Wearing cologne/perfume in the theatre... — Page 3

"If you have a sensitivity to something--smell, food, or other--then YOU have to deal with it. Try to find an empty seat, or stay home. That is not being mean, or ignorant, or rude...that's just the honest truth. "

What are you, twelve? Even logan has abandoned you, you insensitive twit. You are mean, ignorant, and rude, but mostly ignorant, and wouldn't know the truth until you developed a sudden sensitivity and it swelled up your throat and asphyxiated you.

Sure, kid. That's why you spend so much time talking about your god-given right to scents.

You're kidding, right? Monkey's very first words:

"Believe me, if someone is THAT allergic to the smell of things they shouldn't go to the theatre anyways...how do they even go out of their house?! "

This is reasonable? And now he's talking about how hung he is? This is who you choose to defend?

People who don't have basic consideration for the rest of the human race just make me sad. No one's saying "DON'T WEAR COLOGNE EVEN THOUGH YOU LIKE IT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT YOU TO!".

Look at it this way: no one wants to see my ass hanging out of a far-too-short skirt. So although I like short skirts, I always make sure it's suitably covering, or wear a thick pair of tights underneath. No one wants to sit near a chick who has serious BO problems. So I wash daily and apply unscented deodorant before dressing. No one wants to see my lunch all down my front should I be having a clumsy day, so if I spill food on my top, I clean it off, change it, or cover it up. Some people have severe peanut allergies so while I love peanuts, I would not eat them in a theatre, aeroplane, tube train, anywhere where people are all crammed in together. Same goes for perfume; walking around a street, no problem. In an enclosed or crowded place, only in teeny amounts, if at all.

I still wear short skirts. I still eat peanuts. I have been known on occasion to wear perfume. But because I am one of those apparently rare beasts who doesn't think she's the centre of the universe and the pinnacle of human achievement, I bear other people in mind before embarking on these things. And I'm pleased to read there are other people who have this basic consideration for others (less pleased for the people who think their right to do what they want is more important than other people's right to be comfortable).

Jennafan, I guess all you can do is ask ushers to move you. If it's a sold-out show, perhaps you could do standing room for the first half if necessary, then find someone during the interval who wouldn't mind swapping places. But even a sold-out show will still have a space or two; I'm sure most houses keep at least one or two in case of emergency.

This thread has taken an unexpected turn. Be heartened by the fact most people think "JUST STAY HOME!!!111!!11!!!!!" is an unreasonable response, and take it as read from our posts that if you spy us in a theatre and you need to swap seats, we're totally on your side. ;D

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Updated On: 1/5/09 at 08:42 AM

I agree with your concerns. I went to the theater about a year ago with friends. I sat on the left side and one of my perfume-wearing friends sat on the right side. The lady next to her complained about the strong scent. I offered to change seats with my friend and the lady said thank-u. After the show, my friend complained about the "rudeness" of the lady and I told my friend---"she was absolutely right--many people have allergies or are sensitive---you shouldn't wear it so heavily".
(I've been dying to say this to her for about 20 years!)
Point was taken---she wears (slightly) less these days.

I agree that in most cases, unless it is a show that's sold out a la Wicked or Jersey Boys ushers will be very helpful if approached politely and if it's at all possible.

I'm not necessarily overly sensitive to perfumes, but if it's applied heavily or is a particularly strong or muck-based scent, I can have breathing issues. Once when I was seeing The Vertical Hour a couple sat in front of me, and she had on an extremely strong musk-based scent. I could feel myself starting to wheeze and went to the top of the mezz stairs to ask the usher about moving. It would not have been a problem anyway as there were plenty of extra seats, but I wanted to be polite and ask before moving. As it turns out, there was an older couple who had not realized there was no entrance to the mezz on the first row level, and could not navigate the stairs down to their front row mezz seats, so they were taking two seats in the back row. The usher thanked me for asking before moving somewhere and then personally escorted me to one of their seats in the front row of the mezz.

In several other instances I've seen ushers bend over backwards to help those who are polite about whatever request a person has. It's the people who appear to feel entitled who seem to typically have the bad experience issues. (I'm not saying anyone on here who has a chemical sensitivity is acting entitled. But I have seen some people in other settings who DO feel that the world should bow to their every need.)

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That's true! I agree with you there that nobody can be forced to not wear purfume/cologne. It just would be nice, but I think the problem is that a lot of people (if not all) have NO IDEA that some people sitting next to them may be allergic.

All I was trying to do was make others aware.

Along with that, jenna, the idea that perhaps the perfume wearer is actually the cause of all that annoying sniffling, coughing and sneezing.

FlyingMonkey, ever consider that you'd be enhancing your own theatrical experience by skipping (or using very sparingly) the cologne when attending an event in close confines? I'm no psychic but somehow, I think you'd be the first to complain about a sneezy, wheezy audience member...

I've decided I'm going to see RENT and wear as much cologne as possible. I'm also spraying it on the signs I'm bringing with me, that I hold up when I scream during the show.

You'll know it's me, because I plan on eating gassy foods before hand and fart my way through the show...

I'll be sitting in front of Celerey and Flying Monkey. But I'll stand up every time I pass gas.

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Ok.

Updated On: 1/5/09 at 05:48 PM

LOL, Weez!

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Jenna's the person who started this whole thread. She didn't realize you were being sarcastic, so she was offended by you saying you'd spray yourself with cologne, thinking you meant you didn't care about people with allergies. If you read her other posts, you'll see she's a sensible person.

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Ever since I had the miserable experience of sitting next to a woman who smelled like a hard-boiled egg at City Center, I have literally doused myself with cologne whenever I go to the theater. I don't care if others can't stand the aroma of 4711. At least I can enjoy its aroma throughout the performance and not worry about whether or not I have a packet of mayonnaise in my coat pocket.

Thank you very much.

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