the EPITOME of tasteless audiences.....- Page 4

[LouW95]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:30pm

As I read the variety of rude audience postings, the common point here seems to be that rules are posted or announced but not enforced. The ushers and house managers must do more to make sure we all enjoy the show. They could stand on the sides without being a disturbance and watch for people who are breaking the rules and annoying others. As far as proper attire is concerned, clothes do make the man/woman and the theater is not a picnic or hayride.

[worrell4077]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:35pm

"They come here, they all come here. How do they find me?" That quote from the producers sums up my experiences at many shows, but three stick out more:

I went with my mom to see All Shook Up last wednesday, and the people next to me were obvious Elvis fans and during many of the songs especially Jailhouse Rock, they took it apon themselves to sing along with them. People pay money to here the people on stage sing, not audience members.

The one show that has constant audience rudeness is SPAMalot. I am a big Python fan, who has commited to memory many of their sketches and can say them off the top of my head, and when I first saw it, I held back the urge to recite the lines, but some jack@$$ took it apon himself to yell the lines when Curry, Azaria, Hyde-Pierce, or any one on the stage was holding a dramatic pause, which is just plain rude.

Then there was my first time seeing Wicked. I enjoyed myself during it and I laughed at Cheno's jokes and the jokes on the stage, but the guy next to me was laughing his @$$ at not really funny spots, so I just sat there thinking to myself what's so funny.

There's probably more but I can't think of anymore.
________________________________________________________________
"Where did you metriculate? Me-tric-u-late? It means where did you go to college?"
-Reefer Madness

[keggss23]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:37pm

Jeans are ok as long as you dress them up and they are not covered in holes. I am just floored when I go to the theater and people are wearing those stupid J.Lo sweatsuits. They might be in style right now (please let the fad end - quickly), but so inappropriate.

I agree, the ushers (at least the ones here in SD) do not enforce the rules. I hate when they seat late-comers during a number, I wish they would wait to seat them after the number or during a scene change.

[scooter38432]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:49pm

Please don't take ragging on Texas away from us.

Of course rude behavior in the theater is not exclusive to Texans, we certainly know that. It just wasn't surprising that the aforementioned rude people were from there.

Texas deserves whatever it gets for giving us the likes of our moron president and his crony, Tom DeLay.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:51pm

keggs I agree.......no holes, no fading. And as to late seating. I hate that, at RENT last week about 10 people came 15 minutes into the show...ridiculous.
In Europe, if you are not in your seat at the opening of the Opera, you cannot get in until the second act. We need to enforce that here.....there is nothing worse than a show starting and next thing you know, people are standing up in front of you to allow others to get by because they are late.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:54pm

Spamalot....I guess I was lucky on April 13.
I had feared going in that the 'Monty Pythoners' would be screaming all the words, etc.....but I do not remember one doing so.......in fact I think i was laughing so hard I annoyed people.
I've heard this can be a horrid show when the movie fans are there, but either they were not there that afternoon, or they behaved.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:56pm

hmmm, maybe we need to blame Mexico....after all they let us have Texas. Pretty smart of them when you think about it........

[AndiV]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 1:56pm

you had me until "Texas deserves whatever it gets for giving us the likes of our moron president and his crony, Tom DeLay"

but if that is the critera...let's blow up arkansas too! :)

and TN for giving us Gore (i'm from there...so tread lightly...tee hee)

all in all, rude audience members are rude where ever they are from...and i say let's corral them in arkansas before we light the fuse.

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 2:17pm

I was in the front row at DRS (lottery!) and a couple of numbers into the show I had to stand up to let a late person in. The Front Row!! So everyone in the theatre got to see the late guy. If it were me I'd be so embarrassed I wouldn't even try to come in until intermission. I had seen him earlier too, outside trying to scalp his tickets.

[ElTico68]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 2:18pm

At Patti LuPone's "Matters of the Heart" in Seattle, a lot of people started leaving DURING ACT 1, while she was singing. If you don't like the show (and it actually was a wonderful show), at least have the decency to wait until intermission. It was amazing the number of people getting up and walking out in the middle of a song.

Updated On: 4/26/05 at 02:18 PM

[FranziaRebel]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 2:22pm

At last a subject, albeit a sore one, about which I am an expert.

As a transplanted Yankee who has lived in Texas for 14 years, who loves the theater, I've had a lot of experience with this kind of audience member.

First, you may all be interested to know that it is possible to order "Texas the state of the arts" license plates when registering a vehicle here in the Lone start state.

Oh the Irony!

Second, as exasperating as Texans can be, especially to a Yankee, please know that there are better people here that the lousy audience members you encountered, Tom Delay, and GW would suggest.

Third, rude audience members are not exclusive to Texas. They're everywhere.

Fourth, give Texas theaters a little credit for trying. The Tony award winning Alley Theatre has an excellent pre curtain message that is an audio essay in what not to do during the performance. At Houston Grand Opera the General Manager himself very humorously explains the subtle points of theater etiquette.

Most people actually pay attention, but there are always those who don't.

The good news is that, believe it not Texas is great about promoting the arts to school children. There are performing arts high schools, annual theater competitions, and The Tommy Tune awards which are the high school equivalent of the Tony's.

So take some comfort in the fact that while their parents may not be the most desireable theater patrons work is being done to make sure that their children are.

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 4:58pm

Oh, this one time I was at Gem of the Ocean and Phylicia Rashad was performing beautifully. Anyways there was this guy sitting next to me, 300+ pounds, unshaven, reeked of booze and his veins were obviously indications of his heroine addiction. Anyways he's sitting there and he takes out a cough drop with the cellophane wrapping.

Needless to say it was loud.

I suddenly saw Rashads ears perk up. Then out of nowhere her eyes glow bright red, her hair sets on fire and she flies to the 300 pound man, lifts him into the air, breaks his neck, he dies instantly then she eats the body right onstage!!!!!

We all were very relieved that she didn't break character during her ordeal.

[Greekmusicalfan]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 5:20pm

Funny you mentioned latecomers ! In the performance of BOY FROM OZ I saw, Hugh started chatting to a couple of latecomers in row 5 or something and at the end of the show gave them FREE Cast recordings !!!! Had I known, I'd be late too and I was in front row so he couldn't miss me !!!!! LOL
As for a bad experience the one that comes to my mind is that idiot guy I had the misfortune of sitting behind of, who ruined THE PRODUCERS for me ! Believe it or not he was moving his head right and left for THE WHOLE SHOW !!! Towards the end, i tapped him gently and said " Excuse me but could you please stop moving your head, you are doing it for the whole show and I am trying to watch " He looked at me like he was offended and finally stopped, but I had already lost all my good disposition !

Take care

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 5:37pm

How does one properly reproach someone without becoming boorish?

I have tried the "I'm sorry but I can't hear the performance with you talking" line and it seems to work.

Point is, we shouldn't have to speak up like this.

I think the lyrics from Sondheim's "Instructions to the audience" ought to be reprinted in every theatre program.

[Forester]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 6:08pm

About 5 years ago, I took my baby sister to see Les Miserables for her birthday. I got us orchestra seats. It was also her first broadway show. Unfortunatley, the person sitting next to me decided that she was Eponine. I was not a happy campers and finally asked her if she was part of the production. She said no and I replied, "Good, can we keep it that way?""

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 6:43pm

oh my, no wonder she and Rashad divorced......I mean life was easier for him catching passes from Dan Fouts at Oregon, lololol

[ozdustgirl2]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 6:49pm

I have to agree with everybody, I dont really like it when people wear jeans to the theater either. My senior class last year was not the most well behaved, one of the guys kept taking pictures of the curtain when we were at WICKED, many others slept and a lot of others just talked to each other because they were not interested in watching the show, and being the theather lover that I am this really annoyed me, some even were changing seats with each other so they could talk.

[decotodd]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 9:02pm

Agreed about audience members arriving late. When I saw HAIRSPRAY and CHICAGO people arrived at least 15 minutes late and were seated during numbers. I was incredulous - first that the ushers were seating people so late, and in the case of CHICAGO that the patrons couldn't manage to get to the theater by 8pm on a SATURDAY. (I could understand maybe on a weeknight with rush hour and unpredictable traffic).

When I worked for the opera, the ushers wouldn't seat latecomers until a scene change or during an intermission. We had upsset patrons, but hey at least they yelled in the lobby not the auditorium. They could either use standing room or watch in a closed circuit in the lounge.

[DefyGravity23]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 11:05pm

People who wear jeans to theatre bother me as well. The only place I ever wear jeans to a theatre production is high school theatre. Community/college theatre I wear khakis or black pants and anything higher I usually wear a skirt. I might be dressier than most, but it just feels like an issue of respect for me. That doesn't mean that people who wear jeans don't have any respect. That's just how I feel personally. Plus, the amount of money I spend on the ticket seems to determine how nice I dress. I feel kinda weird spending 100 bucks on something and then just coming in whatever.

[loudasthehelliwant]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 11:18pm

Ha, props to you worrell for the quote from The Producers. Its so true!

So much about latecomers, so little about early leavers?!

I feel I needs must add my two cents.

I have been seated near some pretty rude people (first time I saw Phantom of the Opera, not only did the guy in front of me have a cell phone that rang during the performance, but he ANSWERED IT and started talking), but the thing that constantly plagues me and follows me to whatever theatre I go to is early leavers.

First of all, there are those who hate the show so much they leave in the middle. This was true to a large extent when I saw Rent in a very small community. That is extremely rude, and it annoys me a lot. But the ones that annoy me even more, are the ones who don't leave early b/c they don't like it...

There is this group of middle-aged to elderly people who's goal in life is to be the first ones to their cars. They find in their playbills the VERY LAST SONG, and the instant it starts they RUSH out of the theatre (or just leave during curtain call, 'cause its a good policy to take w/o giving back), so that they can have the satisfaction of knowing that they were out of there before everyone else was. OH MY GOD.

This happened during The Producers. A couple of people left during the show b/c they didn't like it, but most people stayed and it was a good crowd. The MINUTE Prisoners of Love came on, this whole row of people STAND UP and start exiting the theatre. It REALLY annoyed me.

I've seen this quite a few times in the theatre, it shocks me every time. You can't stay for the last 5 minutes?!?!?!?!?! How petty can you BE?!?!?! You WILL get home, and there's nothing so wonderful about being the first ones in your car! Plus, the actors have worked hard to put on a show for you!!!! You can't stay and clap for them?!?!?!

Possibly the worst time this happened though was during Sunset Boulevard. It was a round theatre. The actors use the aisles for all exits and entrances. Curtain call starts, and this couple got up when it started, and made everyone stand up so they could get past (not so much a problem, since there was actually a well-deserved standing ovation anyway, but obnoxious, nonetheless). They're making their way up the aisle to exit the theatre, just as the lead actor and actress are on stage receiving their deserved standing ovation. They turn around and they're all happy and everything 'cause they did a great show and got a standing ovation and everything and they're not looking and they're runnning down they're exit... and they slam right into the people using the same exit to leave early! Everyone was okay, and no one was hurt. But, if I were the actors I'd be EXTREMELY annoyed to say the LEAST, and if I were the people... I don't think I could ever recover from the embarrassment. However, the couple seemed very offended that the actors had the audacity to exit when they did (you know, if the actors ran out of the theatre in their costumes, THEY might beat them to their cars! :-O) and acted like it was the actors fault...

I hate those people who do that. *is ANNOYED*

[TGIF]

Posted: 4/26/05 at 11:23pm

Nothing will ever compare to having a very large, scary stranger put his arm around you during a show.

*cries*

[hrh_annette]

Posted: 4/27/05 at 12:59am

justme2...

It was Sonia, though I did offer to switch...brave woman that Sonia.

Do you remeber the rude woman at Tallulah with Kathleen Turner? We had box seats and this woman comes in and rearranges the chairs so she has most of the box to herself and then proceed to lean. Justme2 and I were relegated to a small back corner of the box. Luckily because of the way the box was situated we ended up having a slightly better view than the box hog. And Ms. Turner was amazing.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 4/27/05 at 1:18am

I think that right before the final number, the ushers shouldn't let anyone out of the theater. Make the people stand there looking like losers at the door. It'll only take a few weeks before people start to learn.

I remember reading a quote from some actress saying couldn't understand why people would want to get back to New Jersey 3 minutes earlier.

Posted: 4/27/05 at 3:59am

ok, while I personally like to dress nice for the theater, there seems to be a flaw in the logic presented here: not everyone paid a hundred bucks to be there! discounts, student tickets, rush, standing room, rear mezz, front mezz... a good number of people will have paid 20, 25, 45 or 65 and black jeans will be perfectly aligned with the price they paid to be there. I dont think ive ever seen someone do standing room in a dress! Unless theyre wearing a giant hat or a particularly loud material I dont mind people dressing down. I do see the point that those who dress down might be more likely to do other rude things.

I dont think ive ever had a really terrible audience experience that would compare to ones mentioned here. Just expected things, like extra amounts of kids at Beauty & The Beast.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 4/27/05 at 10:16am

Yeah, a couple more notes on the dress. What I've learned to do is I have a lot of theatre shirts which I go to almost every show wearing one, either the right shirt if I'm seeing a favorite show again, or one of the shirts to a new show. If I'm seeing Rent and wearing a Rent shirt(last night) how can anyone say I'm dressed innappropriately?

Also, to an extent, the show and theatre plays a part in my opinion. When I see a show like Rent or Avenue Q I want to laugh at people dressed up, it just doesn't seem appropriate. But shows like Phantom, Wicked, in bigger theatres, it makes more sense.