Bad Theater Behavior

[Public User]

Serial coughers.  Sometimes it seems as if they are intentionally injecting themselves into the proceedings.  

[amaklo]

"If you see people taking pictures during a performance and it's bothering you tell an usher. Having said that, during the song "Hello, Dolly!" people were taking video and pictures which I didn't notice, but there was an usher who ran down the aisles making so much noise to try and stop these people that it was so distracting. I get it that they have a job to do, but they don't have to go trudging up and down the aisles during the performance."

The same thing happened at the performance I saw.  During 'Hello Dolly'  I saw a bright light to my left, looked over and there was an usher frantically waggling a very bright flashlight, apparently at someone in my row who was taping.  I hadn't noticed the picture taker but I sure noticed the usher! As you say, it's their job but it was very distracting.

 

 

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

At 1984 first preview, some people got bored and wanted to see what time it was. Since no one wears a watch anymore, the phones come out. Oh, and since they are out anyway, let's check Facebook. Infuriating

[djoko84]

Public User said: "Serial coughers.  Sometimes it seems as if they are intentionally injecting themselves into the proceedings.  

 

"

I had a great seat in orchestra for Falsettos and this guy behind me kept coughing non-stop. And I mean NON-STOP. It was so distracting my friend and I had to move to much worse seats in the mezzanine. Totally ruined the experience for me. I get it people have coughs, but if you're coughing non-stop then there's a problem and you shouldn't be at a show.

[Mister Matt]

I get it that they have a job to do, but they don't have to go trudging up and down the aisles during the performance.

I couldn't agree with you more.  The theatres should just employ snipers with night vision scopes and laser sites.  

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Mister Matt said: "I get it that they have a job to do, but they don't have to go trudging up and down the aisles during the performance.

I couldn't agree with you more.  The theatres should just employ snipers with night vision scopes and laser sites.  

 

"

 

Laser pointer would not be the worse idea

 

[EthelMae]

And on we go...even with an announcement yesterday about cell phones, my partner had to tell two people to turn off their phones. They were on their phones during Indecent!  Fools.

And I must have been in a cheerful mood or I would have told different people around me to shut up.

You can not win.

P.S. What I don't get is if you like to be on your phone or talk and you can not stop it for an hour at a time, why did you PAY to come to the theatre in the first place?  I was wondering why these people weren't out on 9th Avenue yesterday at the Street Fair. There you can talk and eat and shove your phone anywhere you like. Sorry. So fed up with it.
Also, at a screening of a film the other day with Union members in attendance in a screening room, this guy was texting. I told him to turn off his phone and he told me to wait a minute. Another gentleman told him to shut off his phone and he told him the same thing. I was getting scared vibes from this guy so I shut up. You never know what these fools will do. They turn the whole situation around and suddenly you're the one making waves.
 

[staticradar]

When I saw Falsettos last November I had the misfortune of being sat next to this teenage boy and his mother.  We were in the front row of the top balcony.  First he pulls out some Nathan's french fries during the performance and the smell was super strong.  Why an usher didn't catch the outside food I don't know.  It was super distracting.  On top of that he kept rocking in his seat and the way the seats are it moved mine too.  The whole show I kept being taken out of the moment by his constant fidgeting.  It also annoyed me that the usher kept having to tell him and his mother to not put stuff on the railing and then 5 minutes later they'd have stuff back on the ledge.  

[loveinnewyorkcity]

I once attended a performance of Jersey Boys and the woman in front of me apparently thought she was at a hard rock concert and began whipping her head so violently back and forth during one song that the sunglasses on top of her head (which was more poor theater etiquette) whipped off and fell onto my lap. SHE didn't to even notice her glasses falling off until I tapped her shoulder to give them back.

[orangeskittles]

I saw a Shakespeare play tonight at a regional theatre and sat behind a group of high schoolers who were all well-behaved and sat quietly the whole show, and I didn't see any cell phones out during the performance.

The grown-ass adults in the theatre showed up late, had their cell phones ring, rustled bags incessantly, whispered and were generally less well-behaved.

[JayElle]

Can't anything be done with the increasing number of rude theater-goers.  Specifically, those who can't disconnect from their phone, taking pics or videotaping during the show, constant chatters who think they are the only ones in theater, etc.

At Sunset Blvd, this tall woman wore a hat similar in design to those worn by catholic cardinals (biretta).  I warned the usher about it who insisted "I'm sure she'll remove it."  No.  SHE WOULDN'T TAKE IT OFF, despite complaints from those behind her who couldn't see.  A man was screaming at her during intermission and she flipped him off.

During War Paint, the woman next to me starting videotaping the opening number.  Shocked, I said, "you can't do that.  Didn't you hear the announcement?"  She put the camera away.

I know Glenn Close, Patti LaPone, Hugh Jackman stopped their shows at rude behavior.  This isn't a $15 movie.  With shows at staggering $800 (Hamilton, Dolly) or even those that are $100+, it's frustrating as hell.

 Disgusted.

[VintageSnarker]

Question: Was there any indication that the hat was something she couldn't remove easily or had some religious or cultural significance. I'm thinking of something like an African headscarf or Sikh turban. Otherwise, yes, take off the hat. I remember going to the ballet and seeing a woman (obviously in one of the expensive seats near the front) wearing a giant hat like she was going to the Kentucky Derby. I breathed a sigh of relief when she walked past me. Actually, I had a perfect view that performance because the seat in front of me was empty. 

[SweetLips]

It's unfortunate that the people we are complaining about will never read these columns. This is where we can vent our frustration on the increasingly bad behaviour of fellow audience members.

There is an unspoked code of conduct in a theatre that any well mannered person observes.You sit down,observe/react/respond/applaud and leave.

You don't need company,need to talk,eat,photograph[that's what Playbills/program are for]--the show is what you bought your ticket for.

Entitlement is the problem with the younger generation and the older generation--I got this far so I can do what I fvcking well like.

Unless theatres enforce different policies, united, the problem will only get worse.

Managment should stop a performance NOT a performer as the audience is the front of houses' responsibility.

 

 

[AC126748]

I saw a regional theater production over the weekend and was seated directly in front of a (very minor) local critic. This woman loudly took notes throughout the entire performance, shuffling the papers of her notebook distractingly, AND chewed gum like a heifer with her mouth open. (I have no problem with taking notes during a performance, but it should be done discreetly.) I admonished her during an appropriate break in the performance. I'm friends with the artistic director of this theater, and I told him he should think twice about inviting this person back to his shows until she learns some manners.

[ArtMan]

When I saw Hello Dolly a woman was texting towards the end of the first act.  Even though she was in the center section and I was on the aisle of the side section, the light was still distracting.  At intermission, I approached her and nicely (especially for me) asked her not to text during the show.  She responded with a "how dare I" attitude and stated how it was important and she had to text her friend.  I stated then go into the lobby.  She then told me that if she did that she would miss part of the show. Now....not so nice,  I responded "but you rather distract others with your phone".  Called her a "piece of work".  People behind her thanked me for saying something to her, but none spoke up on their own.  As someone already mentioned, no one wants to say anything to the culprits, and that's the problem.

[dramamama611]

I speak up when they are near me....people that talk, kids that kick the back of my chair, as well as phone users.   

However, this isn't going away.   People have no sense of propriety ANYWHERE: the movies, theater, restaurants.  Hell, people can't just BE with the people they are out with for FOMO.    People have decided "documenting" their lives is more important than living it.  Creating the memory is far more meaningful then filming or posting about it.

[WaffleOnWheels]

My favorite "bad theater behavior" story comes from none other than WICKED.

I had never experienced the show before, and was looking so forward towards the staging and the signing combinedin Defying Gravity.

Just as Elphaba went to belt "It's me", this little child stands up in front of me.

Fine. She's a little, maybe 7 year old kid, and I understand how Defying Gravity could be overwhelming.

But, the problem comes with this child's parents.

They stand up, in front of my view, completely blocking the stage, talking and trying to get the child to sit down. 

Now I'm mad, and am so distracted by this, that I totally miss my first Defying Gravity experience. 

Good times.

[¿Macavity?]

I saw the new Annie revival with Miranda Hart in London on June 4 and found it hard to enjoy the show. I found the show to be very well done -- it had an interesting new Matilda-like puzzle piece set design -- but the children in the audience were not well behaved. My seat was kicked almost non-stop throughout Act 2 and kids kept getting up and running through the aisles and then, of course, their parents would come running after them, it was appalling. They would also get up and fidget in their seats, which would make a dreadful squeaking noise.

Then there was the woman that sat next to me and would scream not whoop but scream after every single number. No, not after every number, slightly before the end of every number so that I couldn't hear it end properly, which really bothered me.

That night I felt a bit like Miss Hanningan with my dislike for children, which sounds awful, I know. I usually think children are great and should go to the theatre, but not until they're ready, which can be anywhere from eight years old to 40 years old, in that woman's case.

[hl29]

At Hello, Dolly last night, an older patron in the balcony apparently missed the MANY, MANY signs and notifications that Donna Murphy was performing, as she does every Tuesday night now. When Donna first appeared, the woman jumped out of her seat and started SWATTING the usher with her playbill, yelling "I WAS LIED TO!!". After a few minutes of making a scene she announced she "WOULD NOT STAY FOR THIS!" and stormed out. It was shockingly rude. 

(I'm not even going to get into the amount of texters around me throughout the entire show!!)

[PThespian]

hl29 said: "At Hello, Dolly last night, an older patron in the balcony apparently missed the MANY, MANY signs and notifications that Donna Murphy was performing, as she does every Tuesday night now. When Donna first appeared, the woman jumped out of her seat and started SWATTING the usher with her playbill, yelling "I WAS LIED TO!!". After a few minutes of making a scene she announced she "WOULD NOT STAY FOR THIS!" and stormed out. It was shockingly rude. 

(I'm not even going to get into the amount of texters around me throughout the entire show!!)

 

"

Yet another reason I won't work there. 

[Marianne2]

hl29 said: "At Hello, Dolly last night, an older patron in the balcony apparently missed the MANY, MANY signs and notifications that Donna Murphy was performing, as she does every Tuesday night now. When Donna first appeared, the woman jumped out of her seat and started SWATTING the usher with her playbill, yelling "I WAS LIED TO!!". After a few minutes of making a scene she announced she "WOULD NOT STAY FOR THIS!" and stormed out. It was shockingly rude. 

(I'm not even going to get into the amount of texters around me throughout the entire show!!)

 

"

I was up there too and missed that. And the texters. I was in the front on a side though. Maybe that makes a difference. I couldn't believe the people leaning on the balcony to see. They were centered, so they weren't in my way. But, of course sitting on an end, I had to help late seaters come in after intermission in my row. I was embarrassed because there isn't a lot of leg room in those seats. 

[PatrickDC]

This doesn't qualify for rude behavior but it can be annoying. At the CABARET tour in Seattle last Friday, I had a great view because the two seats in front of my friend and me were empty. Right at the start of intermission a tallish couple plop themselves down in the seats. She turns to him and says all giggly "Better view, huh?" I can't be too upset since it's the luck of the draw if someone tall sits in front of you, but it's a bummer that people don't stay in their assigned seats. 

[EthelMae]

Read the last few comments here and I get upset and I wasn't even there! I don't know what the answer is, if there is an answer. I've done my share of telling people to stop texting, stop talking, stop rattling, etc. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. What is really unnerving is when the situation gets turned around and you are suddenly at fault for telling them to be quiet, etc. They can even get threatening making you feel you are in some sort of danger. So you're taken out of the show, heart racing and afraid you might be stalked or worse after the show.

Lime I said, maybe there isn't an answer.

[Phantom4ever]

My only solutions to dealing with bad theater behavior are that I do my best to stay calm and ignore the distraction.  A few years ago, someone taking out their phone for ten seconds to see why it's vibrating would have sent me into a fit.  Now, I just let that kind of thing go.  I do my best to wait until intermission and then I ask an usher to confront the person. I also make a big deal out of finding the house manager when I see aggressive ushers to thank them for enforcing the rules.  The other thing I do is sit as far up as I can.  Sometimes I even sit too close because it seems that the fewer people who are around me, and the closer i sit, the fewer distractions I get.  

[Marianne2]

It's interesting how at Hello, Dolly! they don't allow bottled water in the theater because of the crinkling of the bottles. They also don't serve drinks with ice. But, they serve candy that you can crinkle the packaging. It was also slightly odd how they made the cell phone, pictures,  and video announcement at intermission and not before the show.

[Miss Jezebel DuPree2]

JustAnotherNewYorker said: "Mister Matt said: "I get it that they have a job to do, but they don't have to go trudging up and down the aisles during the performance.

I couldn't agree with you more.  The theatres should just employ snipers with night vision scopes and laser sites.  

 

"

 

Laser pointer would not be the worse idea

 

 

"

or a TASER!!