Bad Theater Behavior

[oasisjeff]

"I still do two because it's hard to break the habit, but the same folks criticizing you could easily criticize me."

Technically, we can't criticize you as HTML doesn't recognize multiple spaces. So if you put five spaces after every period, it would only show one on the web. A site would have to specifically override that standard HTML rule for multiple spaces to appear.

[Phantom4ever]

I went to three shows this weekend: The Phantom of the Opera, Cinderella, and Les Miserables. I was pleasantly surprised by the absolute perfect behavior of audience members around me. Not a single cellphones was seen or heard, no chomping food or bag rustling and no talking. My friend and I were surrounded by very small children and their mothers at Cinderella and we were dreading it but they were silent! At intermission the kids came back with arms full of candy and chips but somehow none of it made any noise. I did notice at the Broadway Theater that the seats are very high; I wonder if that somehow muffles the sound?
The Les Miz audience was basically a rock concert audience but that made the show all the more thrilling. After " Bring Him Home" I thought the applause and cheering would never end.
Really the only issues were two tech mistakes at Phantom!

[LizzieCurry]

That's amazing! Cinderella still sticks in my mind as being one of the most polite audiences I've ever been a part of.

[Sutton Ross]

There are some really great suggestions for improving people's behavior in the theater.

http://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2013/04/how-to-improve-theater-going-manners-in-your-audience.html

[Mr Roxy]

How about having the equivalent of an adult hall monitor?

Better still, the old time movie matrons of the 50's would be ideal. They all looked like Herman Goering in drag with their at the ready flashlight and had all the sensitivity of him.

[Sutton Ross]

Point No. 6: “Install ejector seats?”

A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!!

[Mr Roxy]

If the ejector seat threw them into a pool with piranha fish so much the better.

[beensince1987]

http://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2013/04/how-to-improve-theater-going-manners-in-your-audience.html

This from THE producer introduced "twitter seats"...

[theatregeek6]

Ban all food. No bringing it in, no selling it in the theatre. Stop the sippy cups and the plastic water bottles which can be 'crinkled' over. Don;t make it the patrons responsibility to 'point out' disruptive patrons-have the ushers pay attention (like they do to picture taking) - could you imagine if they 'attacked' like they do for taking a picture (which I do NOT approve of either) for eating or talking during the show?

At $150 a pop I want to enjoy the show without the eating, texting, photographing, and anything else going on.

[Mr Roxy]

If someone brings in water in a reusable container this should be allowed. People get thirsty. Beyond that no on any food .

If this happened, initially you would have the equivalent of road rage if it were implemented. People who go ape **** taking their food away from them. How can you ban cell phones?

[Jane2]

I generally agree with a no food rule. However, there are exceptions. One, water. Two, suck on candies or lozenges. 3. A diabetic snack.

One and two are for dry mouth and/or preventing a coughing spell. Three is extremely necessary. If a diabetic goes too long without eating, a serious episode is likely to occur.

[oasisjeff]

I smuggle in one Honest Tea per act, intentionally instead of soda so there is no fizzing, or carbon release when opened. And I tend to drink during applause breaks.

That said, at Cinderella on Thursday, right after they made a reference to the old lady's cloak smelling like cabbage, I swear I did smell sauerkraut, and I was like, hmm... is this part of the show?! Then I heard someone eating about two rows back, so I'm guessing that was a hot dog with sauerkraut?!

If they are checking bags, how can something that smelly get through? I mean, sure, they check my bag and the tea gets in, as well, so ... heh.

[Jane2]

omg-so they ARE eating hot dogs. TSK TSK

re: checking bags. That's a laugh. I mean everywhere, not just theaters. I guess when you're a bag checker, and there's a long line of people waiting, and you're tired of looking in bags, you barely look into them. I know that's my experience!

[ArtMan]

I don't know. I always have my bag with me when I attend NYC Theatre (which contains my camera) and the men in suits always stop me and look in it. They see my camera and tell me "okay".

[Mr Roxy]

I therefore do not understand what they are looking for if they see your camera and do not check it.

[oasisjeff]

Every smartphone is a camera, can't check them all...

[SNAFU]

Alcohol, food (which the theatre sells thus robbing them of money). Bombs.

[brdway411]

Just home from Jersey Boys. One of the worst audiences I have been in since Cinderella. The lady behind me kept singing loudly. I asked her nicely to stop. After the third time she started singing I turned around and told her flat out to "SHUT UP, I paid to hear the actors not her". She still continued to sing along. I ended up getting the house manager and they sent down an usher to shut her up. Thank goodness there were 2 empty seats next to us and we could move over to get away from her. During the first act someone was taking pictures while the show was in progress and the ladies 2 rows up were texting. Seriously. WTH.

[LizzieCurry]

I've seen Jersey Boys in multiple cities and NYC has unfailingly been THE WORST (even taking into account the drunk Vegas audiences).

[Sutton Ross]

At Bridges today, an old woman came in by herself, 25 minutes late. She was wearing 10 enormous, chunky, metal bangles. Every time she moved her hands, they would make a huge sound. They fell off her hands and they BOUNCED down the Mezzanine stairs. She made the ushers retrieve them. She had a huge bag, and proceeded to hit everyone in the row ahead of her with it. The two men in front of her spun around and said "shut the f*uck up". She didn't even notice them, but she decided to switch seats six times. She sat down and took a fifth of vodka and JAR of olives out of her purse. She drank and ruffled through her purse, before falling asleep and snoring, until intermission.

She was asked to leave at the point. I was so shocked at what I was seeing, I wasn't even mad.

[brdway411]

I wonder if it was the same drunk chick that was at Love and Information on Tuesday night. The show was hard enough to watch (IMHO), but this drunk chick kept getting up and changing her seat during the black outs and sometimes while scenes were in progress. She was eventually ushered out.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Glad that I found this topic.

When I saw Cinderella on Wednesday, the 14 year old girls behind us would NOT shut up at all. They are like, "OMG, Carly Rae Jepsen. What are they doing? Why is the Prince, fighting a dragon? OMG, the Prince is stupid" or whatever they said throughout. And actually, at the Pursuit, one of them obnoxiously faked snored out loud, which I gave her like a death stare. Actually, she laughed like that, but it really sounded like she was deliebrary snoring at that moment. And when I was getting a shirt during intermission, a 13 year old to her friends was like, "There's a song every 5 seconds. It's SO annoying." Like, honey...no.

And at Aladdin, some 14-18 year old put his jacket on his face and slept throughout the show, not even trying to pay attention to the show. And during A Whole New World, someone was caught recording. The people behind us whispered OCCASIONALLY, not all the time like the 14 year olds.

At the stage door, there were groups of 9-12 year old kids, who were so un well-behaved. They swarmed the 2 actors (Dom and the guy who was the suitor) and two of the boys tried to start a chant, "WE WANT ALADDIN! WE WANT THE GENIE!", but thankfully failed. They even tripped an old guy, who was walking by.

[Sutton Ross]

Yeah, teenagers are the worst, unless they have their parents attending with them. But, if the parents are also as$holes well....you're screwed. Both of those shows are very child friendly, so I'm not surprised. I don't care about Cinderella but I may go to Aladdin, on some random Wednesday, in the fall when kids are back in school. I'm sorry about your experience, I hope you still managed to enjoy the show.

Respect for others in the theater........it's a thing.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

I enjoyed them a lot, thank you :)

EDIT: Oh, funny thing: The obnoxious teenagers' (behind us) mom in CINDERELLA was talking with them too -_-

[Sutton Ross]

Oh man, that's the worst right? Multiple generations of inconsiderate dickbags?

[Tugger2]

I've been in some pretty awful audiences - the one that stands out in my mind is the idiot whose cell phone went off during the last speech in the recent "Death of a Salesman" - but the worst theatre hands down for bad audience behavior is any show at the Samuel J. Friedman. Multiple instances of cell phones going off, people who don't turn down their hearing aids when using assisted listening devices, people ANSWERING THEIR PHONES during the show, people talking on speakerphone during a play (yes this actually happened), people explaining plot points to their friends during the show...and the ushers do NOTHING. We even notified an usher that someone was streaming a live college football game on his cell phone right next to us and talked to the house manager. Who did nothing. Honestly, if the house manager refuses to eject people who interrupt others' enjoyment of a show, what is the point of even going?