Worst Broadway Audience Ever?- Page 2

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 7:35pm

Various.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 7:37pm

cant remember the last time there wasnt a complete >>>> in the audience!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 7:57pm

Every audience I seem to be a part of is pretty awful.

Whether it's the old people not being able to use their hearing devices or the bridge and tunnel crowd with their cell phones going off, never have I seen a "perfect" audience.

Vanessa Redgrave stopped thinking magically when I was there until a cell stopped ringing, Richard Griffiths is known for his bitch-fits when cell phones ring. The same for Patti LuPone.

Earlier this year, a cell phone went off right in the climactic first Act scene in, appropriately, The Scene at 2nd Stage. Tony Shalhoub and Anna Camp, about to consummate their affair, were interrupted by William Tell. They kept on going, ignoring it. All actors could learn from them. Updated On: 7/29/07 at 07:57 PM

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 8:50pm

Today at LEGALLY BLONDE.
5 or 6 flash pictures and some guy in the balcony next to me trying to record clips with his digital camera.

Posted: 7/29/07 at 8:54pm

When I saw the Lion King Tour in Chicago a couple in front of me had several children. The kids switched seats repeatedly and often stood or kneeled on their seats during the show. In addition, they frequently asked their parents (LOUDLY) what was going on or what was going to happen next. Finally leaned forward and told the kids that if they sat quietly and watched they wouldn't miss anything. The Mother glared at me till the intermission the loudly said that she hoped I enjoyed ruining her kids first time at a show. I told her that learning to behave properly was part of being taken to a show and that I was sorry she hadn't been able to tell them that herself. She got REALLY mad then and said I should be ashamed of myself. I told her that I had as much right as her kids to see the show and I couldn't when they stood or kneeled on their seats. She snapped that if I had trouble seeing I should have bought better tickets and that SHE was going to move so she didn't have to put up with my behaviour.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:00pm

http://bigsis222.multiply.com/journal/item/81

Two days ago, seated in the front row were a man and a woman. And they gave us a show of their own.

I didn't see much of the action, but our boys sure did, and didn't hesitate to recount and demonstrate exactly what they saw. There was a lot (as in A LOT) of lip-locking (which I actually did catch)... groping... touching... fondling. Sure, we made fun of them, but in all seriousness, we all thought it was ridiculous and disrespectful. Some thought they just didn't care, others theorized they had planned their display.

[jennyish]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:05pm

When I saw Spring Awakening last week, there was a couple directly in front of me that canoodled through the entire first act, blocking my view of the stage. I'm sure that whatever going on up there wasn't too different from what I was seeing, but come on, I paid to see the professionals.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:10pm

I saw Mary Poppins on Friday night, and while the audience was full of young children, I was amazed at how non-disruptive they were. It was a pleasant surprise.

On the other hand, at a matinee of Year of Magical Thinking yesterday afternoon, I was sitting next to 2 empty seats, and the 2 women behind me were debating whether or not to move to them when the lights started to dim. They continued this conversation throughout Ms. Redgrave's first 2 minutes on the stage, and for those of you who have seen it, you know what a quiet piece it is and how you can hear a pin drop throughout most of it. Well the 2 ignorant fools decided to stay put, after a few minutes, but only after they had debated the pros and cons of moving forward one row and causing me to miss the opening lines of the play.

Also, at this particular performance, at the climax of the play, one of the most emotional moments I've ever experienced on a Broadway stage, someone's cell phone began to play "Conga." Graceful as ever, Ms. Redgrave simply stopped and waited for the ringing to stop, but alas, by then the moment was ruined.

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:20pm

At SPRING AWAKENING this past Wednesday matinee, a woman was rustling a plastic bag she had with her quite loudly. I asked her if she could kindly stop, and she said, very loudly, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU. WHAT DID YOU SAY?". I then tried to say, "Please stop rustling the bag." a little clearer, and she said, "WHAT? YOU'RE BACK? WHAT?" so I gave up. She stopped, though.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:29pm

I think I posted about this, but I was ushering Spring Awakening once and a woman and her husband came in 20 minutes late and demanded to be seated. I explained that the last seating cue had passed and that they had to wait until intermission to be seated, but that they could sit upstairs in some empty mezzanine seats until then. She responded, "No, we're not going UPSTAIRS," then demanded again to know why they couldn't be seated. I told her that if I were to seat her she would disturb all the other patrons in her row, and she said, "So what? We do that all the time in other theatres." Finally, they went upstairs, probably to start another reign of terror up there. I just found it amusing that the husband said absolutely nothing the whole time.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:32pm

Didn't Christian Slater also break character once because a cell phone went off or something during Side Man?

[Midoria]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 9:59pm

Well the worst audience I had was at Mary Poppins this Christmas. The funny thing is that didn't actually show themselves until the end! About half the theatre goers seemed to be "regulars", meaning they catch shows more frequently and have more enthusiasm and respect. But the other half were probably just seeing a show just to say they saw one.

Anyway, the show was REALLY good! Especially Ashley Brown and the people who played Bert, Jane, and Michael. They got two curtain calls and the regulars were still applauding and screaming, but the other half of the audience was trying to leave. Of course the regulars didn't even make an attempt to move or let them out. After about 30 seconds of applause the whole cast actually did the last half of "Supercala.." again to pacify the audience and the jerk-half of the audience actually just stood and stared impatiently as if it was bothering them. GRRR.

Oh, and once during "Music of the Night" at Phantom, some jerks cell phone went off at the part where Erik says "...spirit start to sooooaarrrr". It pissed me off to no end! That's the best part of the whole play, IMO.

[mikem]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 10:32pm

What is up with the flash photography? I saw BATB recently, and a flash went off probably 10 times during the show (and about a million times during the curtain call). One nice thing about BATB though is that it is the only time I can remember when they actually say in the pre-show announcement that you shouldn't talk during the show (and there is also a tiny message in the Playbill). The audience was pretty quiet (the staff, on the other hand, were very noisy for those of us in the back -- loud laughter coming from the lower level, lots of rustling during the show, etc).

I saw A Chorus Line recently, and some 8-year-old talked during Paul's speech, ruining it, as well as throughout the rest of the show. The kid wasn't even in a neighboring row -- I'm surprised that people closer to the kid didn't say anything.

ShbrtAlley, the "So what? We do that all the time in other theatres" is classic! People who say things like that are people that you know will just never get it.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 10:35pm

Yeah, there was just really no point in my trying to explain. Whatever I said would not have been acceptable. Sigh.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 7/29/07 at 11:17pm

When I saw Legally Blonde, people came in like a half hour late (I thought it was the characters coming down the aisles) and it felt like the stupid, brainless girl behind me did not shut up for one second!!!

[altoid06]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 12:38am

In my personal experiences, the worst audience I've ever had to experience was at "A Chorus Line" in mid June. We got the joy of sitting beside these wonderful people who thought it was their job to be the entertainment for the surrounding people. Not only was it the four people beside us, but also three or four more behind us. When the lights began to dim, the guy beside me started to obnoxiously shush the audience, and then laugh hysterically. As the show started and the first man came out, he stood up and started to leave. One of the other people with him, made him sit down and they proceeded to talk at a normal level.

Finally, two of the people left. Of course, they had to make the most of their exit, leaving in the middle of a song. Mind you, this was around 15 minutes into the show. The other two people in this group left at separate times to use the bathroom and come back in, before leaving for good.

Looking back, the whole thing was quite humorous. After the show, the people behind us (who were interrupted every time we had to stand to let people out) and my family got a good laugh trying to figure out what their problem was. It was surreal.

[Lise2]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 1:37am

Gotta emerge from my long-time lurking to share my personal horror story:

My parents and sister were in town visiting me, and they wanted to see Wonderful Town. We'd settled in and were enjoying the show, particularly my mom, whose light opera company had produced Wonderful Town in their previous season. A group of Texans was seated behind us and proceeded to yammer away loudly with the smell of the Olive Garden leftovers in bags under their seats wafting up around us as we waited for the show to begin. About halfway through the first act, the woman seated behind us leaned forward and VOMITED all down my mom's and my backs-- in my hair, all over both of our winter coats, you name it. As you might imagine, it was absolutely disgusting. The offending woman's husband muttered something about her having taken some bad medication before taking her by the arm and fleeing without so much as a word of apology. We slid out of our row and out to the lobby as quickly as we could to minimize the disturbance in the show for those seated around us.

To their credit, the house staff at the Hirschfeld could not have been more accommodating-- after all, they weren't responsible for Ms. Upchuck and her pukey ways. The house manager procured laundry soap from back stage so that we could try to scrub out our coats a bit, offered reimbursement for our dry cleaning expenses, and gave us a plastic bag for our wet coats. While it didn't save me the discomfort of having to trek back to Brooklyn in mid-winter wearing nothing heavier than a borrowed sweatshirt over my business clothes, the hotel dry cleaning service had everything back the next day. The theatre comped us into house seats for the following night, and even had an usher personally escort us from the box office to our seats immediately when we picked up our tickets-- quite the upgrade from our original mezz seats. The ending was happy, but I still would have been happier not to have been puked on in the first place, and I was shocked that the man and his wife didn't even stick around long enough apologize.

[galindagirl2]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 3:32am

Definitely the audience when I went and saw Phantom on Broadway last March...cell phones, noise, you name it...people even had the nerve to LAUGH at the Phantom during the big climax when Christine kisses him (spoiler, haha, sorry, but if your enough of a Broadway fan to be on this board, you probably already know how "The Phantom of the Opera" ends... ). Anyway, it was absolutely disgusting. I absolutely cannot understand why anyone would fork over enough money to sit on orchestra level, and then be such a poor theater-goer...I guess I should have expected that, going to see a matinee of Phantom, but still...it almost ruined some gorgeous moments in the show for me.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 8:01am

Oh my God, Lise, that's awful. I'm glad everything turned out well but I can't even imagine that!

[opium_gaze]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 10:02am

My Worst experience ever was for Thoroughly Modern Millie. First of all i was upset Delta Burke (who i wanted to see) wasnt performing the night i went so i was a bit upset. To make matter worse, i was really enjoying the show when 15mins in 2 ladies show up and take up the two empty seats beside me. They took forever to sit down, going through there purses, taking there jackets off etc. everyone around was getting mad.
Then the women besides me falls asleep and starts snoring LOUDLY. Her friend did nothing, so i nudged her to wake her up. Then after the intermission the women gets a call on her cell, and it rings forever and its on like the highest setting. This women was so bold she didnt switch it off, instead she answered it and starting talking. Well i lost my mind, i took the phone from her switched it off and told her to shut the hell up or leave. I am usually not that forward. So after that she was silent, and after the show i got a few pats on the back and handshakes for telling her off. One man told me he did go tell an usher during the show, but nothing was done.
Other than that experience things have been great.

[opium_gaze]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 10:09am

Cruel_Sandwich - you were asking if an actor ever had to break character to tell and audience member to shut-up, i did. i totally forgot about it until i just read that.
when i saw this play called "happy" in toronto. it was at a small theatre and this mans cell phone started ringing and woudlnt stop. the play was an adult puppet play by Ronnie Burkett and well Ronnie lost it, he completely stopped the show and screamed for the person with the cell phone to turn it off and leave. No one admitted to being the person with the phone, so he finally went back to the show, but i was soo uncomfortable. That show was totally ruined by the jack-ass with the phone.

[Gingersnap2]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 10:42am

galindagirl2 - that reminds me of a few very obnoxious girls in their late teens who sat behind me at Phantom the second time I saw it. During the Phantom's "Masquerade" reprise at the end, they burst out into loud snickers and giggles. They annoyed everyone around them.

And, of course, there was the woman who sat behind me the first time I saw the show. She explained every verse to her kids at normal volume. They were both old enough to sit through the show without Mom's Cliff Notes.

The worst, though, was Lestat. And I'm not talking about the show itself being a bad experience. The audiences during previews were fine. But post-premiere, they could be so tactless and uncouth. Loud wolf-whistles when Drew kissed Hugh, someone yelling, "Oh, Claudia" after "After All This Time," young women screaming when Drew took off his cloak after his entrance.

I hated that I knew a lot of the offending parties and they really tainted the reputation of people who liked the show or supported it for the cast.

[Anakela]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 10:47am

Lise2- someone threw up on you guys? and then just walked out?? Ok, that has got to be hands down the worst audience experience ever- you win. That's just- ewww biohazard!

And thanks to those who have and shared people getting kicked out stories- nice to know that it does actually happen.

[Act0r721]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 12:15pm

What do you guys do when it happens? Do you say something or just give dirty glares? People never see the glares and I am too nervous that I would ask someone to stop and they would just be a bitch about it.

-------

Jesus Christ Superstar- Kids kicking my seat the whole time and singing along.

Light in the Pizza- Just this month. Woman chewing gum the entire first act. She comes in from intermission with some Reese's, smiles at me and tells me not to tell! I switched seats with my mom. . .


The Color Purple - A HUGE group of people coming in 15-20 minutes late

[devonian.t]

Posted: 7/30/07 at 1:41pm

My worst ever experience was a regional tour in Edinburgh of Jesus Christ Superstar. A couple sat next to me and the woman sang the whole 1st act- every character- much to the admiration of her man. (If he hadn't looked liked the Hulk's big brother, I would have complained.)

Towards the end of Act 1, during Damnded for all Time, they got up and DANCED in the aisle!

During the interval, another audience member returned to their seat with fish and chips. I couldn't bear it any more and left.

PS Anyone know how the show ends?

(PPS I'm just kidding about the PS.)