They sell freaking candy. And someone correct me if I am wrong... Wasn't the Music Box owned by Irving Berlin at some point and declared a landmark? I thought they had a strict no food or drink policy? I might be wrong and too tired to look it up.
Should be illegal too, but try enforcing it. It is getting to the point I don't even want to go to the theater anymore. So tired of going and you get people eating, texting, taking pictures, and talking. I am sick of it. It has gotten so bad. And the fact that the theaters are allowing it is unexceptable.
"Actually, the use of cell phones in the theater is illegal in NYC. Just no one enforces it."
I can't remember if it was at Beautiful or Bullets Over Broadway this past week, but an usher told someone in the mezzanine that she couldn't take a picture of the stage. She DID tell her that she was free to take pictures of each other, the walls, chandeliers, anything BUT the stage since it was copyrighted. I was in disbelief. I couldn't imagine an usher encouraging theatre photos.
Also, I had a question about the law on cell phone use. Does that count the people who turn on their phones during intermission? I've got no problem with that as long as they're not snapping photos and they get turned back off before the 2nd act starts.
I sympathize with the food problem, as I've experienced it several times at the theatre. If only one could confine one's ingestion to peppermint drops!
At the off-Broadway presentation of Once, people were imbibing beer in the row ahead of me. The smell of it was overwhelming. Maybe I should have joined them, though, to help make the show onstage more bearable. Except that would have required a keg, and what's more, I don't drink the stuff anyway.
At a Fringe Festival show, the young fellow beside me opened up a bag of Planters peanuts and started popping them into his mouth. I had never before realized how horrible that smell could be.
I don't think producers are doing enough to battle these problems. All they care is about money. And until customers do something about it and send a message it will all get worst.
I hate rude audience members. Seriously, nothing worse. I took my boyfriend to see Wicked a few months ago. It was his first time seeing it. And the two guys behind us sang EVERY song. They weren't loud but they were loud enough for us to hear them. I kept looking back and giving them the death stare.
What really pissed me off was hearing their awful singing voices while they were crying during For Good.
I did tell SHN in San Francisco that it was hypocritical of them to discourage photography in a theatre and yet on their website they auto populate Instagram photos with the #shnsf hashtag, many of which were taken during shows. They said it was a good point and they'd look into it, but I'm skeptical.
SHN also offers free wifi at all its theaters, though I think the during-show phone use there seems way less annoying than it is on New York.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
Very sad. They are sending such a mixed message. Shows you they don't care about art or culture. Just about money. Hopefully Lady Day and Hedwig tomorrow are more adult and theater savvy audience experiences.
Wait a minute. Since when is someone allowed to eat in the theatre? At intermission I can understand, but during the performance?!? I can understand your frustration.
Edit: Okay, I just read the post saying that it has been allowed for the past 20 years, but still I find that very inappropriate.
Updated On: 6/27/14 at 04:36 PM
lol yay another thread about terrible audience behavior and the dozens of suggestions to fix it, which will include, among other ideas, confiscating personal belongings and installing cell phone blockers.