I had the worst audience members around me tonight for the tour of Waitress. I had mentioned in another thread, that it wasn't selling well and I predicted they would have the usual lottery to fill seats. Well, I won the lottery ($30 for choice of seats). However, I was offered free tickets for opening tonight, which I thought was to fill up the orchestra, to give the illusion of selling well. Well, I took the free tickets and to my surprise, my tickets were way up in the balcony. I would have preferred just buying the $30 tickets. At this theater, they sell roasted peanuts in a paperish holder. The two women sitting next to me for the entirety of the first act, rattled this paper constantly. I would give them the look, which just made the female closet to me rattle louder. I surprised myself by not saying anything earlier. I waited till intermission and finally said something about the noise. She stated she had the right to eat in the theater. I said yes you do, but I have the right to not have the show ruined for me due to your noise. Then, in the second act, the guy two rows in front of me started taping the show. I was glad this was my second time seeing this (saw the original cast), because the experience was ruined for me.
That's just despicable when certain audience members decide to fight about getting caught. As if becoming more aggressive makes you look like the better person. If you're caught and told that you're disrupting the show, apologize and move on.
mailhandler777, Jacksonville, Florida is a odd city for what sells. I used to think it was the older shows that did well, but this season, The King and I, sold awful also. When the show doesn't sell, they have a $30 lottery and you can pick your seats. That is why I'm mad at myself for going for free, and ending up with awful seats. I had won the lottery and could of had a great seat. Our last show for the main season is The School of Rock and it is not selling either.
ArtMan said: "mailhandler777, Jacksonville, Florida is a odd city for what sells. I used to think it was the older shows that did well, but this season, The King and I, sold awful also. When the show doesn't sell, they have a $30 lottery and you can pick your seats. That is why I'm mad at myself for going for free, and ending up with awful seats. I had won the lottery and could of had a great seat. Our last show for the main season is The School of Rock and it is not selling either."
Come to think of it when I saw Wicked there in 2011 I believe it didn't sell well either. I was 1 of maybe 15 people in the balcony
JayElle said: "I also get the theater headsets for that specific purpose. I can hear okay. I use the headsets to drown out the peripheral noise around me like talking, candy wrappers, etc. I turn up the volume if I have to. "
this is GENIUS. how have I never thought of this!!!
The direction of this thread caused me to look to see how Waitress is selling for next week in Oklahoma City. I am already seeing it next Tuesday. I had thought it was selling well, but noticed that most Balcony seats are unsold (similar to A Bronx Tale last week). I also noted that seats in front of mine in the orchestra had opened up. So I called and they moved me for free from the second row of center orchestra to front row of center orchestra pit.
Once on This Island spoilers below (Then again, the Broadway production closed)
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My school put on a production of Once on This Island last week, and we usually look forward to our student night performance (last Thursday) which usually draws the biggest crowd because of the cheaper tickets. During Forever Yours (Reprise), when our Ti Moune chose not to kill Daniel and threw the knife on the ground, a girl in the audience yelled “Girl, really?” and completely killed the suspense of the scene by making the entire audience laugh inappropriately. Then during A Part of Us, when Ti Moune was transformed into a tree, there were several people saying “A tree? What?”. Basically, it’s ridiculous to see that instead of quietly respecting what was done through two months of long rehearsals, people are more interested in having ridiculous side conversations instead of taking in the story we are trying to tell. Luckily, the audiences at all other performances were very behaved and respectful.
Burn This on Friday May 3. I was in the second row of the orchestra. The guy in front of me was a real prize. Had a front row seat. The play starts. Quiet scene. And he starts munching popcorn loudly. And talking. I quietly shush him as does his wife. Munch munch munch. His female companion brings out the candy wrappers. But of course. He loud whispers again. Keri Russell shoots him a look. Later Adam Driver does a scene that has the actor on the floor only a few feet away from us. This guy starts talking again. Mercifully the man fell asleep towards the end of act 1 and continued his nap through act 2–not snoring thankfully. His female companion took a selfie of her with him as he slept. For Pete’s sake go back to your motel people.
I was recently at a concert of Carmina Burana at Lincoln Center. Beautiful with Alvin Ailey dancers included. Never saw the piece performed like that. Great student and national chorales. The woman next to me texted through out part one, which was psalms prior to Carmina. The house lights were on so the light from her phone wasn’t as annoying as usual, I let it go. Then I let intermission go. Right before part two started, I turned to her and said “are you planning to text all through the second part too because I love this upcoming piece. If you are, I’ll move my seat”. She turned slowly to me and said she wouldn’t. I remained where I was seated. And she didn’t text or even take out her phone for the second half. But, she was going crazy. Like withdrawal symptoms. I did feel quite satisfied about the whole thing!
I know I've told this story many times but at a Hello Dolly! i attended there were two women who talked during the entire Act 1 about how Donna Murphy reminded them too much of Hillary Clinton for them to endure. Finally they bounded out of their seats, apparently traumatized beyond belief.
It was one of the most wtf moments I've ever experienced in a theater. I see absolutely no resemblance between the two ladies.
When I saw Beetlejuice on April 6, my TDF ticket seat was on Orch left far end. Two more seats on my left. During the entire show, the woman who sat on my left kept pointing at the stage with her right hand. Because of the angle, her hand was almost in front of my eyes when she did so. While this might be acceptable for few times, but for the entire show it was REALLY annoying and distracting.
What's even worse. She couldn't help but shouting loudly while pointing at the stage. The words from her mouth were, f**k, wow, oh look....and lots of combination of those words.
What confused me even more: During the intermission, she told all audience around her that she was a stage actress.
I thought as an actress, she could behave better in the theatre.
I was at a performance of Matilda (touring) in Orch row g center. A couple arrived and took the pair of seats next to me......and they had an INFANT with them. I would say about 9 months old. AND of course the baby started to act up AND then the mother begins to breast feed the child. I honestly could not believe what i was seeing. I went found the house manager and complained but he said there was nothing he could do and would move me to another seat. I hated the show and left at intermission.
Burn This and now Harry Potter: at both plays this weekend I had people munching popcorn near me. At Harry Potter they asked people to not eat snacks during the show. But they’re serving said snacks and letting people bring them into the theater. Make up your mind theater owners but side on the side of the actors and audience members trying to exist in the moment.
A friend posted this and tagged me on Facebook for my thoughts. I had a few! I wanted to respond but did not want to create an account to do so. I do not agree with most of what she wrote.
The Root piece is INCREDIBLY thoughtful and also shines a light on how many (white) theatregoers forget how flexible the space of theatre really should be.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
My biggest pet peeve is people who don't sit back in their seats. A few of the last shows I've seen have been obstructed for much of the show by people leaning so far forward their heads block the stage. I don't understand how it can be comfortable to hunch over forward for 3 hours. When I try to politely ask for them to sit back the excuses are so ludicrous or they just scoff at me like I'm in the wrong. One woman said she was having anxiety and needed to lean forward to help with it...throughout the entire 2 parts of Cursed Child.
When I saw Hadestown recently, at the end of Wait For Me about 10 people in the orchestra got up and started running for the restrooms. They were literally jumping over other patrons to be first in line. As the stampede was halfway up the aisle, they realized the act wasn't over and turned around and started climbing back over the people still in their seats in order to see the end of the act. It was pretty remarkable.
It's happening more frequently and it's annoying as hell. I assumed it going in, but the audience at Beetlejuice was one of the most drunk, uncouth masses I've seen in awhile. They regularly shouted back to the stage like they were at a baptist revival
uncageg said: "A friend posted this and tagged me on Facebook for my thoughts. I had a few! I wanted to respond but did not want to create an account to do so. I do not agree with most of what she wrote.
People who are used to audiences being quiet and reacting at only appropriate moments will get really, really pissed at "Aint Too Proud". It's a concert with a little story splashed in. Do not except the audience not to sing. They will. Go with it, or get super loaded beforehand.
I cant even tell you how many times Ive either had to tell someone to put away their phone or have seen people recording/taking photos. The following quote is from Jessica Vosk.
Hi guys. When you film from the front row...just know, I can see it. And it totally takes us out of the moment. Please enjoy yourself and put the screen away. I want to give you the best show I can. Much love.
Almost every time I've seen Hamilton, someone around me starts to sing along with Aaron Burr when he starts the show with "how does a bastard, orphan.."
Last week, when I saw Hamilton in Chicago, a woman behind me started to sing along and was immediately shushed by what sound like the entire theater lol. She giggled and said sorry. But then she kept singing along to every song. Her boyfriend (or whoever he was) tried to get her to be quiet, but she wasn't having it.
At intermission, she chatted up the girl next to her (and behind me) telling her that she has seen Hamilton many times and that people always love that she knows all the words and think it's really cool that she can sing along with the cast onstage. The girl next to her just kind of pleasantly nodded. I kept turning around and nonverbally commiserating with her as this obnoxious woman kept going on and on about how she has a lot experience in theater so she knows her singing isn't disruptive because people around her always like that she does it. I was with my aunt and complained to her about it and my aunt said that she didn't hear a thing. I decided that I wasn't going to let this woman ruin the show for me so when she sang all through Act 2, I just forced myself to focus on the stage and ignore her.
I have mixed feelings about Ain't Too Proud. I'm not that interested in the Temptations catalog in the first place, but I am one of those "see shows just to see them" kind of guy. Knowing that people WILL sing along might actually make it easier to deal with. It sounds like the singing along at Ain't Too Proud is officially allowed?
That article from the Root was just terrible. Why did she have to bring up that the guy shushing her mom was balding? How was that relevant? And she doesn't know the difference between a play and a musical, a cast recording and a soundtrack, and she's lecturing people about theater? I don't get it. That said, if I had not known people would sing along (like my Jersey Boys experience, where people replied to my shushing with "oh come on lighten up" I would have been upset that people were singing around me. I do think it's dangerous to suggest that black people, in general, are loud in theaters and non-blacks have to accept that. If you read the FB comments under the Root article, people are bragging about going to other Broadway shows and singing along at those shows as well, and daring people to shush them for it. A troubling trend for sure.
joined:9/23/07
joined:
9/23/07
Posted: 2/6/19 at 5:38pm