Walking Out at Intermission - The Thread

[yyys]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 10:24pm

Any show you've walked out of at intermission?  

Just curious after reading this tweet:

https://twitter.com/emilynussbaum/status/1657911067916267522

Updated On: 5/14/23 at 10:24 PM

[Voter]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 10:36pm

Yes I have! I did it for Between The Lines and The Ferryman.

[forfivemoreminutes]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 10:39pm

I walked out of a regional production of Sister Act - 50% because of the show (just not my thing - way too silly for me) and 50% because the person next to me would not stay still and kept shaking my seat (and also kept talking to her seat mate throughout the whole show). She also kept eating crinkly candy bars and then licking her fingers after, which grossed me out. To be fair, I probably would have stayed if not for the obnoxious seat mate, the fact that I'd only paid $10 for the ticket, and the fact that I had an hour drive ahead of me to my hotel that evening.

I also would have walked out of Titanique if it had an intermission, because I realized about five minutes into the show that it was not for me. I seriously considered walking out even though it did NOT have an intermission, but I was in the front row and figured that would have been disruptive both to the performers (who use the aisles a lot in that show) and to other audience members. That was a rough 100 minutes of my life that I will never get back. I felt moderately cheated of the opportunity to walk out at intermission.

I badly wanted to walk out of Dear Evan Hansen at intermission, but my friend who was with me wanted to stay, so we stayed - but if I'd been by myself I would have walked out. I also wanted to walk out of The Book of Mormon the second time I saw it (the first time I saw it, I wondered if the second act would be less racist than the first act - it wasn't), but my friend who was with me wanted to see the whole show, so we stayed. 

Updated On: 5/14/23 at 10:39 PM

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 10:56pm

I haven’t walked out of anything, but I should have walked out of The Little Prince. Hot damn. 
Instead, I did what I often do if a show is unbearable: I sat there and daydreamed about/imagined shows of the past in that theatre. In that case, the original Evita and original Les Mis. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 11:05pm

Many times lol

[sppunk]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 11:38pm

Cherry Orchard in 2016. I shouldn’t haven’t even gone. I’ll never get that time back. Worst thing I’ve ever seen on Broadway unless the radio city Sumer spectacular counts. That was worse than most middle school productions.  

[ImAProphet]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 11:40pm

Never at a Broadway show.

Twice at Lincoln Center actually - I walked out of Notre Dame de Paris when it was there last year, and also the NY Philharmonic this spring (I was tired, they had already done the Brahms piece I was looking forward to, and it was a paper ticket anyway).

Also, randomly, the operetta The Duchess of Chicago when I was visiting Budapest.

[WestCoast331]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 11:41pm

Twice! 
 

Love Never Dies, which was one of those moments where my entire group was thinking it and finally someone had the guts to recommend it 10 minutes into intermission and we all bolted. 
 

God Looked Away with Al Pacino at Pasadena Playhouse: Brutal brutal brutal first act which frequently ventured into long periods where the audience wasn’t sure if Pacino knew his lines/what was going on. Everyone was uncomfortable. It was truly bizarre and very freeing to walk out of. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/14/23 at 11:52pm

Describe The Night at Steppenwolf. Sat through the first act, hating it. At intermission the people next to me said "Hope Act 2 makes more sense" than I realized I had seen the show off-Broadway years prior and I hated it then and knew that it didn't get better. So I walked out. Grateful 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 1:26am

Many a local production of  HELLO, DOLLY!   If they haven't gotten things right by the parade, I'm outta there.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 4:52am

It's nice to see that tweet, because I left Funny Girl at intermission too. I started out enjoying Michele's performance, but during "Don't Rain..." there was a point where she had her arms up, and the audience was cheering madly, and she started pumping her arms to bask in their adulation that turned me off. It was too much about Lea Michele and not the character. Considering there was nothing else I was enjoying about the show and everything I'd heard about the second act being weaker, I figured I'd seen her and there was no point staying around for more.

Left Doubtfire at intermission too. The cast, especially McClure, were working so hard, but I hated all but one of the songs and thought the book was terrible--the movie was smart enough to introduce the character with scenes showing him being a good dad; the musical just introduced him being a thoughtless jerk, which continued through Act I. I would have left earlier if I'd been able.

I remember walking out of the 2012 Jesus Christ Superstar revival. I don't remember why other than I obviously wasn't enjoying it.

There have been others, thankfully forgotten.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 5:01am

I haven't done it, but I don't really judge you if you do.

I know this isn't anybody in this board. But, in the era of the awful audience, I'd rather they just leave at intermission if they aren't enjoying it and not stick around talking or on their phone. 

However, I think leaving at Intermission is very different than leaving while the show is going on. I don't know if it ever made it to this crowd, but there was a TikTok that blew up of a guy who left Bad Cinderella in the middle of Act 1 and then made his TikTok loudly talking about how much he hated it while still in the lobby with staff members visible in the background. To me, that sort of thing is just plain rude. If it's a 2+ act show, you can most likely hold out until intermission so that you don't distract your fellow audience members or the cast when you leave and don't make a TikTok ****-talking the show when people who work for it are clearly within earshot. You can wait until you get outside. 

[perfectpenguin]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 5:39am

Twice- Hadestown and Death of a Salesman.

For Hadestown, I didn’t want to leave. But there was a delay with starting. If I didn’t leave, I’d have missed my train home. I had seen Hadestown a few times already so I was fine leaving. 
 

At Death of a Salesman in October, I left because of the audience was so bad. The worst I’ve ever seen. Between the talking, phones going off, snack bags opening, and the mom next to me explaining each sentence to her son full volume, I didn’t hear one sentence that was said on stage. I left and it was the best decision. 
 

I was very close at leaving Book of Mormon but my friend was loving it so I stayed. But I would have left if I was alone. 

[windowwaving]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 7:11am

I was thiiiiiiiiis close to leaving New York, New York at intermission. 

It just felt like it was vignette after vignette, and wasn’t sure if there was really going to be a plot or if any of these characters would matter in the end. It also felt like they kept teasing the title song to keep reminding you “stick around and you’ll hear it!” I have never contemplated leaving a show at intermission as much as this one. 

But I’m glad I stayed. I loved Act II much more than the first. I understand why they went with this direction, but it just feels like it takes too long to get any real movement going (even though there is a LOT of movement on stage) and it could be too late for some audience members. 

[Sauja]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 7:51am

I’m allllll too happy to leave a show at intermission if I’m not feeling it. Especially if I’m tired or if the ticket was cheap. Most recently abandoned midstream: Bad Cinderella. I didn’t like any of it, but there was one cast member in particular (who I won’t name) whose voice I felt…allergic to. Partly I fled because the show was bad, but partly it was just so that I wouldn’t have to hear them sing any more.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 7:52am

sooooo many shows that I bounced at intermission - many of whom I don't remember.

The Scarlet Pimpernel (LA Tour) - just remember being in the nose bleeds and so bored

Titanic (LA Tour) When you are routing for the Iceberg...

Soft Power (CTG/LA) - Totally bored ask my friend if he wanted to leave at intermission - he didn't, I did.  

Back To The Future (West End) - blown away by the production design but the music was crappy and it was like a recreation of the film. 

The Duchess of Malfi (Almeida Theatre) Gorgeous production really really bored by the play

Arcadia (LCT) - saw this in high school and had no idea what was happening -

 

wanted to leave at Intermission

The Seagull (West End) Loved Cyrano and was so excited to see another Jamie Lloyd - my friend didn't want to leave so I stayed. Indira Varma on stage is always excellent but this was a slog

 

[steve.sometime]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 8:03am

Very recently I walked out during intermission at a rare revival of I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky in Baltimore.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 8:10am

I try not to do it on principal but I have succumbed to it, usually it's when I feel insulted by the show though. We left from a regional production of Legally Blonde because while I was completely obsessed with the cast recording and would have stayed just for that score, the actual book of that show turned out to be horrendous. My partner and I actively looked at each other at every choice they made to take agency away from Elle and give it all to men around her.

I also did it recently at ITW in Kennedy Center because Block was out and I cannot stand that show with an underwhelming Baker's Wife (sorry to her understudy but, if might have been an off night or something...) . This happened almost 2 months ago but I'm still mad I didn't get to see Block after paying upwards of 300$ total for 2 Tix.

[alexidarling15]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 8:28am

I walked out of Richard III at intermission (last year's Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte).

The only time I've been tempted to walk out early on Broadway was NY, NY, but I agree that the second act was better. Actually the ideal time to go to that show would be halfway through the second act! 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 8:33am

Yup. Not many. More that I WANTED to leave during, but my companion did not (or it was intermissionless).

 

My time, my $$. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 8:34am

Voter said: "Yes I have! I did it for Between The Lines and The Ferryman."

I've never done it, but in hindsight, I should have left The Ferryman.

[GoldenGiggery]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 8:53am

I’ve not actually walked out of a show yet, but there have been a handful of incidences where I’ve strongly considered it. 


-Girl From The North Country had such a confusing and ultimately, terribly contrived book that ended with nothing of substance, that it ended up feeling like the worst waste of a papered ticket I’ve ever had. 

-Caroline or Change. I saw the revival the last week it was open and just being painfully bored. It felt like the cast, especially Sharon D Clarke, were going through the motions and couldn’t wait for it to end. I shouldn’t leave thinking the actress playing Tony Kushner’s mom was the real hero. 


-To echo what Boris said, Little Prince was truly painful to get through. This felt like a show that should've been at a children’s theatre, and even still, it would’ve been difficult to understand for anyone not reading the onscreen subtitles. Also scenic design was a joke. The backdrops looked like rejected screensavers from Windows 98. 


Bad Cinderella and Plaza Suite I mainly enjoyed because I had alcohol in both instances, although thank all the gods for Grace/Carolee (and Julio Rey when he stood in for Jordan Dobson) in BC. They were worth the rush price. For Plaza, I’m convinced Matthew Broderick only knows how to play Ferris Bueller, poor SJP was giving it her all, and he just had ZERO chemistry with her…which considering they're married, is alarming. 


Lastly, the 2022 production of MacBeth is by far the worst thing I’ve ever seen. If you’re going to do Shakespeare on BWay in the 21st century, you’d better have a damn good reason for why. This production didn’t have one, except to showcase Sam Gold’s utter pretentiousness. Ruth Negga was the sole good thing about it, and I’m embarrassed for her, that this had to be her BWay debut. Truly cannot believe this is the show Amber Gray left Hadestown for. #Soup. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 9:44am

GoldenGiggery said: "Truly cannot believe this is the show Amber Gray left Hadestown for. #Soup."

Ok, not related to this thread, but whatever. Amber Gray was very done with Hadestown and Macbeth was just the job she was able to get that got her out of her Hadestown contract. 

[dshnookie]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 9:44am

GoldenGiggery said: "Lastly, the 2022 production of MacBeth is by far the worst thing I’ve ever seen. If you’re going to do Shakespeare on BWay in the 21st century, you’d better have a damn good reason for why. This production didn’t have one, except to showcase Sam Gold’s utter pretentiousness. Ruth Negga was the sole good thing about it, and I’m embarrassed for her, that this had to be her BWay debut. Truly cannot believe this is the show Amber Gray left Hadestown for. #Soup."

I’ve seen so much Shakespeare in my life, even at my nubile age of 36, that I’d only consider future productions for male nudity or feet.

Shout out to Jude Law and Oscar Isaac’s (those underwear cakes!) respective turns in Hamlet.

 

[Voter]

Posted: 5/15/23 at 9:51am

Lot666 said: "Voter said: "Yes I have! I did it for Between The Lines and The Ferryman."

I've never done it, but in hindsight, I should have left The Ferryman."

I left during the 5 minute after Act 1 ended. I kind of regret leaving since I heard the play got better