Leaving a show before it ends, letting your friends cut the rush line, and other lessons in 'etiquette'...

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 9:55pm

So, I've been catching up on my internet surfing today, (what can I say, home sick + bored), and stumbled across this blog called "Broadway Informer," where I'm learning advice like:

- stage door etiquette: how to leave a show before it's over, to secure yourself a prime spot at the stage door.
(sometimes it's necessary to leave [albeit quietly] during the last song a la, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying)

- It's ok to let your friends cut the rush line with you, so that you can buy more than the two tickets total that you alone are allowed.
They arrived literally as I was stepping up to the window (we needed at least two people - one to get one ticket, the other to get two tickets)

And other fun theatre going facts.

I tried to leave a comment on the blog about how it's generally considered rude to let your friends cut the rush line, but my comment was deleted.

Anyway, since these are topics/peeves that come up here all the time, I thought some of you might find the advice on this blog an interesting read too.
Broadway Informer: Stage Door Etiquette

[trentsketch]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 10:12pm

I can't find the bit about cutting in line for rush. Maybe the writer deleted it after your comment.

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 10:15pm

My bad, that part's from the Daniel Radcliffe section-
Daniel Radcliffe moves beyond the magic...

[trentsketch]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 10:19pm

Wow. That's just rude. I'll e-mail him tomorrow since he'll probably delete what I want to say about theater etiquette to him.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 10:43pm

:O

[ChenoKahn]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 10:52pm

She says she elbowed Harry Potter fans ( which is rude ) then nearly screamed at someone for elbowing her. What a hypocrite.

[PopAria]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 11:25pm

this is so funny. she's probably 14 or something.

nm, just read that she's a mom. LOL


Updated On: 6/14/11 at 11:25 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 11:35pm

Leaving before the show ends to get to the stage door is ridiculous. It's hypocritical. You respect these performers so much and want to meet them, but you don't have the courtesy and respect to stay in your seat and applaud them. Plus it's rude to trample over others trying to enjoy the curtain call.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 11:45pm

Love how the majority of the blog is about stage dooring, and not the actual shows this person sees. And they call themselves an avid Broadway snob. For what? Getting dirt cheap tickets each time and stage dooring?

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 11:49pm

How to not look like a tourist? I think the actors would prefer tourists who come once, get an autograph and leave than her.

Apparently she's a teacher...

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/14/11 at 11:59pm

"necessary sometimes to squeeze past people and walk quickly up the aisles before they get to crowded... but I never encourage anyone to disrupt a show in any way!"

Contradictory much? This is just ridiculous.

[mintice]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 12:02am

For some reason that blog post really upset me. Maybe it's because I have immense respect for both Mr. Radcliffe and Mr. Larroquette. I loved H2S when I saw it and have become a huge fan, so much so that it's convinced me to come back and see more shows in the future.

I posted in another thread about my stage door experience and I am SO GLAD that I didn't hound for Facebook-y celeb photos and kept myself to the minimum of a Playbill to have signed.
From all of the photos I've seen on Flickr and elsewhere from the H2S stage door, Mr. Radcliffe looks fine with odd requests from his fangirls (not surprising there) but Mr. Larroquette just looks downright uncomfortable or reluctant about the whole thing. He looks uneasy in that photo with the girl, actually. I can totally see him dodging with "Yeah, 10th Kingdom was a long time ago..." and spacing off in his "let's get this over with" far off look (He flashed that look a few times during The View interview when Elizabeth Hasselbeck wouldn't shut up about Boston Legal).

It's obvious from the many TV, video and print interviews I've seen and read that he doesn't like to hear people ask about Night Court or other work he's well known for, so I definitely did not mention those or any other past projects when I talked to him for a few moments. I kindly told him that I appreciated him and I got a lovely reaction from it.

It must have been a decent night at the theater because I didn't have problems making my way to stage door after the bows. Everyone I encountered was very polite and I used my manners and they seemed to work in my favor to get me close to the barricade. A lot of fans also cleared out when they heard that Daniel Radcliffe was not coming out, so that may have factored into the experience.


Sorry I don't post here very often (mostly a lurker) but I felt upset over that fangirl's blog. I've been following H2S since the news first hit in November. I've been enjoying how much I've been learning about theater and musicals on this site. I spent time on here researching WHAT TO DO RIGHT before I went on my NYC trip. Just have fun, respect the actors and don't be a pain! :)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 6:00am

She writes like a high school student...sounds like one, too. I couldn't find a place to LEAVE a comment.

Great, now we have people encouraging others to be rude. We can only hope she has minimal followers.

Updated On: 6/15/11 at 06:00 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 7:19am

Etiquette & theater have not belonged in the same sentence for sometime.

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 9:56am

It's obvious from the many TV, video and print interviews I've seen and read that he doesn't like to hear people ask about Night Court or other work he's well known for, so I definitely did not mention those or any other past projects when I talked to him for a few moments. I kindly told him that I appreciated him and I got a lovely reaction from it.

He doesn't? That's kind of sad. I mean it's totally understandable, though, to not want to 1- talk about/be known for a work from 20-30 years ago, especially 2- as you're leaving a show that you just performed in *that night*. But I can still remember sneaking and staying up past my bedtime and watching Night Court, and not understanding some of the innuendo...

Although for my money if I ever had the chance to discuss past roles with John Larroquette I would *love* to discuss Joey Heric/The Practice- I loved that psychopath.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 10:35am

augh- rush line cutting is the most ANNOYING rude behaviour I can think of. It's not too difficult to just coordinate getting there at one universal time together. And if, maybe, one party arrives around 5 minutes later and has to cut- well, that's annoying, but whatever. But walking up just as the doors open and sliding in three more people is not only rude, but it shouldn't be allowed either. Shakespeare in the Park doesn't stand for it- wish there was more moderation of it on Broadway.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 10:52am

Mr. Roxy writes, "Etiquette & theater have not belonged in the same sentence for sometime."

How wrong you are. That we have to TALK about theater etiquette is the problem. That there are too many people that don't believe in is the problem.

They ALWAYS belong together.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:01am

Daniel Radcliffe may be providing work for a lot of actors at the moment, but if the house is filled with people just waiting to dash to the stage door, then really the actors are wasting their time. Though hopefull some of the throngs do actually APPRECIATE the show.

[Q]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:02am

"wish there was more moderation of it on Broadway"

If I were the next one in line behind something like that, believe me, it would get 'moderated'.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:12am

hah- Maybe we should start a civilian task force or something like neighborhood watch, only 'Rush Line Watch.' I'll make pins. I don't usually moderate, but I did once when literally 5 people came in at 9:58 right ahead of me in line. It was a bit icy when I had to sit next to the one girl who did get tickets, sans her late friends that evening. I don't really cut an imposing figure though, so I'm a bit hesitant to try moderation on a routine basis.

[Anakela]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:20am

Shakespeare in the Park doesn't stand for it- wish there was more moderation of it on Broadway.

Oh I love the Shakespeare in the Park line moderators! Did the overnight wait back in 2009 and I can still remember the guy walking our section of the line every so often, asking if anyone has any complaints about anyone's place in line and being pretty quick to settle disputes/remove people from the line.

I've found the Broadway box offices to be pretty hit or miss when it comes to complaints of line cutting being brought to their attention- I've seen the "sorry, I can't do anything about that" (sells the line cutter tickets) shrug, I've seen someone get gently escorted out of the building, I've seen the other people who were already on line take it upon themselves to cut in front of the cutter...

[Q]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:20am

"I don't really cut an imposing figure"

I don't think I do, either - but I guess being 6'2", male, and having a bit of a psychotic look in your eye CAN come in handy

[ActingIsLovee]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:26am

Leaving a show before the end of the curtain call to stage door is unacceptable. Period. The blogger was complaining about not getting tickets the first time she rushed How to Succeed when she got there WHEN THE BOX OFFICE OPENED. Well, no sh*t sherlock!
As far as letting people cut in rush line, I think that's inappropriate as well. When I did Jerusalem rush a few weeks ago I got there around 8:10 and was the 3rd person in line. About half an hour after that someone arrived and started polling people to see if they were trying to get matinee or evening tickets (it was a wednesday) to see if he still had a chance. Realizing he didn't have a chance, he asked the two people in front of me who were each only buying one ticket, to buy him tickets. They were going to do it until someone behind me in line called him out on it. I thought he was extremely rude.
/long rant of a story

[Katurian2]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:38am

Q: Hah! It does indeed. I should pull some of the crazies that prowl the 1 Train in the odd hours of the morning to come and enforce this. Being 5'6, female and blonde probably has some advantage, but I haven't yet thought what they are... X)

ActingisLovee: Yeah, that is quite rude behavior. Especially since he KNEW he would be cutting someone out at that point! Wristbands sometimes help the cause a bit, but I know at Jerusalem (again) jus last week, they handed out wristbands, but no one checked them later on in the morning, and there were several cuts made and never called out. I grabbed the last rush ticket, so I felt a bit bad for those behind me that were cut out.



Another note: I really REALLY hope that Book of Mormon's line is being moderated for SRO. It has been getting quite crazy lately, and with such a demand and wait for tickets, I would be REALLY pissy if I saw cutting there.

[jennamajig]

Posted: 6/15/11 at 11:46am

ActingisLovee, I almsot saw the same thing on the Mormon SRO line that day I did it.

I arrived at 2 pm and was 4th in line. The line got very long after that. At around 5, the 2nd guy in line's girlfriend showed up from an audition. Not a problem, because he was buying two tickets only, right? Nope, she realized she could also buy two tickets and immediately talked him into it and started calling all their friends to see if someone wanted them. When they couldn't find friends that could go, they thought about buying 4 and selling two or being a good Samaritan and giving two away. I wanted to say, "yes, that only works if you give them away to the two people that have been standing in line for the last two hours thinking they were going to get tickets and didn't because you showed up at 5 with this plan" but thankfully they decided to only buy two.