ushers gone bad: les miz 3/28 broadhurst theatre- Page 3

[gustof777]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 5:44pm

wow lizzie...just...wow

[Anti-Romanticist]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 7:21pm

First off to the person who started the thread, thanks for the heads up on the ushers at the Les Mis theater. My mother and I are going to see Les Mis next week, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the ushers have a good day when we go...

As for bad ushers, I've only been to one show on Broadway (that's Phantom of the Opera), but the usher seating us did scare me a little bit. She didn't really look like she wanted to be there. She didn't yell at anyone and I know she was just doing her job, but I couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 8:42pm

I didn't have bad experiences with the Broadhurst ushers. I got a bad vibe from most of them, but one of them was super nice and tried to seat all the SRO people.

[BDavis0092]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 8:48pm

I had not-so-nice ushers at Avenue Q. The ones in the mezz at least.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 8:52pm

best usher experience:

hairspray

15 minutes before the show

me and my friend took a picture of our selves and she demanded that we delete the picture because the theatre was in it and EVERYTHING in the theatre was copyrighted!

great start to my first broadway show ever

[jordangirl]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 8:59pm

In that usher's defense, most theatres make it extremely clear that no photography of any type is allowed in the theatre. That includes friends and family portraits. Take a picture of yourselves OUTside the theatre.

[BDavis0092]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 9:02pm

Welcome to Broadway ucjrdude.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 9:05pm

oh

second broadway show ever

the lion king

i was MOUTHING The opening words to "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE" and i was told if i didnt stop singing id be removed from the theatre.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 9:38pm

i was MOUTHING The opening words to "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE" and i was told if i didnt stop singing id be removed from the theatre.

- That is FRICKIN hilarious.

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 11:42pm

Too bad you weren't removed from the theatre...

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 11:43pm

i was MOUTHING The opening words to "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE" and i was told if i didnt stop singing id be removed from the theatre.

Maybe, as on this board, you carry an aura of annoying.

[mattonstage]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 12:50am

In over 20 years of theater-going, I guess I'm just extremely lucky, but I don't remember ever having a bad experience with any usher. Just a slightly embarrasing one. I heard another patron once say that a soap star, from a soap I watched was in the audience at a play I was seeing. I mentioned it to the usher, and at the top of her voice, she explained to me where exactly he was sitting. I slinked back to my seat and vowed never to ask ever again.

[Weez]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 6:14am

i was MOUTHING The opening words to "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE" and i was told if i didnt stop singing id be removed from the theatre.

That usher needs a transfer to the Gershwin, tbqf.

[AnnaLouise1986]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 4:39pm

I've been to three Broadway shows in my life. Count 'em, three. Living on the West Coast tends to put a strain on the big New York attendances, but each one (Journey's End, Spamalot, RENT) was sort of different.

For a little theatre like the Belasco, the lady who sat us in Orch BB was your typical old you-know-what. Another Shubert owned theatre, I imagine? I didn't dare ask for another Playbill (for an autograph for my friend in Australia who is a Dancy fan). I hadn't know the policies of that sort of thing before my vacation, I quickly learned then. Thankfully someone else left theirs on their seat and I just grabbed it. It wasn't particularly bad, but she was unnecessarily pushy with people she didn't need to be. She'd clearly met a few bad patrons and had learned to condition herself to the job.

In complete contrast, when I went to see Spamalot, a lovely black woman in the mezz was ushering, and she was kind, helpful, and gracious to everyone. I can't remember her name, but I can only say great things about her. She even made a comment on my Journey's End cap that I hadn't taken off (call it a little promo, someone has to do it), saying she loved the show. I watched her for about fifteen minutes and she appeared to treat everyone with dignity and respect. The only annoyance of the show was the 6'4" man who sat in front of me and somehow made my seating partial view.

Finally, RENT was an average experiences. I wasn't particularly impressed with the theatre, not just aesthetically but along with the staff, too, but it was OK. The usher, an older lady again, seated us in the wrong row (turns out we were three rows above), and given the steepness of the mezz/balc, it wasn't easy to maneuver around and step even higher. I can't call it a big deal because I know it happens every day, but it was pretty annoying.

I can't imagine actually getting pushed or cursed at by an usher, but I can see why their jobs can be so stressful. Nobody's perfect, no, but patrons and staff alike can both be at fault. I see it the same way I see being at a restaurant (and oh, I have horror stories about those) or on an airplane. Behave neutral. If they're inappropriately rude or inappropriate, they're in the fault, not you. And vice versa.

[Shakespearean]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 4:59pm

i was MOUTHING The opening words to "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE" and i was told if i didnt stop singing id be removed from the theatre.

Nobody complained when I sang along with Oh! Calcutta! but they did ask me to put my clothes back on...

[bandit964]

Posted: 4/11/07 at 11:41pm

"Yeah, the ushers at the Broadhurst are really strict. Most of my bad experiences were when I was sitting in the back of the mezzanine and the ushers spent the first fifteen minutes of the show talking about when they got to leave, or hung out in the aisle next to my seat the whole show, or walked up and down the aisles in the middle of the performance peering down each row for people with video cameras."

That was exactly my experience. And to Anti-Romanticist who is going to the show, the usher is a younger woman with black hair, and she plows down the aisle knocking everyone out of her way. She is not big, just pushy. I have nothing to say about the other ushers because i didnt see them. They could have been extremely nice. All other shows I had great experiences. Most ushers are very nice.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 12:40am

"I got yelled at for taking an extra playbill"

I always take a few extra Playbills.

Sometimes I ask and the ushers are more than willing to let me have some. And if there isn't any usher around I just grab a couple from where they are kept.

If an usher actually yelled at me for taking a few extras, I would complain to the manager immediately.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 12:43am

I usually take the ones on the aisles of the orchestra for extras. However, I will not disclose the amount I took from Chita Rivera's show. I don't know what I was thinking...

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 12:47am

"Maybe, as on this board, you carry an aura of annoying."

Pot, kettle.

[wickedfreak]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 1:01am

I was at phantom on 3/24 and before the show started tons of people were taking tons of pictures with flash of the set. The usher kept yelling "NO PICTURES!!" but no one would listen to him...it was funny.....yet sad at the same time

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 1:05am

Pot, kettle.

Hey, I only got yelled at by an usher once...

[etoile]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 2:59am

I'm with you, MattonStage. Never had a problem with an usher or anyone at a box office. We must either be doing something right or we're just lucky ones.

[StarUsher]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 1:00pm

I've been a house manager Off Broadway for about 7 years. There is no excuse for ushers/house managers that are rude for no reason. However, there are rules and regualtions that need to be upheld for everyone's safety and enjoyment (i.e. fire codes, no photography, no cell phones) And we don't want to be rude or strict about things like taking extra playbills but often patrons don't ask before grabbing. There have been a couple of times where we don't have extras to give because they delivery was late. It wouldn't be fair for someone to grab five extra and have some people not get any and/or sometimes we have them divided a certain way (i.e. ones with stuffers, ones without) and patrons don't know which pile to grab from. In short, I'm not justifying bad behavior by ushers, I have had a few experiences myself and I'm really good about theater etiquette, but being met with politeness and respect from those we serve really helps.

[Missy37]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 2:47pm

I saw Journey's End on Tuesday night. The usher wasn't rude to me but not overly nice! The two ushers that were seating people in my section were a blond, long blond hair and a hispanic woman. Does anyone else remember them? They did exhibit some odd behavoir. First I head them talking about how they didn't like the show, how it was dark an boring. Then One of them started talking about how she wanted to "beat" someone up. Very unprofessional!!! If you don't like the show, keep it to yourself. That is not the way to sell tickets!

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 4/12/07 at 5:11pm

Hahaa, Mary at the Hirschfeld. How I love that woman.