Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:10pm
I realize ushers, theater staff, security, etc. put up with every lunatic who walks through the door, but did the article on the front page of Playbill disappear? Or is it me?
Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:18pm
It looks like they deleted it - it’s no longer on their Instagram page either. I wonder if the Broadway League told them to take it down, as it didn’t paint them in a very good light.
Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:24pm
It was a really interesting article. I'm glad I took the time to read it earlier instead of saving it for later...
Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:32pm
Someone saved it as a Google doc for that reason.
It's a good piece, even if it doesn't even scratch the surface of the problems.
The League wouldn't be the ones to have a problem, it's the theatre owners who actually employ and train the staff. It's damning, and I assume this is not unique of only one chain. I wish Playbill had had the guts to go deeper –– name names of theatre owners and particularly bad leadership, etc. But hopefully this is just the start and someone like the NYT will do a deeper dive. In any case, the union should have lots to say.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-YApe8QDH69I0_f3B63uZopn4EmKJnd4GpXEvDRpoJg/edit
Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:32pm
Mr. Wormwood said: "It was a really interesting article. I'm glad I took the time to read it earlier instead of saving it for later..."
It does sound like an interesting and actually important article. I would hope that Playbill fixes the problem so that it can be read again.
Thanks for posting the google doc of the piece above.
Updated On: 2/9/23 at 10:32 PM
Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:35pm
It didn’t paint the house managers in good light.
Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:45pm
Reading the article, the problem seems not just the deterioration under the pandemic of the social status quo but anti-mask patrons using Broadway as a staging ground for acting out their grievances. Add alcohol and it can get violent.
“It’s been horrible, no two ways about it,” shared Duffy, who currently manages a long-running musical. “I cannot overstate how much it changed things. A bartender at a pub has the ability to cut someone off when they’re getting too drunk; they have bouncers to back them up. Our bartenders don’t have the ability to cut someone off, because we’re told to sell as many souvenir cups as we can. I’m sure higher-ups are making money hand over fist, but we’re stuck dealing with unruly drunks almost every week.”
No wonder the Broadway League doesn't endorse the push for casinos in Times Square, casinos would steal their drinkers.
Updated On: 2/9/23 at 10:45 PM
Posted: 2/9/23 at 10:48pm
Wouldn’t surprise me if the union is exploring possibke action to take. Their members are not being provided with a safe working environment.
Updated On: 2/9/23 at 10:48 PM
Posted: 2/10/23 at 12:11am
Would love to know how the behavior compares depending on the show. Fair to assume this is going to be more common at A BEAUTIFUL NOISE than LEOPOLDSTADT, but...maybe not. And also orchestra vs. mezz vs. balc, and weeknights vs weekends.
There obviously needs to be a lot of nuanced training for management and staff to address all these different issues. Not just drunk or violent patrons, but people singing along or reacting too vocally, people who move seats and refuse to move to their correct ones, phone-users, picture-takers, latecomers who cause a stink when they have to wait for an appropriate moment to be seated, etc.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 12:33am
I wonder who said what to Playbill to get them to scrub this article. Crazy; thank you ermengarde for sharing the google doc since I didn’t get a chance to read this yet.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 2:04am
Yes, thank you for preserving it. It was a depressing read but a necessary one.
I've spoken with some lovely ushers who adore theatre and are actors themselves. They should not be forced to act as bouncers or subjected to horrible treatment just because management is hesitant to ask rude people to leave. I suspect if it was done more frequently, then people would know overall to behave better.
That said, there are a lot of tourists visiting Broadway so you never know what you're going to get in terms of behavior.
I had no idea people were drinking from mini-bottles of booze though! And puking? What - they can't wait to get smashed at the bar or hotel?
Posted: 2/10/23 at 7:58am
I wonder if it was removed because they didn't completely verify at least major assertion made that isn't true.
Listener said: "I've spoken with some lovely ushers who adore theatre and are actors themselves.
Not the verifiable fact that I am referring to above, but very few ushers are actors. Many are professionals with unrelated day jobs/careers, and many only do ushering, but very few are actors (the union agreement's attendance policy doesn't really allow them to take significant time off for any work that would bleed into the evening walk-in).
They should not be forced to act as bouncers or subjected to horrible treatment just because management is hesitant to ask rude people to leave. I suspect if it was done more frequently, then people would know overall to behave better.
This is the first verifiable fact I'm referring to. Ushers have no authority to even threaten removal from the theater, at least not under Jujamcyn, Nederlander, or Shubert. However, management very rarely removes offensive or rude people, and the abused usher is often chastised theself for being rude. Rude people will always complain the usher was rude... which is almost never true in those situations. It's their first line of defense for their own nasty behavior. And unfortunately management will take their complaint at face value.
I had no idea people were drinking from mini-bottles of booze though! And puking? What - they can't wait to get smashed at the bar or hotel?"
People do arrive at the theater drunk. Their sometimes abusive behavior is also tolerated, and if they get sick (i.e., vomiting), it's treated as if it's some medical emergency that requires coddling. However, drinking from mini bottles of booze is certainly not common. That sounds more anecdotal rather than something that occurs regularly.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 9:53am
Also found the piece devastating.
I felt it pointed a large finger at producers, for either not having security at all, or not empowering FOH to be able to eject someone. The pandemic showed us airlines get their real authority because there can be consequences. Simply a fear of being scolded is not something many have any more.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 10:13am
For what it’s worth, I overheard one of the relevant higher-ups from one of the theatre owners talking about this article yesterday. It does seem like it’s being taken as a wake-up call by at least some of the people who need to hear it.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 10:16am
This really is not on the producers. It’s a landlord issue. Of course the producers don’t want to eject someone for behavior because that means lost revenue, and they’ll have input on late seating, but they do not control the ushers or house staff.
(and for clarity — I didn’t create that Google doc, it was being shared on social media and I picked up the link there. So thanks to whoever pasted the text!!!)
Updated On: 2/10/23 at 10:16 AM
Posted: 2/10/23 at 11:08am
What a sad read, but I’m not surprised by it at all. When I was at &Juliet last month, the audience completely ruined the entire show for me, and they certainly didn’t make it easy for the ushers.
The tween to the right of me kept coughing, sneezing, and blowing her nose (was clearly sick and of course wasn’t wearing a mask), talking to her cousin sitting to the right of her, then talking to her uncle who was sitting behind me to the left, crinkling candy wrappers - it was never ending for 2.5 hours. And that was only one person. To the left of me, and directly in front of me, two different middle-aged women taking their cell phones out and taking photos. In the center orchestra, a group of 7, and a group of 4, arguing mid show about a solo patron. The usher running over having to ask “what is going ON!”. Needless to say, it disrupted everyone around them, to no fault of the usher who was trying to de-escalate the situation.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 12:58pm
I noticed when I read the artice that given it mentioned participants were given promises of confidentiality, the article did a poor job of hiding the productions people ushered for. For example, it mentioned a "tourist favorite" where an usher had a problem because he would not readmit someone to the auditorium near the end of the first act because of safety concerns with an "effect" that ends the first act. Unless I'm missing something, that's pretty obviously referring to Phantom. Perhaps some of the participants felt the promised anonimity was not being provided and requested it be taken down?
Posted: 2/10/23 at 1:06pm
saxpower said: "Perhaps some of the participants felt the promised anonimity was not being provided and requested it be taken down?"
Well that is the problem with arbitrary redactions without any editorial explanation. The loser here ends up being Playbill as a good faith source for news about Broadway.
Updated On: 2/10/23 at 01:06 PM
Posted: 2/10/23 at 1:19pm
saxpower said: "I noticed when I read the artice that given it mentioned participants were given promises of confidentiality, the article did a poor job of hiding the productions people ushered for. For example, it mentioned a "tourist favorite" where an usher had a problem because he would not readmit someone to the auditorium near the end of the first act because of safety concerns with an "effect" that ends the first act. Unless I'm missing something, that's pretty obviously referring to Phantom. Perhaps some of the participants felt the promised anonimity was not being provided and requested it be taken down?"
And I thought it was pretty obviously referring to Harry Potter. So maybe it's not so obvious.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 1:39pm
Until patrons can be removed swiftly and immediately for the most blatant and obvious violations, there's really no point to any of this discussion. I'm not sure why it can be done at the Alamo Drafthouse where I pay less than 12$ a ticket but not a broadway show where we pay 200$ a ticket.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 2:44pm
KJisgroovy said: "Until patrons can be removed swiftly and immediately for the most blatant and obvious violations, there's really no point to any of this discussion. I'm not sure why it can be done at the Alamo Drafthouse where I pay less than 12$ a ticket but not a broadway show where we pay 200$ a ticket."
I think you’re on to something, but in reverse - the sense of entitlement is greater when there’s more money involved.
Posted: 2/10/23 at 3:42pm
I was just reading an article about the Edinburgh Scotland Playhouse in Scotland, where the manager is pleading with the public to refrain from abusing his staff - who, apparently, have been punched, spat upon, and are afraid to come to work. It seems like this is a worldwide problem, perhaps related to post-Covid matters or other anti-social behaviors?
Posted: 2/10/23 at 3:49pm
Hairspray0901 said: "What a sad read, but I’m not surprised by it at all. When I was at &Juliet last month, the audience completely ruined the entire show for me, and they certainly didn’t make it easy for the ushers.
The tween to the right of me kept coughing, sneezing, and blowing her nose (was clearly sick and of course wasn’t wearing a mask), talking to her cousin sitting to the right of her, then talking to her uncle who was sitting behind me to the left, crinkling candy wrappers - it was never ending for 2.5 hours. And that was only one person. To the left of me, and directly in front of me, two different middle-aged women taking their cell phones out and taking photos. In the center orchestra, a group of 7, and a group of 4, arguing mid show about a solo patron. The usher running over having to ask “what is going ON!”. Needless to say, it disrupted everyone around them, to no fault of the usher who was trying to de-escalate the situation."
And just how did you know their relationships? How did you know one was a cousin and one was an uncle?
Posted: 2/10/23 at 4:08pm
Highland Guy said: "Hairspray0901 said: "What a sad read, but I’m not surprised by it at all. When I was at &Juliet last month, the audience completely ruined the entire show for me, and they certainly didn’t make it easy for the ushers.
The tween to the right of me kept coughing, sneezing, and blowing her nose (was clearly sick and of course wasn’t wearing a mask), talking to her cousin sitting to the right of her, then talking to her uncle who was sitting behind me to the left, crinkling candy wrappers - it was never ending for 2.5 hours. And that was only one person. To the left of me, and directly in front of me, two different middle-aged women taking their cell phones out and taking photos. In the center orchestra, a group of 7, and a group of 4, arguing mid show about a solo patron. The usher running over having to ask “what is going ON!”. Needless to say, it disrupted everyone around them, to no fault of the usher who was trying to de-escalate the situation."
And just how did you know their relationships? How did you know one was a cousin and one was an uncle?"
LOL that's what you're focused on??
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