I was watching an interview Jonathan Freeman did regarding playing Jafar on stage and he mentioned that he loved coming to do his bow and hearing equal booing and cheers.
I've only ever seen it done at Peter Pan. Since the audience for that is youngsters, I think it's great fun.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
There have been a couple of threads on this topic, the first of which was started by me a few years back. I posed the question because there was booing during the curtain call of Porgy and Bess on tour, which I thought was very strange given that the show is so serious.
JBroadway said: "I posed the question because there was booing during the curtain call of Porgy and Bess on tour, which I thought was very strange given that the show is so serious."
Yeah at a show like Peter Pan, Frozen, or something of that nature I wouldnt mind it. But like you mentioned in a serious show it would feel a little childish i think..?
I think it’s interesting when the actor awknowledges or expects to be booed and they mime “sorry.” Saw it more recently during Waitress from earl.
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I'm not an opera fan (I TRIED a few seasons ago, but I frankly couldn't wait for Carmen to die) but I recall hearing that boos are occasionally done at the opera. Perhaps that was a factor for Porgy as well.
During Porgy and Bess on Broadway, Philip was booed during the curtain call. I looked around in horror as people did it. Phillip took it in stride and did a curtsy and laughed. Still, it's like people thought he was Crown. Ugh.
HogansHero said: "MarkBear, the tradition of booing at the opera is different. It is directed at the performance not the character."
True - I was assuming in the Porgy example, it could've been either, but rereading it, I saw that it clearly was directed at Philip Boykin, I agree that it was directed at the character.
I think this really comes down to the word “Villain”. I wouldn’t categorize most antagonists in dramas as “Villains” because they’re usually more fleshed out. But in comedies and lighter fare, antagonists are usually “bad guys” just for the sake of being the bad guy. That’s a Villain to me.
As Princeton2 pointed out, "Its not unusual for Javert to be boo' d ". To me I can see all of the other pointed out, such as Gaston and Ursula, etc., but it's Javert that I don't like. Javert is simply doing his job. He is law enforcement and Valjean broke the law. Some people see him as the "bad guy", but in my opinion he is not. The Thenardiers are the villains of the show. While I personally find it offensive to boo after they worked so hard to entertain us, they know they did there job well if they get boo' d.
I was listening to an old podcast with Katie Finneran and she said sometimes she'd get boo'ed during curtain call of Mauritius and how she was taken aback the first time but then realized it meant she was doing her job and playing this character to be unlikable.
As an actor, getting boo'd by an audience when you're playing the villain is a HOOT. I've played Callahan in Legally Blonde locally and fondly remember some boos!!! It's great.