Bad Theater Behavior

[Call_me_jorge]

420 is extremely important to society except when the theatre is involved. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture)

[rebeccmam31]

Call_me_jorge said: "420 is extremely important to society except when the theatre is involved. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture)"

 

Ha! While you were posting this, I was on Urban Dictionary. I'm all caught up now.

[LightsOut90]

If for some reason he is on these boards, to the guy who climbed over FOUR people to leave Teenage Dick right as it ended (seriously 30 seconds before it ended) YOU ARE THE WORST AND I HOPE BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOU 

[rodrigo_ca]

I went to see Wicked today, sitting in the mezzanine. WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE.

As I seated, two children sat by my side. I was already mortified. A group of teenagers behind me. They were commenting EVERYTHING "look, it's Myra!!!!!! (our Elphaba)." "OW, THIS SCENE". "I'M GONNA CRY", and same random comments.

By One Short Day, they were even singing. As I realized that looking at them wasn't effective in translating the message, at this point I shooshed them. Twice. They shut up, but weren't happy about it. As soon as intermission started, they left and got back exactly at the time of the start of the second act, leaving no time to talk to them. Little chatting (thanks goodness it isn't presented in english, I'm afraid they could know all the lyrics) getting bigger everytime. I almost reached an usher, but I was in the middle of my row, I would just get in front of everyone and make an usher feel uncomfortable since he can't teach proper manners at the middle of a session.

At the end, I just made a few comments about people raised in a barn out loud.

Also worth of note is the ridiculous amount of coughing. There is a limit. You could count in the fingers of one hand the space between a cough and the other. And the AC wasn't even that low.

Ah, the kids by my side? Completely well behaved. Didn't even ask for popcorn.

LightsOut90 said: "If for some reason he is on these boards, to the guy who climbed over FOUR people to leave Teenage Dick right as it ended (seriously 30 seconds before it ended) YOU ARE THE WORST AND I HOPE BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO YOU"

Don't we all, darling?

[ChiTheaterFan]

At she loves me tonight, someone was wearing REALLY strong perfume. At least in this case, I just imagined I was in the parfumerie!  

 

We did have someone rattling ice on one side and rustling candy wrappers in another. I kept looking at the guy unwrapping the candy (didn't want to say anything because I was close to the stage and didnt want to be disruptive). He clearly recognized it so he just continued to unwrap his candies but REALLY REALLY slowly. Which is worse and not less annoying even if SLIGHTLY quieter. 

 

I loved that in Blackbird they didn't allow anyone to take any refreshments into the theater. And at curious incident they wouldn't sell ice in the drinks. I sometimes get refreshments, but I always finish the food at intermission, and I'm always very, very careful with my drink not to make noise. How are some people so unaware?  Or are they aware and don't care?

[mailhandler777]

^They aren't aware and if they are they just don't care.

 

I very rarely need a drink at a show or need to eat. If it happens I can't eat before the show I'll get something and eat it at intermission. If I get a drink I never get ice. 

[ArtMan]

What I am really curious about is the ridiculous amount of time it takes people to unwrap the plastic on a candy.  Whether at the movies or a show, these people seem to take forever trying to figure out how the plastic comes off.  When I unwrap a candy that plastic is off in one second, two at the most.

[slumdogdelaware]

I’m bringing this back because I had another interesting encounter last night, at She Loves Me.

I was sitting in the mid-mezzanine, row GG seat 113. I paid $50 and personally thought the seat was great. I had won the lottery back in April and sat third row orchestra, so obviously this was quite a different view, but I liked experiencing it from a different vantage point.

About ten minutes before the curtain rose, a mother and her son sat down to my left. The mother was probably in her late 50s, early 60s, and the son was most likely in his late 20s. I knew they were trouble the minute I saw them. They had about 50 bags with them, from I don’t know where, and were a little on the larger side, so they were having issues fitting into the seats comfortably. This wasn’t the problem with them, of course, I actually felt bad because it is pretty tight in the mezz.

But then they started loudly complaining about how these seats were “disgusting” and “absolute garbage”. From what I could hear, it seems the son bought the tix through TodayTix and thought they were orchestra seats. He was going on and on about how he’ll never buy from them again, blah blah blah. The mother wouldn’t stop saying how disgusting she found the seats. When she didn’t receive the same reaction from me (I told her I liked my seat, thank you very much) she turned to an older couple in the row behind us and started commiserating with them about how she only likes to sit in the orchestra, and I think they were trying to placate her because she seemed nuts.

The son actually left the seats and went to sit somewhere farther up in the mezzanine because it was that uncomfortable to sit next to each other. I sat next to the mother for the first act, and she really seemed to enjoy the show so I thought at intermission maybe she would change her tune.

Nah.

She turned to me after and asked how much I paid for my ticket, asked me again if I thought these seats were garbage, etc. She said if we got much higher, we’d “be in the sky.” I told her I’d had much worse seats at other shows, and she didn’t like my answer much. As the couple to my right were exiting the row to use the bathroom, she asked them if they thought these seats were crap too (I really want to reiterate that she used the words “garbage” and “disgusting” over and over again, but I’m tired of using them).  They didn’t agree with her either.

She didn’t return to the seat after intermission, and instead went further up to sit with her son somewhere. But not before stopping on the stairs to tell MORE people how much she hated the seats up there.

Good riddance.

I do want to say that I thought the audience in general was fantastic last night. Quiet, courteous, and so much laughter and appreciation for the actors. The waiters in the Cafe Imperiale scene got a solid 30 seconds of clapping and "woo"-ing. And of course everyone got a standing ovation at the end. Also if you've read all this, thank you. 

[PThespian]

I was at Waitress last night and had four "lovely ladies" sitting next to me. 

The curtain was at 7:30, and they arrived at 7:35. One of them decided she needed to go to the bathroom before it started. 

By the time she returned the show had begun and the four of them climbed all over me to get to their seats.

They did not shutup the entire first act. I was going to say something at intermission, but I'm a pretty non-confrontational person by nature so decided to let it go. 

Well they were even worse in the second act.  They started bringing out, unwrapping and chomping on hard candies during the middle of the quietest moments.  

When the talking resumed I had had enough. I turned to the woman next to me and said, "Would you please stop talking? You've been talking the entire time. It's very rude." 

She stared at me like I had just kicked her puppy, turned to the woman next to her, and said "What is he talking about?"

I was going to tell her exactly what I was talking about, but I didn't want to be rude to the people around me  

On the flip side I saw Shuffle Along Wednesday night, and the audience was very polite. It restored my faith in the theater going public. 

 

[denali.fire]

I usually say: " I don't think you realize how disruptive ( or distracting) you are. Could you please be quiet?  Thank you.

(all but once this worked)

[Petrichor]

Saw Bright Star the other day with a friend, and the theatre seemed to be packed full of older people that day. Is that the usual demographic for the show, considering the time period of the story? Anyway, a few older ladies were seated next to us and some behind us. Both groups would chat amongst themselves here and there and make audible comments as a reaction to the show, as well as some "spoilers." It was annoying but tolerable. I'm a very quiet and reserved person and don't like confrontation, but what really bugged me was when we were waiting for the show to start one of the ladies in the group who sat next to us rudely told my friend, did not ask, for them to get up so they can find their seats. Just the way she demanded it did not sit well with me. I don't know why it's so hard for some people to be nice or at the very least polite. 

 

Ah well, my friend and I still enjoyed the show! Although I would love to see it again with better seats. :) 

[Mr Roxy]

The reason there was no problem @ Shuffle is because it is a Scott Rudin show. If you make any commotion, you are taken outside and summarily executed.

[leezy8242]

I was at Curious Incident tonight and saw such a rude man--there was a medical emergency of some sort during the first act and they eventually did have to turn on the house lights and bring in paramedics. I noticed a man taking several pictures while the paramedics were getting the person loaded onto the stretcher and everything. I just couldn't believe how rude and tacky that man was being--just so disrespectful!!

[VintageSnarker]

" She stared at me like I had just kicked her puppy, turned to the woman next to her, and said "What is he talking about?"

Oh God, this. How can you chatter through the whole show and not know it's a problem? I lasted through most of The King and I with the couple behind me talking at a normal volume (but in their own language which I guess to them made it inaudible). I finally shushed them during one of the dramatic parts at the end. They stopped for about a minute or two and then started back in again. Thankfully this wasn't my first time seeing the show. I feel the worst for people who've paid a lot for their tickets/have very few experiences in the theatre and have them ruined by all this inconsiderate behavior.

[SweetLips]

I think it's time that 'they' stopped trying to make pre show announcements topical and 'clever' which aims for a laugh and detracts from the seriousness of the subject matter.

The general population seems to know how to behave in a church atmosphere and from what I remember phones don't go off and people don't eat or talk during a religious service so how do we get the same reverence in a theatre?

The wrath of God perhaps?????

[disneybroadwayfan22]

This is not a show. But past December, Laura Osnes was in my town and she gave out a talk. (I met her afterwards and she was wonderful ) The whole night was so awkward. The host was so disrespectful to her. He kept her asking her questions like (I'm not exaggerating) "Did you do anything bad at your reality TV show? What about the girls?" and "Tell me something embarrassing about Santino." She was clearly so uncomfortable. The worst part were the 11 year old girls behind us. They were fingerling and screaming "WE LOVE YOU" at her before every song. While she was talking, they were like "YAAAASSSS" at every answer she said about the questions. They finally stopped when they were loudly laughing during an answer and an older man finally threatened to kick her out. When the audience had questions for her, one of the girls were chosen and one of the girls were like, "HEY! I WANTED TO ANSWER!" It was awful. Laura was a class act the whole time.   

[Mr Roxy]

These stories perfectly reflect a cross section of our society. We have many self centered people who care not a whit about anything but themselves. It will only get worse over time.

[wonderfulwizard11]

I was at Shakespeare in the Park the other day and the audience was pretty distracting at parts. In particular, there was someone in the first row of the section behind us who kept rustling through bags. That in and of itself is annoying, but the woman sitting next to me felt the need to comment on it at least 5 times, which didn't really improve the situation, it caused more distraction.

There were also loads of people who walked out, presumably to use the bathroom. There isn't an intermission in this production, so it is somewhat understandable, but my seat was right in front of one of the aisles, so it was always very loud when someone left. A few people also started booing during Kate's last speech, which I found obnoxious. Yes, it's a misogynistic speech, but that isn't a reason to interrupt the actors and the experience of the rest of the audience, and the production subverts the meaning of the monologue about a minute later. 

[sorano916]

Last night, I was at MCC seeing "A Funny Thing..." and before the show started, these two girls in the row behind me were chatting really loudly. The show hadn't started yet so I didn't say anything. Then one of the girls propped her legs/feet on top of the empty seat in front of her! Really?! On what planet would this be okay? It wasn't the seat next to mine but one over from that. She moved them when the patron came to sit down in them but she had them up there for at least 5 minutes. SMH.

[nay3]

I saw the matinee of American Psycho. There was a couple and their friend in front of me. They were in the third row center. I thought they were drunk because the friend talked through out the first act and slurred his words a bit. The girlfriend took photos with her camera. Not even sneaking photos. She raised the phone up and snapped away. the 3 of them went to the bathroom multiple times. During intermission I believe it was the house Manger came to the seats and asked the friend and girlfriend if they knew the man who was puking in the bathroom. They were also told to stop getting up so much. The friend went to get the guy and the girlfriend ended up leaving too they never returned.

 

[slumdogdelaware]

Wrote a short think piece on this subject if anyone wants to check it out: https://medium.com/@lsaienni/the-big-bad-broadway-audience-824b6d2270f4#.nvleg430r

[getlucky2]

omg it was so satisfying Sunday night when my friend and I went to see The Color Purple, and after intermission when the second act had already begun, an usher came forward in the orchestra and flashed his light directly on this woman and told her to get off her phone.  I love seeing these rude people publicly shamed.  I would've put the damn bat signal on her and any other phone users if possible.

[AC126748]

wonderfulwizard11 said: "I was at Shakespeare in the Park the other day and the audience was pretty distracting at parts. In particular, there was someone in the first row of the section behind us who kept rustling through bags. That in and of itself is annoying, but the woman sitting next to me felt the need to comment on it at least 5 times, which didn't really improve the situation, it caused more distraction.

There were also loads of people who walked out, presumably to use the bathroom. There isn't an intermission in this production, so it is somewhat understandable, but my seat was right in front of one of the aisles, so it was always very loud when someone left. A few people also started booing during Kate's last speech, which I found obnoxious. Yes, it's a misogynistic speech, but that isn't a reason to interrupt the actors and the experience of the rest of the audience, and the production subverts the meaning of the monologue about a minute later. 

 

"

There are segments of the Shakespeare in the Park audience at every performance who are just terribly behaved. (I know -- I ushered at the Delacorte for a bunch of summers) These tend to be the people who come for the experience and not the show. But it doesn't help that the Public encourages people to bring food/drinks etc to their seats and consume during the show. And don't even get me started on the people who bring their babies.

[PThespian]

sorano916 said: "Last night, I was at MCC seeing "A Funny Thing..." and before the show started, these two girls in the row behind me were chatting really loudly. The show hadn't started yet so I didn't say anything. Then one of the girls propped her legs/feet on top of the empty seat in front of her! Really?! On what planet would this be okay? It wasn't the seat next to mine but one over from that. She moved them when the patron came to sit down in them but she had them up there for at least 5 minutes. SMH.

 

"

I can beat that. I was at a show at the Signature a few years back and the guy in the front row had his drink and his feet on the stage. 

It took quite awhile for the usher to notice. There's no way anyone would've let the show start like that, but it was interesting to see how observant they were. 

[AC126748]

I've seen a few people seated in the front row put their feet up on the stage. I remember Kathleen Turner walking over and kicking a woman's feet off the stage at a summer matinee of Virginia Woolf. Even though there's very little I haven't seen, it still perplexes me that anyone would think it's acceptable behavior.

[dramamama611]

Of course, it WAS acceptable behavior....all of it: talking to the actors, feet on the stage, eating.  Yes, that was lifetimes ago, but it did happen and was expected.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uai7M4RpoLU

 

See 2:05