Bad Theater Behavior

[PThespian]

Phantom4ever said: "PThespian said: "
You really lucked out at Phantom. 
I work there quite a bit, and it is one of the hardest shows to work because of the constant cellphones and cameras. This is especially true up in the mezzanine. 
The vast majority of audience members up there either don't speak English (making it hard to explain to them that phones and cameras are not allowed) or kids in school groups who don't really want to be there and can't live without their phones. 
It is a constant battle there. 

That was my 61st time seeing Phantom at the Majestic (I know I know that's against the mean-girl vibe of this board but who cares), so I've seen it all. Any time I sit in the front mezz, I get annoyed by foreign tourists who won't shut up and who won't stop translating. And in the rear mezz, it's even worse because of the school groups, who carry on conversations like they're in a lunchroom. Many times I've gotten up at intermission and cursed out an entire group of kids, their chaperones, and the ushers. So I won't be sitting in the mezz of Phantom for a while.  I do take issue with you claiming that the foreign tourists don't speak English.......just because they speak another language does not mean they can't understand English.  I think that's a decidedly American view of bilingualism that is seen far too much on this board. 

I am fully cognizant of the fact that just because one is a foreigner doesn't mean that you don't speak English. 

However the Majestic used to be my theater  I worked Phantom for over two years and still fill in there two or three times a month  

I promise you I have seen it more than 61 times and interacted with its audiences more than you have.  

I love it when there is a foreign audience member who speaks English. It makes my life much easier.  

However more often than not I am left with completely blank stares that contain a mix of terror and confusion in the eyes when I do something as simple as trying to explain where there seat is, not to put programs on the ledge, where the bathrooms are, not to take pictures, etc  

Most of the time their response is "Spanish?", "Italian?", etc or they start trying to figure out together what I just said.  Why? Because they are foreign tourists who don't speak English  

There is an usher who works there who is from China. I explained to this Chinese patron one night where the woman's room is. She went up to the usher and told her I said she couldn't use the bathroom. She didn't understand me. Why? Because she's a foreign tourist who doesn't speak English.

On numerous occasions I have had to step in front of people's cameras to stop them from taking pictures after security makes the "No more photos" announcent at the end of the show. Many people don't undrrstand it. Why? Because they are foreigners who don't speak English.

When I work there it is a struggle to communicate with patrons about simple things. Many think the show is over at intermission. Many want to know how long the show is. Many of them struggle to ask coherent questions about these things (so I can understand what they are asking) and struggle to understand my response. Why?  Because they are foreigners who don't speak English.  

 

I am bilingual English-French (I lived in France when I was in high school). You cannot imagine how grateful French speaking patrons are to be able to communicate with me in French, and I am happy to do so with them.

i wish I spoke more languages, but I don't. I have to struggle with everyone else.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that all foreign tourists don't speak English. I did mean to imply that that is the case with the vast majority of them that come to see Phantom. Trust me on that.  

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

 

"

 

[schubox]

PThespian said: "There was a bus from Martha's Vineyard that came late to SOR on Saturday. 

They knew it was a 730 curtain, but they got stuck in traffic. 

 

"

Ah okay. It was really distracting. It seemed like after every song at the beginning a huge crowd of people rushed in

[VintageSnarker]

I went to see a concert last night and had the misfortune of being seated next to someone who would not put away his phone. He mostly used it to check his program when a new performer would come out but also just to browse the web and send texts. I know because I started looking over in the hopes that it would shame him, but it didn't. My trouble last night was that we were in the back row in the corner, so aside from his seatmate, I was the only one really being bothered. 

[Phantom4ever]

People not understanding and/or ignoring ushers happens all the time regardless of the language barrier. Once again, just because they didn't understand YOU or ignored YOU does not mean they don't understand English. There are plenty of Americans at every show I go to who sit in the wrong seats, don't understand what the usher said about where to sit, etc. Why? Because they are clueless people and sometimes ushers rattle off the directions too fast.

 

[PThespian]

Thank you for informing me of how people behave and interact with ushers. 

After 26 years of ushering on Broadway, and dealing with natives and foreigners alike, it is about time that someone explains to me what goes on at the theater. 

[Phantom4ever]

After 26 years you should be able to have a discussion about it still without getting passive aggressive and sarcastic.  

[mailhandler777]

Saturday night at If/Then in Philly. Young couple aside of me dressed super nice on their phones the whole show. Hers was dim but his was bright. Also talked after every song began. I knee'd him a few times to get him to shut up and at least flip his phone with the screen down while it was on his lap. About 30 minutes left in the show they are still talking and on their phones. I finally look over at his to see what he was doing. Here he was googling the plot of the show. I know it's a confusing show but just maybe they would have followed along better had they not been texting(or whatever they were doing) and talking the whole freaking show.

[Anakela]

I also blame the social media for shows, for RT and encouraging stuff like this, for some of this behavior that we encounter at shows:

https://twitter.com/alrisa/status/748641357690855424

(I saw this tweet because Shuffle Along's official Twitter account RT it.)

[sharilynj]

Anakela said: "I also blame the social media for shows, for RT and encouraging stuff like this, for some of this behavior that we encounter at shows:

https://twitter.com/alrisa/status/748641357690855424

(I saw this tweet because Shuffle Along's official Twitter account RT it.)

 

"

Wow, that broad's a piece of work. She claims to be a megafan of Audra but is proud to ruin other people's opportunity to hear her sing. Good job, honey. Also, guess the show's social media person doesn't GAF now that they're closing. "Screw it, RT all the things."

[quizking101]

My father sat on his laptop through the ENTIRE She Loves Me livestream tonight...

Seriously.

The nerve.

[hes16]

Someone brought pizza into Hamilton 3 days ago. David Korins responded to the person on Instagram and said that it's funny that she brought it in, but I just think that's rude to be honest. 

[Jane2]

^ I'm wondering how she got in the door, let alone shown to her seat, with pizza.

[ClumsyDude15]

I've seen some weird and crazy things in audiences, but tonight was a definite first. I won the lotto for Book of Mormon - a single ticket for myself, and was placed along side another single on the end of the front row. The lady in the seat next to me upon sitting down pulled out a few sketches and those artsy oil crayons and began to fill in a flower she had drawn. I began to wonder if she was going to be coloring the entire show, but little did I know what she was going to do. Just as the show was about to begin, the lady pulled out a blank sheet of paper keeping her oil crayons on her lap and as Hello was happening she began to sketch. At first, I thought she was sketching the performers, only to find she was sketching the conductor. As time went on, the lady kept leaning on the curtained off bar in front us to get a better look at him. To say the least, it was very distracting not only to the cast, myself and others around me, but the conductor who was conducting. At the end of Turn It Off, the house manager approached her and told her to stop as it was distracting. The lady in question "stopped" in the sense that she was paying more attention and not causing as much of a distraction but sketched every so often. 

As the lights came up on intermission, the lady bolted with her bulky backpack and I wasn't sure if she'd be coming back. The lovely and sweet house manager of the O'Neill was waiting for the lady to come back so she could offer her a seat further back so she could continue to sketch without distracting. The lady didn't return until just before the lights went down on Act Two, but the house manager (who left just before this) came back down and offered her the option - the lady opting to stay in her seat and not sketch, but she wasn't happy about it. While she seemed "upset" over all, she had moments where she still seemed to be enjoying herself, but it was perhaps one of the oddest things I've seen. 

According to the house manager, she's done this at other shows and a person in the cast recognized her from having sat next to her at another show where she did this. For what it's worth, she had some keen Jack Dawson a la Titanic skills with her sketching, but yeah - not the time nor the place. 

[Marianne2]

^ That is odd.

Last Sunday I went to see a community theater production of Into the Woods.  Was an odd experience because there ended up only being 25 of us in the audience. The theater can seat about 300. There was also no usher as we could sit wherever we wanted. Of course an announcement was made of no phones or recordings. And some guy not sitting close to me did it anyway.  Actually,  he only recorded the parts with Cinderella because he must have been there for that actress. I noticed his phone was away when she wasn't on stage.  But, had I ended up behind him, I,don't know what I would have done. The people who founded the group were on stage.  And the audience was so small it would have been a huge disturbance if it escalated.

[Sadlad]

I'm not sure whether this qualifies as "bad behavior" just unusual, but at a showing of Something Rotten a few weeks ago a women walks in with a large service dog, who proceeds to have the dog sit on her lap. I understand the necessity of why some people need a service dog and the women was seated on the aisle, but what made it somewhat bizarre was the dog didn't hang its neck on side of the aisle, but on the inside between the lady and a bemused older lady next to her.........I should add I never heard a peep out of the dog 

[jordangirl]

A couple of times come to mind...

* A friend and I went to see 110 when it was at Studio 54. I'd rushed it, so we were in the center mezz, which was fine. BUT... About 5 minutes into Act 1, there were some people on the side who I swear decided to make the picnic scene all-inclusive as they whipped out PLATES and SILVERWARE and started dishing up food!

*The same friend and I once, after losing a couple of lotteries (back when they were all live and you could skip from one to another), went to see if BY CHANCE there were and SRO tickets left for Spamalot. There were, and we were totally happy to stand and see it. Well, there were 4 people who had the spots next to ours who were NOT so happy to stand, and the moment the lights began to dim they hopped around to the 4 empty seats right in front of us. About 30 seconds later, the people with the tickets (admittedly for coat check they should have planned ahead a little more, but they WERE in the theatre) showed up so the others had to slink back to their standing spots under the glare of the usher. About halfway through the first act, the same usher came over during applause and escorted my friend and me to AMAZING side orchestra seats in the second or third row - but made it abundantly clear that the 4 early movers were NOT invited.

* One night in one of the extra quiet moments at The Vertical Hour, a cell phone went off. You could hear the woman whose phone it was go "Oh f#^%!" but she proceeded to ANSWER the phone in a half-whisper going "I can't talk. I'm in the theatre." Julianne and Bill just glared in her direction from stage.

[cynthiastarlight]

At Intermission I was attempting to go to the Ladies Room and had to move past a woman who refused to let me pass by her in the row of seats. She wouldn't move her legs or stand up. Our conversation: "You aren't going to let me pass by you?" Her: No." Me: "Well I need to go by you." Her:"I don't know why. I don't know where you think you are going!" Me: Laughing. "That makes a lot of sense" as I push by her legs.

[AC126748]

I saw The Rose Tattoo in Williamstown last weekend. The performance I attended was sold out and the only seat I could get was in the last row of the second balcony. In the front row of the balcony, there were a ton of very young kids (like, 5 or 6 years old). I am pretty sure they were connected to the children who were acting in the production. Basically, more than half the row was composed on these kids and their family (parents and grandparents, I would assume).

Putting aside the fact that this play, which is almost entirely about sex, is beyond inappropriate for children on that age, both the kids and the adults were horribly behaved. Understandably, the kids didn't have much idea of what was going on -- but the adults were loudly explaining the plot to them during the performance. They inappropriately made noise when someone they knew came out on stage. And they passed noisy snacks throughout the performance. 

Basically, they treated the performance like it was community theater, not a professional production starring an Oscar winner that people paid a lot of money to see. I would have said something if I wasn't seated too far away to get their attention, but I couldn't believe that no one seated closer did anything. I was able to move to a better seat at intermission, but I can only imagine that this nonsense continued through the second act as well.

 

[Broadwayhunk]

Next, we'll have a full report by Paul Blart, the security guard.

[flyinghighwithwicked]

I've been in the city this summer and have been able to see a great deal of shows.  I have been abhorred by the way people have acted.  I don't think there has been a single performance that I have seen where someone hasn't done something that took my attention from the performance.  I think the most irritating thing is latecomers, but honorable mentions go to talkers, those who sing along (always conveniently seated directly behind me), those who seem to think the cell phone rule doesn't apply to them, and even the woman four rows behind me at Aladdin taking FLASH photography during 'A Whole New World'.  I have seen Wicked a large number of times, and I permanently associate Thank Goodness with the smell of alcohol, the sound of crinkling candy wrappers, dozens of people walking in late, and the coughing/rustling of audience members around me.

[VintageSnarker]

Manspreading. I am so over it.

[sydney16]

I've luckily never experienced really terrible theatre behavior, but when I saw Something Rotten it was pretty annoying when the guy sitting next to me decided to say (at full volume) the name of every musical that was being referenced during "A Musical" (or at least the musicals that he knew).

[jon34534]

I was at a performance of Act of G-d tonight and a woman sitting towards the front and center couldn't stop waving her hands and randomly laughing loudly and inappropriately during the show.

After being warned once by the ushers/manager Sean Hays stopped the show at which point, I suspect, he insisted that she be ejected (rightfully so in my opinion, she was very distracted and clearly high on something or just very drunk).


When he came back on, he said now that's the power of G-d (that ad-lib'ed bit of his being one of the funnier moments of the show, lol)

[¿Macavity?]

^Hahaha! Oh my goodness, what a funny line... Wonderful way to play off a problem...

[pg1287]

Saw the Newsies tour in Chicago last weekend and of course was seated near an obnoxious group of three women, probably late 20's-early 30's who clearly had five too many glasses of Moscato before the show. Highlights included video recording during Carrying the Banner, loudly reciting every "yeah" and "no" during The World Will Know, talking constantly, and slurred singing-along during Santa Fe. Luckily during intermission another audience member informed the house manager about them. The house manager was ON IT and gave them a very stern warning about their behavior. Not a peep out of them after that but the house manager watched them during all of Act 2 and was ready to pounce if they started again.  

[Phantom4ever]

From my theater experiences this summer, it seems that taking out a phone to check messages, notifications, or the time, for just a few second, is now acceptable. I still find it disruptive, especially if it's someone in front of me and I can see their phone and know that any minute now it will come out again. 

The worst offender was at Finding Neverland.  I was about 10th row center and two girls 3rd row center had their phones out for most of the show, sharing each other's instagrams. They even slouched down in their seats and held their phones up over their heads.  I don't know why the people directly behind them didn't ask them to stop. But I was able to see all of their pictures clearly and easily. 

At Waitress, on the other hand, people took out their phones to take pictures of the bows, and you would have thought they took a gun out or something. Ushers screaming and swarming and running,even jumping over people to get to the middle of a row. It was great to see. I found the house manager on the way out and complimented his ushers.