Walking out of a show.... — Page 3

I don't see how anyone could pay for a show then just walk out.

I don't see how anyone can force themselves to sit through something that makes them miserable to watch.

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See, I think it's the opposite. I think the people who are shocked and offended that somebody won't stay and watch something they are not enjoying are taking themselves way too seriously.

"See, I think it's the opposite. I think the people who are shocked and offended that somebody won't stay and watch something they are not enjoying are taking themselves way too seriously."

That's not really the opposite, since both can be true. And I agree with you. If someone else leaving "shocks and offends" you, then yeah, you need to remove the stick from your butt.

Regardless, people walking out still take themselves too seriously as well though (with exceptions).

I wanted to walk out at intermission when I saw my first Broadway show ever (I mean, I have seen tours and been in love with musicals and broadway my whole life but this was my first trip to NYC 3 years ago in 11th Grade)
That show was "Phantom of the Opera."
I'm sorry...if I was not with my chorus class on a trip I would have left. That show was just dreadful and it sucked cuz we all went in with high hopes cuz we thought we would love it but even the big fan in our group walked out after the show with a frown.

I did walk out of a high school production of "Fiddler on the Roof" once. I know its a bit rude, and its High school so I shouldnt expect high end talent or anything but these kids were literally the worst. Not just in talent but also in discipline. Whenever the ensemble were on stage countless kids would point in the audience and wave to their friends/family and one even shouted out "Hi dad!"...come on...these were 9-12 graders!

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Is it just me, or are there a lot of posts missing from this thread?

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The actors don't usually write the script, nor the music. They're being paid to perform the material given to them! They are the ones who (IMO), get disrespected if the audience is unhappy with the content of the show & leaves before final curtain.

Two shows I have been tempted but stayed were both at American Airlines Theater.....Hedda Gabler and the show after it, The Philantropist ........both were AWFUL and BORING

Statler and Waldorf have a better idea.


p.s. Heckling is ok, but walking out would be rude.

Getting up and walking out of a show is very disturbing and disrespectful to other audience members. Wait for intermission.

However all bets are off for shows performed without intermission. Most of the time producers are well aware that providing a break will result in lots of empty seats for Act 2.

"If you that miserable watching a show then you might not truly like theater."

You, my friend, are full of shlt. I love theater. I live it and breathe it and the times I have left a show were because if I had to sit there one second longer, I would contemplated suicide. Suffering through the first acts of ROCK 'N ROLL, A TOUCH OF THE POET and the one or two others I've left over the years was more than enough for me and there's no reason in hell I needed to stay and finish them. I didn't care what happened to the characters, I wasn't following the story so I had no idea what was going on so why on earth would I want to stay? When I saw THE PHILANTHROPIST, 30 minutes into the first act the Tony award winning actor next to me had his head back and he was snoring. His partner had to wake him up and guess what? They didn't return for the second act. Why on earth would he??

Now you're saying I don't truly like theater. Since January I've seen 52 productions in and around the city. So you can take your ridiculous assumptions and suck 'em.

Oh, and of course you don't walk out of a class because you're bored. YOU HAVE TO BE THERE.

Updated On: 6/6/11 at 08:56 PM

Fine. Not truly liking theater was a bit harsh,and I'm currently in a bad mood so I'm being way harsher then I usually am.

As I said before,there is more to a show then just the story.All the acting technique along side of the technical aspects make up the vision you see in front of you and work along side the story. Ask any theater major and they will tell you that there is more. Yes when you start noticing the lighting designs, the show it's self is doing a bad job keeping you in a sense of suspended disbelief.

It could be that I am fascinated with the technical aspects of theater in addition to whats happening on the stage, but as I said before there is just more then the story. The moment I become bored of the story or the characters I go into tech mode and look at all lighting, make up, the time between quick changes, how to re-block the show's bad parts and so on.

Now since I live 3 hours away from the city I am not able to see the same quality of shows you are as often. Since January I have seen every show with in a 30 mile radius of me. Only 3 of them being national tours, so the rest were community theater or high school shows ( most of them kind of bad). I subject my self to this theater though because I have such a thirst for theater. The moment I am able to move to the city, I plan on doing the same thing you do; see as much as possible.

In addition, I said that I respect that there are other opinions. If you cant sit through a show, then fine. So be it. But it is not for me.

Also, going to class is not fully required, I know kids who have just shown up on test days and still received an A in the class, my point was that just because you may be bored, you don't leave in the middle of class, you wait till the end.

I think the simple logic is that:

* You pay $100 and sit through awful theatre, and have say an arbitrary happiness rating of 50 afterwards

* You pay $100 leave at intermission, and because you haven't experienced the 2nd half of said awful theatre you have say an arbitrary happiness rating of 60 afterwards

In both cases you spend $100, but in the 2nd case you're happier than in the 1st case. Of course, perhaps someone would feel happier in the end sitting through the show knowing they are seeing everything their $$$ entitled them to see, and there was the argument that sometimes the 2nd half of the show isn't awful. BUT I can easily see how in certain situations (like the one I described initially), it makes more sense to leave a show than stay.

I paid a full price ticket to see WOMEN ON THE VERGE but completely skipped it because I thought I'd have a better time doing something else in the city I couldn't do another time...I wasn't going to force myself to see WOMEN ON THE VERGE because I had paid money to see it. In the end I am just looking for whatever outcome will be most enjoyable..

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Updated On: 6/6/11 at 10:30 PM

While I am not one who leaves at intermission, I can definitely see, and respect, the other side. This is a personal decision and preference. If people want to leave the show they paid for, that's their choice. It is there ticket and they can use it however they wish. If people wish to stay and stick it would, that's their choice too. While I have only left at two shows in my life, there have been some shows I stayed for that I wish I would have just left.

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