so rude....and this is why sondheim shows don't do well :-(((- Page 2

[WestVillage]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:03pm

"I don't see how someone could possibly leave this electrifying, highly entertaining and highly moving new production."

Easy answer ... not everyone finds this production electrifying, highly entertaining and highly moving. I found it dull, lackluster and emotionless.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:03pm

What I don't get is how people can spend a lot of money to get these tickets and throw it all away by leaving the show. I sat through Lestat for crying out loud!

[WestVillage]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:08pm

If you're not enjoying the show, why torture yourself and stay just because you spent money on it? If you're going to look at the evening as a waste of money anyway, what difference does it make when you decide to call it a night?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:09pm

I would never walk out of a show even if it did stink.

I got pretty darn fidgety during 110 in the Shade but I stuck it out cuz, dammit, it's Audra McDonald.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:16pm

If I sat through TABOO and DROWNING CROW, anything else is a laugh...

I always stay because you never know--the most extraordinary moment can come from the unlikeliest of places.

Just think if you had been in the audience of CALL ME MADAM the day Ethel threw out the drunk guy and you left before that happened...you would have missed what would have been MY favorite theatre moment and it had nothing to do with Sally Adams.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:19pm

"You sure that wasn't Baayork Lee?"

I could imagine her marching backstage to tell Laurie Gamache that she was no Donna McKechnie, but this man's facial hair was darker than Baayork's.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:23pm

Now THAT was funny...

[bk]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:42pm

"Noone in their right mind should walk out of a Sondheim show. Not just out of respect, but out of stupidity. Some may not like his work, but noone should argue the fact that he has created many brilliant shows for many years. People do have their own opinions, but walking out in the middle of a show is uncalled for...in less of course it is Hairspray. (Sorry, just my opinion) :)"

Probably not a good idea to talk about audience ignorance while continuously using "noone" for "no one" - I mean, I know we live in a very lazy world, but really, you're only saving a space :). Also, it's not "in less" it's "unless."

I, too, tend to stick it out, even with stinkers. I can tell you the closest I came (and I really, REALLY wanted to) was with Cyrano The Musical (the one in the 90s from Denmark or wherever) - I couldn't leave because the producers knew I was there and wanted me to record the show, so I had to stick it out - it was HARD, especially when the nuns came out and started singing their little ditty about Cyrano.

I have walked out of a couple of shows in LA, at one particular venue, but I was VERY subtle about it.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:45pm

Unofficial poll:

Would you rather have someone walk out of a performance or fall asleep during a performance?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:46pm

I like plenty of Sondheim but I've always found Sunday to be a snoozer.

[blaxx]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:48pm

Such a shame they didn't stay to "finish the hat."

Uhh, the OP said they left during Children and Art, so they did stay for FinishINg the Hat.

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:50pm

It depends if they snore, goth.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:51pm

"If I sat through TABOO and DROWNING CROW, anything else is a laugh..."

I'm laughing now, because I could have watched TABOO every night!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:51pm

Everybody's forgetting one basic thing:

This was a Roundabout production. When was the last time a Roundabout production was anything other than dull?

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:52pm

"Jane2, I adore and salute you !"

Hey, thanks!

[futurebroadwaystar1]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 4:55pm

When Brooklyn was in ATL, a group of 20-30 people as well as a couple others got up and left in the middle of "Raven". Granted the performance wasn't great, but it sucks to see about half the audience leave in the middle of a song.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:01pm

I wish you could have watched it for me, Jane. Thank god it was free. But it had three strikes against it going in: I don't like rock musicals, I don't like British musicals and I don't like drag...which means I'll never get that 10th punch on my gay card for a free turkey burger from The Dish.

[Jane2]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:05pm

But how about Raul's Petrified?

[wickedfan11]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:10pm

at RENT last week in Baltimore, these people right next to me just left in the middle of Out Tonight. it was very rude

[stagescreen]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:14pm

It isn't rude to leave in the middle of a performance. However, common courtesy (and one would think etiquette or tact would have something to do with it) - would lead you to believe that you make a quiet break for the lobby during applause/scene change - not during a quiet number or when it would be most conspicuous.

I'll admit, I've walked out of a few shows before (I think I walked out of 3 or 4 shows last year alone, and so far only 1 show in 2008 -- but I see several hundred shows on average a year...)

Not every play/musical is everybody's cup of tea. Unfortunately, some people make a fuss about it when they leave, and it's really insulting to the performers. Personally, leaving a show should not cause any more disturbance than if you had to get up to go to the bathroom.

I remember the first time I saw SWEENEY TODD on stage...it was in a production in New Orleans with a 35 piece orchestra and an amazing first-rate cast, and about 1/4 of the audience (in a 1000 seat theater) walked out. This was about 15 years ago, and people were blatantly making comments back at the stage, storming out in a huff, and causing a scene. Some people did leave quietly, but those brave performers didn't flinch. Some people just don't get art. It's a shame because I find Sondheim to be rewarding, no matter if it's the original production or a dramatic reinterpretation. Years later, as the box office manager of the same theater, I still never saw as vitriolic a reaction to any of our shows as what happened during SWEENEY. That's also why we haven't done SWEENEY since. And why some regional/community theaters keep doing the classics of the canon -- they can't afford to have walk-outs/offend their subscriber base.

Oh, and Gothampc...I'd rather someone leave (inconspicuously) than fall asleep. Usually, the ones who fall asleep (always right next to me...for some reason) tend to snore. I hate when people snore in the theater...then it steals away from the performance.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:22pm

"I hate when people snore in the theater...then it steals away from the performance."

I went to a community theater production of "A Christmas Carol" once. There were more people onstage than in the audience. The mother of the kid playing Tiny Tim was there and she fell asleep and began to snore. I often wonder how messed up that kid must be today.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:25pm

I thought Raul's talent shone through the material, but I don't see shows to watch people sing--I want those numbers PERFORMED. Euan Morton proved his talent as well, but I'd rather see them in ANYTHING else.

[stagescreen]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:26pm

But you can't tell me that every parent enjoys watching their kids at "ballet recitals" -- ugh...I can remember seeing my dad roll his eyes at some shows I did. At least he showed up!

But I'm not the worse for wear because he didn't like some of the shows.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:32pm

I never invited my folks to stuff they'd hate...so they were spared OEDIPUS AT COLONUS, CYRANO and DARK OF THE MOON.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 3/13/08 at 5:44pm

Regardless of one's feelings about a show, don't leave during a song. It's just rude, plain and simple.