Bad Theater Behavior

[Brian07663NJ]

Was at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia this past weekend listening to Fantasia being played by the National Symphony Orchestra while watching the animation on a screen over the orchestra. The woman seated next to me kept commenting to her friend "wow, this is fantastic. wow this is amazing. How do they do that? How do they manage to play and match the music to the animation?" Her friend quietly said, "I'll tell you after the show." brief pause and then the dumb #itch proceeds to explain how a 20 foot tall multiplane camera creates animation - while the orchestra is playing!! I still do not know HOW I remained silent...

Then during intermission the "explain-er" proceeded to have a conversation with me and asked who my favorite performers are, what my favorite musicals are...and she says "Wow...you know you are really showing your SWISH?"

[Alan Henry]

@LizzieCurry: Saw Les Mis July 26th. The ushering staff were incredible - and that's putting it mildly. It was a matinee and you could tell there were a lot of "inexperienced" theatre goers - but the staff were all very polite, courteous, and diligent in getting people seated and announcing that cell phones were to go off. (They were very polite about it but got the message across)

There was one very nice and friendly usher who told me she also works at the Belasco a few times a week and we had a nice chat about ushering broken up between when she was seating people.

I don't know if that cast is more outspoken about it, or they just get more tourists than Lady Day and Violet.

To be honest, I hardly noticed the usher staff at Lady Day. They did get me to my table and brought my drink, but they were very unobtrusive. I really felt like I was in a club about to see Billy Holiday.

And the patrons at Lady Day just had a different vibe... You could tell (at least I felt that) most of the people there were avid theatre goers.

[Phantom4ever]

I have taken three theater trips to New York this summer, and I was very lucky in terms of audience behavior on the first two trips. This last trip, however, was different.

At Les Miz, I was sitting front row center, and as soon as the first scene started, the women behind me started to talk, kind of like they were watching television in their home. I ignored it, but it kept up for another minute or two so I turned around and asked them to please stop talking. It worked. Not another sound for the rest of the show.
My friend and I were distracted by HUMMING throughout the show. We could not figure out where it was coming from. But then we realized it was coming from the person right in front of us---the conductor! He hummed along through the show. It was too bizarre to be annoying!

At Phantom, there was a family sitting in front of us, with what appeared to be a mom, dad and two teenager girls. I couldn't hear a thing they said, but they were constantly talking during Act 1. With them, first it would be the mom and dad whisper something to each other. Then Daughter 1 would be asked her opinion. Then Daughter 1 would ask Daughter 2 to chime in. Then Daughter 1 and 2 would have their own conversation. Then Mom and Daughter 1 would have a new conversation. It went on and on like this in different combinations of family members talking. I did not ask them to stop since I technically could not HEAR them, I could only see them talking. My friends next to me though complained that they heard them loud and clear and constantly. I went to the usher and asked her to say something. She asked me who it was, and pointed out the whole family, and specifically Daughter 1. The usher used the tactic of talking to our whole section by saying "Everyone in this area needs to be quiet etc etc". The family was foreign, and the mom and dad appeared confused by the announcement, so Daughter 2 turned around and pointed at me and rolled her eyes. I smiled and waved to the parents. The family was absolutely silent through all of Act 2.

At Cinderella, we had three tween girls behind us, who talked quite a bit through Act 1. I was able to tune them out so I let it go. But then in act 2, when my song came on "A Lovely Night", I was not able to listen to that song over comments like "oh my god did you hear what the stepmother just said?" "No, what?" "What?" "Did you hear what the stepmother said?" "which one is the stepmother?" "let me have another twizzler." "You already took three!" "This is so different from the Disney movie" "But this is the Disney movie. It's just on stage" "They can't just put the movie on stage. That's not how it works" "Well that's what they did" And so on and so on. So after the first few lines of "Lovely Night" I turned around and said "please stop talking". The girls burst out laughing and kept talking and talking. Their mother was in the row behind them and she talked with them as well.

At the end of the show, as we were leaving, the girls were stepping out of their row and the mom said "Come on girls, I'm sure these two large old men will let you out first". Granted, my friend and are in our 30's and we are about 20lbs overweight, but yikes. I felt bad enough for the girls being raised by a mother like that so I didn't try and say a comeback. Incidentally, there was a 5-year-old girl next to me who was silent as can be throughout the whole show.

[prouvaire]

I saw Les Mis on Thursday from the mezzanine and the audience was so obnoxious. Lots of whispering, lots of latecomers, and I saw at least three different people trying to record the show or take photos. The ushers kept coming around to stop them and there was one persistent guy that just wouldn't stop and kept arguing with the ushers that he was just trying putting his phone on so he could read the playbill! Right... Finally one usher threatened to throw out the whole section and the guy stopped.

One thing that I wondered about: when you buy Les Mis tickets off Telecharge there's a warning that latecomers won't be seated during the first twenty minutes. I've sat in the orchestra earlier in the run and that did seem to be the policy, but in the mezzanine the other night they sat people continuously throughout the first few scenes. I'm wondering if this is a change in the policy or if the rule only applies for people in orchestra seats.

[Jane2]

If it's the same policy in theaters I worked in, we were told not to seat patrons in the front half of the orchestra, as they posed the biggest problem to the cast, who could see them, and to the rest of the orchestra.

Late patrons in the Mezz and/or balcony were not seen by as many other people.

[prouvaire]

Thank you, Jane2, that makes sense. Last time I went I was in row G all the way to the left side and I didn't notice any latecomers being seated until At the End of the Day.

[RW3]

I guess this could count as Bad Theatre Behavior but when I was Rocky on July 12 and women who sat next was late by 2 min and when the show finished she was drunk and stumbling around.

[ArtMan]

Phantom4ever, I enjoyed reading your post. However, when the mother insulted you about age and weight, that was the perfect opportunity for a comeback. Some people, if you insult them back, especially about something they maybe sensitive about, get the message a lot easily. You let a good read get by you.

[Phantom4ever]

Artman, being a teacher of tweens, it's hard to stop being in teacher mode, which is why I shushed those girls in the first place. And when the mom insulted my age and weight, sure I could have said "at least I'm not a disruptive beyotch on top of being old and fat like you" or something but that would have just made me depressed to be at their level. I just wanted them to be quiet during the show. I was not interested in getting in an argument or a shouting match with strangers. Once the show is over, I no longer care.

[ArtMan]

Phantom4ever, Good point. At my age, I should take the mature route. But I can't go that route especially when dealing with people who are that thoughtless.

[Phantom4ever]

I hope to sit near you at an upcoming show. You sound like you would create some interesting stories ! Lol

[disneybroadwayfan22]

"This is so different from the Disney movie" "But this is the Disney movie. It's just on stage" "They can't just put the movie on stage. That's not how it works" "Well that's what they did"

Something should give them a hint that this clearly isn't Disney. Like idk, the plot, the characters, ummmm....THE SONGS!

@Phantom: These girls and the mom sound just like the tweens and the mom in my Cinderella audience. Only they didn't shut up at all

[Phantom4ever]

These girls didn't shut up either, even when I asked. We were sitting stage left, first row of the orch on Thursday August 7 at 2pm

[Sutton Ross]

This is why it's OK to punch teenagers in the face occasionally. Those girls would have been balling if I had been there. Repugnant.

[brdway411]

I ask once nice to be quiet, then I get mean, then I get the house manager. I don't put up with it anymore.

[gleek4114]

Geez. That Cinderella story was brutal. I hate how people think they are entitled and above other audience members. It pisses me off to no end how some people treat going to see a live show, like going to see a movie. If they were talking throughout the whole show I would have told the house manager at intermission, I would not tolerate that BS.

I thought I would share a story of my own. I have been lucky enough to see many many shows and I had never had a "bad" audience. I live in Louisville and I went to see a community theatre production of "The Color Purple". This theatre puts on AMAZING shows especially with the resources they have. I was excited to see the show. I had no prior knowledge of the musical but I had seen the movie and read the book. The show started and the audience was very into the show. But this man behind me was getting on my last nerve. Once the secnes started he felt the need to comment on every line. The comments had absolutely nothing to to with the show. He would say things like "alright" and just straight out grunt for no reason. I kept hoping it would get better but it never did. And the worst part was how LOUD his comments were. I coincidentally had a friend there that same night and I had no clue she was going to be there. She was sitting on the complete opposite side of the theater and she could hear him. By the end if the show I thought it was just ok. My mother loved it. If not for that idiot behind me I think I would have really enjoyed it more than I had. I guess I should have expected it to happen sometime. Thats a Midwest audience for ya.

[haterobics]

"It pisses me off to no end how some people treat going to see a live show, like going to see a movie."

Well, they should be quiet at movies, too...

[gleek4114]

^ I totally agree! But in a live performance the actors are right there in front of you, they can see you paying no attention (I know the actors can't see everyone but if your in the orch. it's not that hard for them to sence something going on in the audience). Also the adverage movie ticket price is $10 I'd say. When I pay $80+ to see a broadway show I want to be able to focus, be present, and actually SEE the show instead of being distracted by people with no common sence or respect for other patrons.

[ggersten]

Phantom4Ever - I believe the correct retort is "well, you're ugly and I can diet."

[Julie Yard]

My most memorable bad behavior theater memory was in the balcony at City Center when during a production of Gilbert & Sullivan (I don't remember which one) a family of four opened up smelly salami sandwiches and proceed to chow down. Never ming that that balcony has terrible sound and sight lines, I was at least 30 feet away from them and heard their foil wrappers and smelled that stinky salami like I was sitting bedside them. Someone closer ran and got an usher and they put it away. That ban lasted until intermission when they pulled it all out again. The usher came back and told them they couldn't eat in the theater at all. Gawd it was like bulls in a china shop.

And to and ealier post, I've a good friend who's a teacher and they are the BEST at silencing bad behavior... half their job is controlling unruly brats. Show go with a teacher because they don't play.

[ken8631]

I would let noisy people know that I came and paid to listen to the show, not to them. If that doesn't work, a call to the ushers is in erder.....

[Broadwaygirl202]

I totally agree gleek4114! I don't want to pay that kind of money to have my experience ruined because of someone else's lack of respect. When I saw The Addams Family in Louisville last year, there was a woman sitting next to me in the front row of the orchestra knitting a scarf or something throughout the entire first act! She rammed her elbow into my side a few times, but I was able to still enjoy the show. Then she left at intermission. I don't know if she was being dragged there by a friend or something, but she did it again at The Book of Mormon a few months ago. My mom sat next to her that time and she ate a bag of Cheetos throughout the entire first act and then left at intermission again! I don't know why she even bothered to come at all. If you are going to spend that much money on tickets, you either better use them and stay both acts or if you don't want to go then either sell your tickets or give them to someone who really wants to see the show. I have seen several shows in NYC and never had a bad theater experience. When I see a show, I am transported into another world for 2 1/2 hours, so I generally don't hear people talking or being rude, but if I do, I try to let it go and not let it ruin my experience with the show.

[Fosse76]

I think it is important to realize that neither the theater-owners NOR the ushers establish the seating policies for the run of a show (on Broadway, at least). The fact that an usher isn't enforcing the "no pictures" policy or "no cell phones" policy does not mean they are not doing their job. Often the producers or the stage managers will decide what the ushers and security staff should enforce. Sometimes the house manager may tell them to not enforce a policy. And yes, sometimes the usher may, for whatever reason, not enforce a policy s/he's supposed to enforce.

There are several shows currently playing on Broadway that are prohibiting the ushers from confronting a patron who is using their cellphone during the show because they feel it is more disruptive than the cellphone use.

Many shows and theaters are permitting picture taking prior to the start of each performance. Often it is a result of the difficulty in stopping it (Mamma Mia, Phantom and Chicago have such a large non-English-speaking audience that it is virtually impossible for the ushers to prevent it and still seat 1200 people before the start of the show).

It's also important to note that not every theater employee is an usher. If the person is serving you food/drinks, that's not an usher. If the person is threatening to remove people from the theater, that is not an usher (and if it is that's a fireable offense). Ushers get the brunt of complaints from the producers, audience, and theater-owner, and yet a significant number of those complaints have nothing to do with them. But they are the default staff complained against.

Another thing to note is that ushers don't always know exactly WHERE in the theater a disturbance is happening. Just because it happens in the row in front or behind you doesn't mean the usher is able to pinpoint it. With flash photographs they only see a flash, often not knowing where it comes from. Usually they watch the audience with the expectation of it occuring again to stop it. Sometimes they can find the person, and sometimes they can't. Same with cell phone usage. They aren't always able to see or hear it. So they aren't always able to stop it.

As for re-seating, ushers in general do not have the authority to independently re-seat audience members. That said, while you do have an assigned seat at the theater, seating is entirely at the discretion of the the theater, and if they tell you to move, then it it is more likely than not because they were told by a manager to move you. And there would most likely be a reason for that to occur. It's at the total discretion of the house manager.

[DAME]

During the run of ONCE the Pantages in Hollywood had ushers walking down up and down the aisle with huge signs ( oversized fan like -stick holding) that had the no cell phone-no cameras drawings on them. I think it worked very well.

[OKBroadwayFan]

Broadwaygirl202---I wonder if the woman in Louisville knows that the "intermission" is not the end of the show! She probably tells her friends that the shows are good, but they don't seem to have an ending. :)

[dreaming]

Well at "The Maids" last week, my friend and I were treated to the lovely beeping of someone's cell phone as it received incoming mail or texts or something. (It was pretty loud-and they did nothing to stop it.)