Why do people in the audience think they can sing during a show?- Page 3

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:51pm

For all y'all talkers up in here. It's time to keep it down right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8UOEmxzXRY

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:53pm

Several years ago, at a performance of Sweet Charity, I sat next to a woman who: a. arrived late; b. cell phone rang; c. cell phone rang again; d. cell phone rang yet again; e. ending up going home with a broken cell phone and a broken nail.

I got into a huge amount of trouble and the house management called the police (I walked away before they arrived), so I warn those who attempt to grab the offending phone. I was very polite the first time the phone rang and nicely asked the woman to please turn her phone off. She gave me a look that totally infuriated me, but I remained cool. The second time, I asked again politely, but did say that if she didn't turn her phone off, I would offer to turn it off for her.

People just need to learn: TURN OFF YOUR PHONES. DO NOT MUTE THEM. DO NOT REPLY TO TEXTS. TURN THEM OFF. PERIOD! (The one exception is doctors who are forced to be on call and should be seated on the aisle and have their phones on vibrate only. They should not respond to any of the calls/texts at their seat, but if their phone does vibrate, should quickly walk to the back of the theater and determine if they need to leave or return to their seat. Returning to one's seat should be done graciously at a point in performance when either there is a lot of applause, laughter, or moment where it will be less intrusive.)

The very - and I mean very - occasional comment to the person sitting next to you, is okay, but it needs to be extremely short and very quiet. It should function more like a bookmark to be explored at intermission or after the show. NOT A DISCUSSION WHILE THE PERFORMANCE IS IN PROGRESS.

It is also okay to applaud loudly - within reason - shout bravo, or even "call out" if it's an emotional gut reaction to the piece and is respectfully done at appropriate moments in the action.

People have not paid good money to see/hear the audience. If you are meant to sing in a Broadway theater, you better be on stage, or asked by an actor as a part of the performance. PERIOD! NO ANDS, IFS, OR BUTS!!!!

Updated On: 3/16/10 at 07:53 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:57pm

I'll let you in on a little secret.

If you are standing behind some jag off who starts ragging on a cashier, SPEAK UP!

I do, and almost always get a great discount, just for saying the things the employee couldn't say to the customer.

It's a great way to make friends and take out your aggressions on a total stranger.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/16/10 at 7:57pm

Maybe I'll just speak to everyone around me before the show starts...and that way everyone knows the area around me is a "no sing-a-long zone".

I sorta did that once at intermission. It worked.

[Trainwreck]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 3:34am

TheatreDiva90016,

I stood up for a cashier once and got a discount too. I was too nice to take advantage of it.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 4:06am

I saw a lot of community theatre as a kid and I didn't understand why I wasn't allowed to sing along. The people onstage were singing. Why couldn't I? My mom explained it by saying "the difference is that no one is paying to hear you sing." Even as a child that made sense to me. It's a shame that some adults don't get it.

[winston89]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 4:37am

I was at a performance of South Pacific. There was a guy that was asleep and snoring during the overture (I think he might have been snoring in the same key as the brass section :) but prior to me being able to say something, the usher saw me, and saw that I was looking at the guy and took care of it for me.

I also do think that when it comes to theatre there are people who aren't careful about what they say with regards to talking about the show in the theatre like during intermission etc. Somethings can be just downright hurtful and flat out wrong to say.

For example, there was a performance of Rent that I attended where these two couples from Texas were not only smoking inside the lobby but were mocking the show for having too much "gay ****". There was the time that the rodeo was going on at MSG and and some cowboy mentioned to their kids that I was just some " fag going to see a fag show." I didn't feel insluted that he called me that only because I am straight. I felt insulted by the fact that he was just using general bigoted speech.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 6:56am

"I got into a huge amount of trouble and the house management called the police (I walked away before they arrived), so I warn those who attempt to grab the offending phone."

As well you should. Attempting to take someone else's property away from them is illegal and even ruder than the idiot using the phone. I in no way condone the use of phones in a theater in any way, but taking away someone's property simply because you're annoyed crosses the line. Let management deal with it.

As to why some people are timid about speaking up (which I whole-heartedly believe in) - here's one reason:
stabbed for complaining about cel phone use at the movies

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 7:58am

There is a regular Broadway theatergoer (I've been stuck in front of him twice about a year apart) that feels the need to react to every line in the show.

He will grunt, groan, go "oooooh!" at sarcastic dialogue and laugh as boisterously as possible to let everyone around him know he's following the show and enjoying it more than you are. The woman he goes with finds it utterly charming. My glares went unnoticed (yes, I should have said something).

Anyone else had the kind fortune of meeting this guy? 6'2", 230, dirty blonde hair, goatee?

[D2]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 8:10am

You have his stats?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 10:11am

Oh yeah, the meat thermometer? That stuff makes the news because it IS news. Just like plane crashes. Every day someone in a movie theater gets shushed without incident, just like thousands of planes take off and land without incident as well.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 11:34am

And many people are afraid to fly, too. My link was merely meant to explain why, amongst other reasons, like simple shyness, some people are afraid to speak up. It wasn't a suggestion that people not speak up. I definitely believe that they should have a word with an audience member who is distracting others. I cam understand why many don't, though. I also strongly don't believe they should physically interact in any way with another patron, by trying to take away or break someone else's phone.

The thing that gets me about that story I linked to? Where the hell did they get a meat thermometer?

[Trainwreck]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 12:10pm

I agree that ripping a phone out of somebody's hand is over the line as far as what to take into your own hands. Tell them to shush or turn the phone off. If they don't, tell them again. If that doesn't work, tell somebody on staff to take care of it. Don't rip a phone out of somebody's hands and break their nails. I agree it's more rude than their texting or whatever.

[Weez]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 12:40pm

In my experience, the audience members who are obnoxious enough to talk/sing/use a phone during a performance are the audience members who are obnoxious enough to make a big deal out of it if you ask them to be quiet. I freely admit to being a wuss who doesn't want to get into something, plus I don't like missing any of a show and I worry that disagreements will cause that to happen, so I only say something when they're being UNBEARABLY awful. Which is, according to my maths, like... 1.8% of the time. And it's not like I'm doing a loud "SSSSSHHHHH!!!!!" accompanied by a death glare, it's simply a low but firm "please be quiet", but whenever I do speak up, I ALWAYS get the person who kicks up a stink in reply. Boo. Maybe I should be a lot ruder to them.

Updated On: 3/17/10 at 12:40 PM

[Upland]

Posted: 3/17/10 at 7:50pm

I have a friend who got into a tangle with a rude patron at Phantom. She actually succeeded in getting the person kicked out of the theater!