Audience Behavior

[suttonfoster]

So while I was at Mamma Mia, I witnessed some disturbing things that have happened to theatre lately.

That show had to be full of so many foreign people that didn't speak english. When the show started people just started talking in full voice. It was like nothing I've seen before! I was shushing people all over the place. Throughout the ENTIRE first act the people around me were translating for each other. They had no idea what was going on and people were singing as loud as they could during Dancing Queen and Mamma Mia and were clapping in the middle of the songs too!! Also, some lady was taking pictures with her cellphone during part of the show before an usher finally called her out on it.

I was LIVID by the end of the first act that I went to usher and demanded for different seats or my money back. The usher actually said that this happens often with this show and foreign people. They gave me 6th row center orchestra seats which were fantastic. Unfortuntely, when the show started. People around us were STILL talking, but a little more quiet. I didn't really care. The show was so bad. The male lead was the worst thing I've ever heard on the Broadway Stage and Lisa Brescia did a great job with this crap show. The whole rest of the cast gave highschool-level performances IMHO. It was the worst show I've seen to date on Broadway. I was so disapointed with this audience and thought it was such a shame to the broadway community that they act this way.

Has anyone else had any kind of experience like this?

[Jordan Catalano]

Oh yeah. When I saw PHANTOM a few years ago (I don't know why, but one day I just got in the mood to see it) and the same thing happened. People were singing along as loud as they could, others were translating, people eating McDonalds, etc. It was definitely an experience.

[Scott Briefer]

I saw Mama Mia in London, a week after it opened. It was dreadful than, too. Mama Mia really is one of the worst "mega-successful" Broadway musicals.

[Eris0303]

It was more dreadful than what?

[HummingAlong]

People seem to be especially inept in small houses. Picture the Booth Theatre, where you're literally closer to the actors than they are to each other at times. And then picture the family who doesn't speak english, translating to each other loudly throughout the entire show. Or crinkling wrappers and water bottles. Or clinking ice in those darn cups that can be brought into the theatre...I'm all about taking the drink back in, but could we eliminate the ice for that purpose?! And teach people that slurping beverages (at any venue) is inappropriate?!

Seriously, didn't anyone else do Cotillion growing up?

[perfectlymarvelous]

When I saw Corbin Bleu in In the Heights, there was a large group of students two rows in front of me who spent most of the second act literally passing a cup of ice from someone's drink back and forth and eating the ice...I almost threw something at them, it was one of the most annoying things I've ever experienced in a theater.

Also it seems that at nearly every show I see there is someone checking their iPhone/Blackberry repeatedly during the show...it makes me absolutely nuts.

[Overkill]

The worst one I can remember myself, actually WAS at The Booth Theatre. It wasn't AWFUL. It during Butley starring Nathan Lane. I loved the show to death, it was towards the end of the run. This one person, who was sitting behind me was coughing. The whole show. Begining to end. Look, I know you can't help it if you cough, but if you're SICK, don't go out, staying in the ****in bed! Then in act two, when there was supposed to be a very dramatic silence, a cell phone went off. Loudly. So loudly, that I thought it might be part of the show, for some strange reason. It was pretty bad.

Then, when I saw Beauty and the Beast, there were some audience members who spoke a bit too loudly, but nothing dreadfully annoying.

I've been lucky so far. Besides Butley, I haven't had very many annoying audiences.

[rosscoe(au)]

How rude "foreign people" seeing live theatre. I mean really, the government should stop them at the border!

[muscle23ftl]

I recommend everyone here to see shows like Wicked or Mamma Mia! on tour around the United States, all the long runners are way more enjoyable outside of NYC.
When I saw Wicked in NY, it was like an N'Sync concert, in Fort Lauderdale the audience was alot more appropriate.

[dramarama3]

That's awful, but I'm a hate the smaller stuff most.

Coming late to the theatre is completely disrespectful to the audience and the actors. If I were late to the theatre, which I've never been, I wouldn't go full stop. Lockout periods should extend until the end of the acts. Sorry, if this is too extreme.

[Mr Roxy]

Run that last one by Roscoe

[bwayphreak234]

Shows like Mamma Mia!, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast, and Phantom seem to have a lot of rude audience members. My favorite was when someone brought a baby to Phantom. That was awesome...

[winston89]

There is also the fact that at Disney shows, the parents feel this need to give their kids a running commentary of what is happening on stage. The parents don't realize that the kids do know that which is going on. And, for the most part, kids do know more than their parents realize they do.

Also, just last week, I went to see Time Stands Still. Towards the beginning of the first act, someone's phone went off three rows down from me. The patron sitting next to me, cursed under his breath, and rolled his eyes. Now, due keep in mind that I am not saying that the patron was wrong for doing that. He was right to get upset that someone had their phone go off in the middle of the show. However, around five min later, I saw him have his phone out and tucked to the side and he was texting. You can't get pissed off that someone is using their phone when they shouldn't be only to do the same thing yourself a little later.

[KylieS]

A ringing phone is obnoxious because it disrupts the audience's experience. Why do you guys have such a problem with texting? Is the light a distraction or something? Serious question. I don't mind silent use of cell phones in theaters, myself. Mostly because I don't think I'd ever even notice.

(Note: No, I don't text during shows, ever. I just don't think other people doing it would annoy me the way a ringing phone does.)

[ClapYo'Hands]

Being from the UK, and my viewing of shows being in the West-End, and not Broadway, I find in the most part that disruptive audience members are American. This isn't to say that all American's are disruptive in the theatre or all disruptive people in the theatre are American's but the constant need to comment to each other throughout the show with things like "Wow, he's got a good voice, don't he?" Of course he does, he's in the musical theatre...

I also find that disruption from British audiences seems more common in regional theatre than the West-End.

[perfectlymarvelous]

The light from a phone when someone is texting is very distracting to audience members and extremely disrespectful to the actors onstage imo. If you can't leave your phone alone for an hour and a half or so perhaps you shouldn't be going to the theater.

[winston89]

Also, what people tend to not realize is that the light coming off of a cellphone is much brighter than people realize. In a dark room, the light is VERY annoying and it is VERY noticeable as to who is doing it. That is why it is rude to do it during a show.

Also, during Time Stands Still the pre show announcement does mention refraining from texting during the duration of the performance.

[Mister Matt]

Being from the UK, and my viewing of shows being in the West-End, and not Broadway, I find in the most part that disruptive audience members are American.

Then I guess you never attended Grease or Starlight Express in the West End. The majority of the audience talked through the scenes and sang along with the big numbers. And it wasn't the Americans. Most distracting audiences I've ever experienced.

[ClapYo'Hands]

No, and I don't have any intention of ever attending Grease or Starlight Express xD

[Eris0303]

As for texting...people have already mentioned the light being distracting and how it's rude to the people around you. For the life of me I'll never understand how someone can pay Broadway prices (as well as transporation and dinner) and then not pay attention. It costs me $30 just to get into the city add that to what a ticket costs and that's not a cheap night. I'm certainly going to pay attention to the show that I paid to see.

Once at Legally Blonde a man handed out Nintendo DS systems to each of his three children before the show and they proceeded to play them during the first act and he and his wife texted. The woman sitting directly behind him (I was behind her) said something at intermission. He got angry and said that his kids can't pay attention that long. Um, what? If you know your kids can't pay attention that long why bring them to a show? Why spend the money? Let's say they paid $120 each and that they're from my where I live. So 5 train tickets = $150. Parking at the train station = $7. 5 LB tickets = $600. So, they paid $757 to do something they could easily do at home.

Honestly, that's what boggles my mind more than anything else. If you're not going to pay attention just stay home.

ETA: The kids were all school age. Definitely old enough to sit through a Broadway production without needing a toy to keep them happy.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Last week, during Next to Normal, for the second half of act 1, it sounded like someone had the hiccups. Every minute or so, it happened again. The audience members were looking around, some were angry, and some just laughed.

I'm going to try to say the next part in the most PC way I can:
During intermission, I saw a couple with a young woman in a wheel chair who looked like she had either a developmental delay, mental retardation, or autism. She was making sounds that sounded like the hiccups. It seemed as if they were leaving during intermission, but it started up again at act 2.

While it's not something you can really control, if there's someone who, for any reason, cannot sit quietly for the duration of a show, you shouldn't bring them.

[TheatreDork3]

WOW - I can't believe what I'm reading on here. I've been VERY lucky apparently. I have not once had an experience where I've had a horribly annoying audience member. I mean I've had the occasional cell go off or the noise of candy wrappers, but nothing like what everyone in here has been talking about - wow!!!

TD

[Eris0303]

While it's not something you can really control, if there's someone who, for any reason, cannot sit quietly for the duration of a show, you shouldn't bring them.

That's a tough one because the handicapped have just as much right to enjoy theatre and other activities as much as anyone else. Is it distracting? Sure. But, is sitting at home night after night because something might happen a better alternative?

Thankfully, my sister is functional enough to not make random noises though she does have a bit of an issue with talking through things but not loudly. But I would never in a million years consider leaving her home because of it. I have instilled in her a love of the theatre and I will take her to as many shows as I can. If someone is upset because she's slow on the stairs or talks a bit then that is their problem.

[Bettyboy72]

I dont think anyone is bashing "foreigners", I think folks get upset when anyone talks during shows and sometimes it happens to be those who English is not their first language.

It does amaze when people get indignant when you ask them to be quiet. My worst experience was at West Side Story when a woman and two teens spoke italian to each other throughout the entire show, ate McDonalds, texted and proceeded to get up and leave during Tony's death scene, disrupting the entire row. It amazaed me.

They huffed and puffed and cursed as they barged their way out of the row. The guy on the aisle seat ended up tripping one of the teens and that made me kind of happy.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Eris- I think I should re-phrase. If people get pissed off for someone walking down stairs slowly, that's their problem. Like anyone, if you bring someone (with or without a disability) to a show, it should be something that they would appreciate and not cause them to ______. (I honestly don't know what word to use.)