Very bad "Fiddler" behavior the other night- Page 2

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/14/16 at 8:55pm

I hate to sound like an old fart, but I fear SweetLips is right about a general decline in decorum.

[Marway44]

Posted: 1/14/16 at 11:00pm

I agree with sweet lips. Very well said!

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 1/14/16 at 11:58pm

i agree this is getting worse over the past decade

my best solution is

1) wait until the song is finished

lean over and tap on the shoulder and say

for singers:

"im sorry..but I cannot hear the actors singing over your singing

Could you please respect the people around you and not sing during the performance?"

for eaters

Im sorry, but i cannot hear the actors over the rustling of your food. can you please respect the people around you and not eat during the performance?

for talkers

Im sorry, I cant hear the actors over your talking....

 

etc

This actually WORKS 90% of the time

the other 10% when they dont stop or escalate

i got up and got the manager

 

Using a kind and sincere tone and direct eye contact really makes all the difference

 

With how much i love musicals and how much time effort and money it takes to get to nyc to see my favorite shows, i absolutely refuse to let someone ruin my experience.....

manypeople are not regular theatre goers and do not know common etiquette

I agree that no food or drink should be allowed in the theatre

I believe anyone using a camera gets one warning from ushers, and get ejected the second time

I wish theatres would read a few more house rules to the audience before each performance

 

I really empathize withe op and anyone who has had to put up with having a show experience diminished by another patron.....

[brdway411]

Posted: 1/15/16 at 1:29am

I have and would have again, told them to SHUT THE FU@K UP, I paid to hear the actors not you. This sounds like the women I was sitting near in Jersey Boys a few years ago. I would have KILLED THEM.  

[lovebwy]

Posted: 1/15/16 at 11:09am

Many, many years ago my grandma went to see Sound of Music on Broadway starring Miss Mary Martin.

 

My grandma had great seats; something like 7th row center. But, right in front of her was a woman who was at times humming, and at times singing the score.

 

At intermission my grandma asked the woman to please be quiet. The woman glared at her and didn't say a word.

 

That evening, Mary Martin made a curtain speech. She said "Ladies and Gentlemen- tonight we have a very special guest in the audience. I'd like her to stand up- the real life Maria Von Trapp!" And the woman who'd so annoyed my grandmother stood up to a round of applause!!

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 1/15/16 at 11:14am

That evening, Mary Martin made a curtain speech. She said "Ladies and Gentlemen- tonight we have a very special guest in the audience. I'd like her to stand up- the real life Maria Von Trapp!" And the woman who'd so annoyed my grandmother stood up to a round of applause!!

 

thats a really great story

AND 

I would still tell her to stop singing so i can hear mary martin and the show that I paid for...

 

[tgrabon2]

Posted: 1/15/16 at 6:23pm

Matt Rogers: Yes, I would.

[Marway44]

Posted: 1/15/16 at 9:24pm

Great story Lovbway! I would have shushed her too. I actually shushed Sebastian Bach's wife at Jekyll and Hyde. 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/15/16 at 10:49pm

Going to get the house manager is a great idea if you are close to an aisle. But at 6'3" with size 13 feet, getting to the side aisle in a dark house with continental seating could very well take me 15 minutes, all the while I would be blocking the view of patrons in back of me.

 

I certainly agree that one should begin with a polite request before escalating. (And don't hit anybody ever. That could be construed legally as battery.) But I can usually deal with an offender directly more discretely than I can get to an usher or house manager.

[BobBenson]

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

Y'all, I have said this time and time again here. You need to get yourself a taser. Someone starts flappin' those gums. Just give a little BBBBZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT. Shuts them right up. You don't hear another peep for awhile. My friend Tami-Lynn has one and it has never failed. Folks STFU right quick. BBBBBZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTT. Works every time.

[@z5]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 7:23am

just as much your fault for allowing this to happen throughout the whole show, from the moment it began, i would go and get someone to take care of them.

[Jumpin_J]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 8:32am

First of all, as audience members, we all need to take responsibility and agree to a zero tolerance policy for this behavior. Don't just sit there and take it. As soon as there's an issue, let the offenders know immediately to stop it. One warning, that's it. If they continue, the (UNION) ushers should be doing their jobs to ensure the best possible watching experience for everyone and it goes beyond handing you a playbill. After that, I would go straight to the house manager. Secondly, while I personally deplore the standing ovations that every Broadway show seems to get, I would not count this as abusive behavior. If you didn't think it was that great, sit down and applaud. I do it all the time. You don't see this in London. You have to give an extraordinary show to earn it where it means something. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 11:59am

No one has ever asked me to stop singing during HELLO, DOLLY!  In fact, audience members seem to like the fact that I recite the dialogue along with the actors.  It gives the performance a sort of surround-sound feel.

 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 12:16pm

Many years ago when MAMMA MIA! first opened on Broadway, at a performance I was at a woman was softly but quite audibly singing along.  When she started singing along to one of the verses of "Honey Honey" (the 2nd number in the show) I turned around and gave her a nasty stare.  She quickly stopped and looked back at me annoyed and I even think she turned to whisper to the woman next to her.  When she resumed her singalong when a verse started again, in a loud voice I'm sure even the actors heard on stage heard, I turned around again and shouted "I CAN HEAR YOU!".  I startled her and I never heard another peep from her again.    

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 2:35pm

"Secondly, while I personally deplore the standing ovations that every Broadway show seems to get"

 

I saw five show in 2015 and not one of them got a standing ovation as soon as the show finished and this included "Hamilton". It took the leads coming out for their bow for the audience to start standing. Out of the five, only "Hamilton" and "Book Of Mormon" had most of the audience standing when the leads took a bow.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 4:22pm

I saw the 42 Street tour this week, which was just okay.  Thank goodness, I got a really cheap ticket during my Artist Series Black Friday sale.  The audience gave them a standing ovation.  The dancing was really good to my untrained eye.  But didn't think the show warranted an ovation.  I stood up only because I couldn't see over the people in front of me who stood up. Maybe it's a domino effect?!

Updated On: 1/16/16 at 04:22 PM

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 4:28pm

"I stood up only because I couldn't see over the people in front of me who stood up. Maybe it's a domino effect?"

 

I believe that is some of it but you can tell people who are standing to just see and the people who are standing and clapping.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 4:34pm

I will not stand if I don't feel it is warranted.  If I can't see the cc, so be it.

[blm2323]

Posted: 1/16/16 at 4:44pm

Being a teacher I have no problem telling people when they are being disruptive. In fact, 2 nights ago we were at If/Then tour in Phoenix, and 3 lines into the show I hear the person next to my husband singing along. I immediately leaned across and politely said "Please don't sing along. " That's it. Not a peep more. 

As for the OP, there is no way I'd sit through an entire performance with that. It doesn't do any good to complain if no one approaches the people to solve the problem. My personal belief - don't complain unless you're ready to do something about it. 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 1/17/16 at 7:01am

"The audience gave them a standing ovation.  The dancing was really good to my untrained eye.  But didn't think the show warranted an ovation.

 

Maybe the rest of the audience really thought they deserved it. Yes, I think most of us agree that the standing ovation has basically become obligatory but to each their own. 

[Marway44]

Posted: 1/19/16 at 7:06am

I wanted to comment on the standing ovation thing.  It does seem to me that so many people stand because they figure it's the right thing to do having seen it on TV or in other live theatre. Plus, you're always going to have a few people that stand for everything and others feel pressured into it or you can't see and you have to stand to see. 

As for your suggestions to seek out the house manager for disruptive people, it sounds good but we shouldn't have to get up and disrupt the row to leave and then miss part of the show. 

At the Bushnell Theatre in Hartford, the program does state that you should not sing along if you know the words as it is distracting to your fellow audience members and it does work.  I think that could go into a Playbill.  It's not offensive or rude and just might help on Broadway.

[cascade]

Posted: 1/27/16 at 4:19pm

I saw Fiddler last night with a friend and had the worst audience experience I've had... Sitting next to me were a mother and her very young daughter (I'm going to guess she was around seven years old, definitely younger than ten). As soon as the show starts, the daughter keeps asking questions and the mother is narrating the entire show to her... not even whispering, flat-out talking. Ignoring any shushing. The daughter is fussy and decides to climb on her mother's lap. And then they switch seats entirely. It was SO distracting and even after being shushed multiple times by other people-- one woman behind us flat out said "Please stop talking"-- the behavior continued. I don't blame the child of course, she's too young to know better, but I was furious with the mom. Fiddler is a very long show, you shouldn't bring a young child who can't sit still for 90 minutes, and you definitely shouldn't be so disruptive to everyone around you!

 

I was hesitant to say anything because I didn't want to add to the disruption or upset the child. Also, the last time I shushed someone (a full grown adult who talked throughout the entirety of The Color Purple) they got nasty with me. I waited until intermission because I figure the ushers are the ones getting paid to deal with this ****. To their credit, the usher was very understanding and quick to resolve the issue. They must have spoken with them because they were much quieter during the second act, aside from loudly eating candy the first ten minutes and endless fidgeting.

Updated On: 1/27/16 at 04:19 PM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 1/27/16 at 7:15pm

7 doesn't seem "very" young, that's just young, but I feel like that should definitely be old enough to understand you don't talk at a show (be it theater or movie). Hell, my best friend's 2-year-old son knows to be silent in a theater (don't ask why she brings her son to the theater, I've wondered the same thing...but at least he behaves).

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 1/27/16 at 7:19pm

I took a 7-year old to see the Lion King a few weeks ago. Granted that show is more aimed toward kids, but she was still old enough to understand that she needed to be quiet. We had a nice talk before hand about theater etiquette and that was all she needed. But if the parents/guardians don't tell them AND set a good example they don't know. Sounds like this woman had done neither. 

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 1/27/16 at 7:52pm

And yes Fiddler is NOT a show for most 7 year old children. When i was there, there were a lot of I would say 9-12 year olds in my area. All were totally well behaved and all were totally bored through much of the show. (Hell even I was bored through much of the show but that's another thread entirely - But I was polite..LOL)

It's not a visually eye catching musical or a show aimed for kids. I blame the parents for encouraging bad behavior and contributing to it in this case. If it's going to have a deep message that is not going to automatically ring out to a young girl, you should teach them about it at home before you go. Listen to the music, go over the story..

 

Updated On: 1/27/16 at 07:52 PM