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

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

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.

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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.

"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

You have his stats?

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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?

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.

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