clarified. I agree with you 100%, I meant the magic of the experience. The thing that makes going to the theater different than going to the movies.

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Well, I guess I can answer the question that I initially started this post with. I must just be an old-fashioned girl, because I still believe that a person should dress for any kind of special ocassion. I guess I'd like to bring the good times back.

Call me old fashioned...

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“Dressing up” for the theatre is a tradition that goes way back to the days when an evening at the theatre was just as much a social occasion as a form of entertainment. Sometimes the show was second to the opportunity to see and being seen. I mean, why were box seats invented? Box seats do not provide an improved view of the stage (quite the opposite and a reason why we rarely use them anymore). They served the sole purpose of showing off important and rich people to the rest of the audience. The grand, ornate theatres of the past were all about an evening at the theatre as an event. The show was only one part of the whole experience.

In our day, the social aspect of the theatre has drifted away. Sure, people like to chat with their friends at the theatre but the main point of going to the theatre is to see the production itself. Therefore, while we love the historic nature of our old traditional theatres, we don’t really build them anymore. Most new modern theatres are fairly basic in style and decor. The theatre house is no longer part of the experience – the production itself IS the experience. In some ways, I think this is good for theatre because it focuses on the art of the stage, rather than how things and people look. Plus, now everyone can feel comfortable at the theatre, regardless of the clothes they can afford.

Decent and fashionable individuals will always try to look nice in public – irrespective of the activity. I really don’t care what people wear as long as they look good. I have seen some people who look more stylish in an outfit with jeans than other people do in slacks. So, I vote we put the focus on the stage and just be happy people are coming out to the theatre.