Wednesday night Spongebob Audience — Page 3

There is really no excuse and it's the parent/adult's responsibility. I started taking my nephew to Broadway shows at 8 years old. We had a few discussions about theatre behavior before we went and I made it a very grown up activity, including dressing up a bit so that it was special and "different". I kept it positive but he knew I meant business and this was a privilege.

His first show was the CATS revival (gateway drug) and we sat in the front row aisle. I discussed with him beforehand that the actors would be able to see him, so he needed to be respectful of their talent and hard work, in addition to the other audience members. I made damn sure I modeled good theatre etiquette too.

He was incredibly well behaved and he has gone to several shows since. He would be horrified by the behavior you described, not because he can't be a total kid spaz (he can break into fake karate for no reason whatsoever), but because that's not how you act at the theatre. Parents need to teach their kids but they are often the problem.

Ladies and Gentleman and Children of all Ages- No matter the age or the venue, my fellow broadway followers, what you are witnessing is the current state of life. It is not restricted to the theater or to restaurants, or to the roadway, or to the Senate or Presidency. It is here. Recognize it. It is not going away.

As I operate by appointment time in my employment, it is obvious that the values of our society have degraded beyond belief. People don’t call to cancel, they cancel at the last minute, not giving any consideration to anyone else but themselves. In the 1970’s Pepsi came out with a commercial for their beverage and called this time the “Me Generation”. Well I call today’s times “The Only -Me Generation.” The caring about one another is gone ( even about oneself as I see it). Not to riddle this post with philosophical observations, but for those that lived in the 1960’s and 1970’s we all realize that we are not going to get back what we once had. But instead of realizing who we are and where we are going- as we have all the technology to attain high standards- we have degraded ourselves to a more barbaric state of life witnessed by not just the theater goers posted here, but in all walks of life itself. This is just a microcosm of what you and I see everyday.

And when one of you ask someone to shut off their IPAD or phone during a performance, or to restrain their child from annoying behavior, or ask a person nicely to sit down when they are blocking your view of a sporting event when they are standing in front of you blocking your view - you have to be careful because life itself isn’t the same. They might do something nasty. We shouldn’t have to say anything. They shouldn’t do it in the first place. We know that. But life is now only about “me” and not about “us “. Do we need an ethic’s police. I think so. But it’s not going to happen as witnessed by all of us. Good luck to the still-good-ones out there who continue to really care and share about all of us.

"Theatre was a privelege" is a truly vile and elitist statement

I see a whole bunch of issues across all age ranges (both at Spongebob and other shows). I honestly think they need to say at every single performance: PLEASE SIT STILL AND DO NOT DISTRACT OTHERS AROUND YOU - AVOID EATING DURING THE PERFORMANCE, DO NOT TALK, DO NOT USE YOUR PHONE. THANK YOU.

It feels like it's becoming worse and worse.

Updated On: 1/24/18 at 10:18 AM

I went last night, actually, and the audience was pretty well-behaved. The only time I saw an audience member take their phone out, an usher rushed down the aisle to stop them.

rjm516 said: "It's awful in London too. I go to the theatre every week, sometimes twice, and I haven't had a good audience experience in maybe three years. Even at Hamilton last month someone was taking video, and there was no usher to be found. And EVERYONE checks their phone. A huge problem I'm noticing now is Apple watches and the like. Some people think 'hey I'm not on my phone' but using the watch is the same! Someone in front of me left it so the watch lit up every time he got a text or email or something, which meant it lit up and beeped every 2 seconds. And how do you ask someone to turn off...their watch? So weird. So frustrating."

As an audience member and Apple watch user I can relate. Apple made a theatre mode on the watch so it does not come on unless the users taps on the screen. I was at a play a few months ago and the guy in front of me kept putting his arm behind the person he was with and the watch kept turning on everytime he moved.

Sondheimite said: ""Theatre was a privelege" is a truly vile and elitist statement"

I don’t think they meant it in that way. I miss the days when questions were asked and benefit of the doubt existed, but that’s a different topic.

I believe they meant that people valued theater differently than we do now. People 20-30+ years ago weren’t disrespectful at the theater because they felt it was a privilege to be there.

Nowadays, everyone feels so entitled to everything - not just in theater, but life. Chewbaca said it perfectly above. It really is sad.

I’m curious and want to see SpongeBob, but not if the audience is going to distract me from it.