Do Theater People Suck?
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- Опубліковано 12 січ 2024
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do theatre people suck? Let’s discuss! As always let us know your thoughts in the comments to continue the conversation.
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We're Sam & Ryan! Samantha Fekete is a content creator/production manager who works full time at Spellbound Inc. Ryan McCartan is an actor who you may recognize as Diggie from Disney Channel's Liv and Maddie, JD from Heathers the Musical, Hans from Frozen on Broadway, and more! We create content to entertain and inform. Subscribe to take a deep dive into out content! If you subscribe, you officially become Daddy, a part of the best fan base out there.
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The announcer should change to speech and make it say “if you takes photos or record you will be exited from the show” “this is not a concert please do not talk for the respect of people around you and actors onstage”
It’s so sad but we have to talk to adults like babies
I think this is a post-Covid thing. People genuinely don’t know how to act in public anymore. This is a problem in movie theaters, too. A woman literally gave me a concussion after Barbie because I told her she ruined the movie for me by being on her phone the whole time.
Oh my god! Terrifying! It's like people have either forgotten to consider the effects of their behvaior on others or are sort of avenging that they had to resrict themselves so much for others during the hight Covid times
I mean I suppose that’s a factor but covid was 4 years ago and at some point we can’t blame it on that anymore
see i don’t understand this. if someone is on their phone in a dark theater where it’s fairly obvious, why isn’t an usher coming to address that?
@@diananunez8828 I don't know if it is the reason, but as someone who was starting my studies when it happened, I do think Covid transformed our lives a LOT and still influenced us now. For instance in a class in which we weren't many (maybe 20-30), a teacher asked what we do after school (so we'd practice German) and she tried SO HARD to make us say dancing but none of us realised it since we were right after it lol. But more generally, we took new habits, lost projects, some lost their jobs / projects / *loved ones*, and some of us are at risk and still worry about it nowadays. So... Yeah, i don't know if in this case it's a direct link, but for sure it's still got an influence 4 years later
You know you hear this so much in relation to peoples bad behaviour these days.. that they no longer know how to act in public anymore. Lockdowns were 6 months at best not several years. Can you really have forgotten manners, decorum, decency and how to act in such a short time?!!
I'm from the middle east, and I will probably never experience musical theatre, (except the pro shots, slime tutorials or official sound tracks) and it makes me really upset to learn that people who can and do go to these amazing shows, are ruining it for everyone else.
When I saw Hamilton, I was sitting next to this couple who either saw it on Disney+, or listened to the album, but they were singing along, and dancing. It was so annoying, and on the ride home I was like: THIS IS NOT A CONCERT
I love the thought about "d*mned if you do, d*mned if you don't" there was a girl in Anastasia (while it was touring) last December that SAID and SANG every single word and I didn't know what to do because I personally didn't want to disrupt the show either, but I had been waiting YEARS to see this show live as well so I just ended up sitting in silence until intermission when I said "hey can you stop singing and saying the words, I appreciate your love of the show but this is not the place to do it" and she cried...
You did the right thing. I know she might’ve been embarrassed but I hope that lead her to doing some self-reflection. I presume she was mostly quiet from that point onwards.
The past 5 shows I have seen people around me talk and I tell them to stop and I even tell the ushers.
It’s so sad it completly takes me about of the immersive experience
i am so sorry you had to experience this. and i was thinking the answer would be talking to an usher, but i guess that wouldn’t work either :(
I went to see six in November, and the crowd was horrible. During heart of stone, I saw people go on there phones and someone behind me whispered ‘this is boring’. the person next to me was singing along through the WHOLE show. In a silent serious scene, someone catcalled the actors. people really don’t know theatre etiquette anymore
Storytime. Last October I played Christopher Wren in a community theatre production of The Mousetrap, and there’s a scene in the show where I had to break down and cry. On this particular night, in the middle of the scene, I hear a cellphone go off. Then I watch in disbelief as the elderly woman sitting in the front row answers the phone and starts talking. I believe she even said something to the effect of “Oh, I’m just watching a show right now, how have you been?” With the same attitude as if she were watching TV. In different circumstances, I would have been sorely tempted to break the fourth wall and call her out directly, but because it was a dramatic scene, I had to stay in the moment. At one point, I was literally covering my face, pretending to cry while holding back laughter. Eventually someone in the audience made her hang up, thank goodness. I still can’t believe the ignorance of that woman to this day.
The first time I saw Hamilton in Chicago (mid November 2023) the people in front of me were most likely drunk, they continuously got up in the middle of the show, they would whisper to each other (idk if you can call is a whisper with how loud it was) and block my view.
I think people who have never been on stage don’t understand that actors can see the glow of your phone and it really hurts to see like I’ve put blood,sweat and tears to humbly make your day a little better, and your ON YOUR PHONE
There should be an overflow room that televises the show for those who want to sing along/talk/be disruptive😂🤦♀️
I recently saw a show where someone close to me dropped something on the ground during the show and they had the nerve to take out their phone and use their flashlight to find it. I asked them to put away their phone multiple times to no avail. An usher came to talk to them and then the person yelled at the usher! I was so mortified that people have the nerve to ruin other peoples theatre-going experience by being selfish ass holes.
I am so sorry to all Theater people (actors & audiences) who have experienced such bad theater etiquette. I myself have been lucky for the most part to not be in a situation where there is too much disruption (the only thing I can think of is little kids at Frozen and even then I was more concerned about my dad getting into a fight then anything) but I can see how it is frustrating!
Thank you to all the actors for doing what you do and entertaining us
I never comment, but i was in London recently, and i saw Mamma mia, Jersey Boys, and Frozen. Somehow, to my surprise, the best behaved audience was at Frozen, which was mainly an audience of 5 year olds.
I understand that Mamma mia and Jersey boys are both jukeboxes but 😤.
Mamma mia was filled with tourists who talked and sung throughout (staff was doing their best to stop them, though).
Jersey Boys had a slightly classier audience, but unfortunately, i sat directly in front of a booze-stinking middle-aged woman who quietly sung every word. I did have to laugh, though, when one of the lines in the show was something like "only the good ones make it" and she loudly and proudly said "Absolutely" 🙄. Turned round twice during the show to give her a death stare but no joy.
If 5 year olds can sit quiet for 2 hours, surely adults can.
Thanks for speaking up about this because it's gotten out of hand!
Had the same experience with mamma Mia in London last summer. A lot of rude people and the lady right beside me was singing and dancing the whole time.
I had a theatre experience ruined by a mother talking to her son the ENTIRE SHOW, in THE FRONT ROW. When I asked her to be quiet she lost her mind because I was 'criticising her child'. If anything, I was criticising her shitty parenting. People like that should be banned from theatres.
I saw Danny and the Deep Blue Sea last night and after the show, Aubrey Plaza didn't stage door and went straight to her car. At least 10 people with funko pops, pictues, and other things chased after her, yelling stuff. When she was in the car, they banged on the windows and continued to yell. Theatre audiences suck. So disrespectful
I feel like its just poeple being self-centered and thats kind of a common sense thing, like NOT to be drunk before going to a performance... its confusing honestly
Some of my friends went to NYC to see Six for their friends birthday. My one friend who loves Six and enjoys theater told me about the other two friends with her. Both friends fell asleep during the show, went on their phones, and listens to their own music. I get if you don’t enjoy a show, but Six is 80 minutes, you can sit through an 80 minutes show without going on your phone. I have to say that I have been lucky enough to always have great audiences when seeing shows, weather on Broadway, tour, or a local production.
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Love watching you guys❤
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I think there’s a difference between entitlement and ignorance, and I think perhaps making it so people who are intoxicated can’t watch a show could help perhaps?
i doubt they could ever do this, unfortunately. i just couldn’t see them having a proper system in place to be able to weed out the bad ones.
Bad theater etiquette amuses me, because when I see shows I usually have to remind myself to blink since I’m staring so intently at the actors so I don’t miss anything.
I also find it funny that the people who take bootlegs manage to generally be very polite, while normal theatergoers struggle with it
I could not agree more! One time I went to Music Man to see my friend and their family perform and these 3 people were COMPLAINING about the overture being long and they kept laughing about people’s performances. As someone who does theater and loves to watch theater, it’s really makes me mad.
I went to mean girls the musical last night, with a group of seven others. One of them spent the whole time just texting people, and two others were shopping on their phones and then slept through the whole dang show!!!!
Never going to a musical with that group ever again!
My opinion is if people are going to be disrespectful they shouldn’t go to a show and if they do they should simply get kicked out (by the way I love your video and my name is also Ryan)
The conversation about theater reminds me so much of my frustration working at Disney’s Magic Kingdom… I get some people saved for years to take their family but the amount of entitlement and rudeness I experienced there scared me. Not even that, the whole “making magic” is only true for whatever they decide without caring about others, and the worst part is seeing them going to my supervisor and getting away with it even sometimes getting free stuff or privileges. Makes me so mad.
13:46 this is such a good point. There are tons of wholesome theatre fanboys and fangirls who will probably never see a real Broadway show due to the expenses.
I agree that so many people have become very much only about them and what bothers them with no regard for anyone else so I think societally and culturally in the US right now we are seeing this SO much. It is such a huge problem
I recently went to a show of Wicked in Miami, Florida and with this being one of my first times seeing a real show as I am a tween I really wanted to enjoy it since Ive always loved theater and the story of Wicked. So my parents got me 6 row right orchestra seats and I get there and there is about a 50 year old woman with about her 5 year old son who was not interested in the show at all and the son had an amazing seat and he kept on getting up and sitting on his moms lap and I was sitting directly behind the mom so I couldn't see half of the show. About right after the first act they went to the lobby for like 45 min so I could enjoy some of the show but it was just so annoying but I am so happy I saw it because now I am a student at an amazing magnet school for Drama in south miami and currently starring as Matilda in Matilda as the 6th play Ive been in!
As an actor myself AND a part time usher for Shubert theatres, it’s frustrating if say someone is in the middle of a center section and being disruptive, like talking or on their phone in the middle of a show because I can’t access them without disrupting MORE audience members than those immediately around them, and I wait a little bit for someone near them to reprimand them, because someone around them must know theatre etiquette. It’s just hard to stop someone without disrupting others to stop them sometimes. It also gags me when people are leaving as I’m holding a door open and people walk by me simply talking trash about the show/actors in it. Like you are absolutely allowed to have an opinion but you gotta be a little aware, at least whisper if you want to say it in the theatre but 😭
One thing I look forward to every year is attending our Broadway Series in Louisville Ky. Usually people are well behaved. Except this year I saw Wicked for the third time and a lady starting singing loudly in my row. Eventually the usher told her to be quiet. Then another guy in our row was furious and told her “I didn’t pay all this money to hear your bad singing!” She cried, but we all were able to enjoy the show afterward. Shout out to watching Frozen last month in the same theatre. It was all around fabulous!! I bet you know some of the cast- at least Olaf, who originated the character on Broadway. (Jeremy Davis). Lauren Nicole Davis was Anna. Caroline Bowman was Elsa.
Don’t give up! Some of us are well behaved and die hard theatre/ musical fans!❤
This wasn't a theatre show per say, but Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp did a show in Toronto that I went to where they were just like, singing show and other tunes, and people were pregaming before it. Like, what?
I once saw Frozen in Germany (Hamburg) and the first cast was playing (25 august 2023)... During let it go a 10 year old in row 2 (mind you) right next to me stands up and talks to her mom about wanting to change seats with her... only to end up switching it back not 2 minutes later. She was eating popcorn and filming while the show was on... i could've killed her tbh. Apologized to the actresses on Stage after the show at the stagedoor and they really appreciated it.. i get that it's a different situation and i also know it's annoying as hell. Of all times you could've chosen you chose LET IT GO DURING THE QUICK CHANGE SECTION OF ELSAS DRESS ?????? F OFF😂💀
I have had mixed experiences recently. I am currently a musical theatre student in new york and have been extremely lucky to experience multiple shows in the past few months. I went to chicago and moulin rouge and enjoyed myself a lot but i don't know if this is a balcony thing or people can't wait to intermission or the end of the show but a lot of grown adults kept getting up and probably going to the restrooms in the middle of the show and it was a bit annoying. I also went to see Gutenberg which is a fantastic show and a man in the FRONT ROW was just on his phone in front of Josh Gad and I was baffled; an usher got to him after a little while but I was so shocked. Thankfully I havent had people talking and singing along near me. It does make me sad that people forget to use their manners and common sense.
Last year I went to Hamilton Germany with my class, it was a typical school trip. As a Hamilton fan (for years) I was very happy to see the show for the second time. However, all the people in my class had a very negative attitude towards musicals right from the start and had no interest in Hamilton. That doesn't really bother me, but the boys and a few others just took out their phones during the show and watched football?! Even though it wasn't loud, you could hear and see their reactions very well. At that point I was just ashamed and felt sorry for the actors on stage. Especially because the theater in Germany where Hamilton was shown wasn't particularly big and the boys sat quite far up front. I don't understand why some people can't pull themselves together for a certain period of time out of respect for the actors and the audience.
I also feel that I had more bad audience experiences in the past year, including singing along, whispering, texting and creating noise crinkling snack bags . The weirdest was two men arguing for like 30 seconds during the show Kimberly Akimbo.
The privilege thing is totally accurate. Almost every single time I've been disturbed by other theatre-goers it's been almost exclusively waspy/country club looking white women in their 50s/60s that seem to have a chardonnay problem. Ruined the first half of Merrily We Roll Along for me (though at least they had the courtesy to not come back to their seats in act 2 and stayed in the bar). The only exception is when I saw Aladdin recently and there were kids talking, but I kinda went in with that expectation as 5 year olds are never gonna be 100% quiet, even if their parents tell them too. I would like to hope that if we start to ram theatre etiquette down their throats more it would help (big signs up, put it in email confirmations, emphasize more in the opening announcement etc) but sadly I don't think it will. Most if not all theatres have security so they should be more involved in helping ushers out with rowdy guests, I guess it just depends if the theatre wants to deal with the extra cost or not (probably not).
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Quite a while ago, when I was about 11, I was sort of new to theatre, and I was in my middle school’s production of Shrek. I knew a good amount of musicals, and basically I knew how theatre worked and everything. At that age I went to go see Six, and Six was (and still is) one of my favorite musicals. I was so excited because I REALLY liked this musical, I knew several songs word for word. When I got there, I was surprised to see that I was like one of the three tweens/teens there. It didn’t bother me, I thought that the crowd was going to be good anyway, because the crowd in Palm Beach are usually good. I sat in the very last row, but I was still so happy. I was singing along (not too loud to be disruptive) with the opening number, and nobody else was singing? I was confused because the opening number is like the most hype song, and it was a concert themed musical, it also said “sing along” on the Six poster. So I was getting concerned if I wasn’t supposed to be singing, because I respect theatre rules, and if I knew I wasn’t supposed to be singing along I wouldn’t be. There was also this moment in the musical where one of the queens encouraged one person in the crowd to get up and dance to hype up the song, can you guess what happened? They didn’t. I’m not blaming that one person, they have every right to not get up if they don’t want to in that situation. But if that was me, I would get up in a heartbeat! Plus, it kind of made it awkward when the person didn’t get up. At the end of the musical the queens were encouraging the audience to get up and dance for the very last song, and only like 1/3 of the audience did so. Again, they don’t have to if they don’t want to, but the crowd could’ve been a little more supportive?? Six is one of the most fun and upbeat shows I’ve seen, but the crowd didn’t act that way. I wouldn’t say this was one of those experiences where the crowd ruined the show for me though, the show was amazing either way!
Literally just watched this after going to the theatre festival in my state, and while people were waiting in line for a workshop we were asked 3 TIMES from a stage manager of a show going on nearby to quiet down because actors were missing their cues, and then we were asked by someone else running auditions to quiet down because we were distracting actors auditioning through two doors. When we saw Matilda, there were boys behind us making jokes and talking the entire time, screaming in the middle of songs, and trying to start chants WHILE THE SHOW WAS STILL GOING ON??? Even when we saw Alice By Heart, instead of waiting for the end of the crazy riffs, etc. to cheer, the audience would start screaming while the actors were still singing, or in the middle of a song when the actor would do a flip or something. These are just a few of the problems, but the group of people I was with were absolutely appalled. Of all people that should understand theatre etiquette and be respectful it should be theatre kids and it so infuriating to see the disrespect from our own people.
I also was there for that workshop too, people in line would not shut up and it was so annoying
Sam’s impression of drunken off-key singing is hilarious
As someone who is in fact from Minneapolis, my first ever Broadway show was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE, but it was a bit distracting because it was Dear Evan Hansen with Gaten Materazzo as Jared, and the whole time we could just hear fans outside screaming. I mostly just feel bad for the people involved with the production (especially the actors who have the most attention on them) that have to deal with it on a regular basis. As for the theater I go to at home, the majority of the audience is great! Although when Frozen was on tour the theater was filled with small children screaming, which I suppose was to be expected 😅
Back in November i saw beetlejuice and the entire time the lady next to me was on her phone with her brightness at 100% halfway through i just had to ask her to please turn it off. Its so sad that this is what theater etiquette has come to.
okay so i am a theatre usher and we currently have wicked on at one of the biggest theatres in australia and MY GOD... some people just suck. it definitely seems to be a post-covid thing and also just a degeneration of theatre etiquette. it is insane to me how some people act, particularly people that have clearly been to the theatre before. with wicked on and it being a popular show in the cultural zeitgeist, we have had so many people singing during the songs that they know from social media (popular, defying gravity) that we have to hARP on about the rules to do with no singing and phone use/filming. and, at least from an australian usher perspective, we are trying our goddamn hardest to make sure this type of stuff isn't happening. we know which songs people are going to sing along to, we are always more aware of drunk patrons, we look out for other patrons' frustrated reactions towards bad behaviour and we will awkwardly shuffle into the middle of any row to try and stop it.
I've seen this in several shows. The worst was in Cabaret. In the version I saw at the End, Emcee and the chorus appeared naked in what was supposed to be this really evocative and emotive scene showing they were on the cusp of WW2 and all these people were almost certainly going to end up as victims of the Holocaust.
A woman whooped. Because there was a naked butt on stage. It was *sickening*.
This is going on a lot in the UK as well. The jukebox musicals are getting hit hard because everyone knows the songs, so treat it like a concert. The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematography and Theatre Union (BECTU) did an audience behaviour survey for theatre workers in Feb 2023 with 56.3% (or 849) of respondents not being union members. Overall, "1,222 reported experience of or being witness to “general disorderly/loud/unsafe/intoxicated/lewd/antisocial behaviour” from audience members.
" This was from all sorts of theatre, but musicals were the worst by far.
I just can't believe the lack of courtesy and kindness being shown to performers, staff & fellow patrons by a very vocal minority. I've been lucky so far (apart from one incident many years ago at The Rocky Horror Show, fortunately handled during the interval), but when I went to see Hamilton last Feb I got box tickets in London for hubby's 50th, someone leaned into our box (boxes are positioned at the back of the stalls) and plugged in a bunch of stuff to charge. WTF?! No, it didn't affect me, but (for no reason really) it annoyed the hell out of me. So YES a growing entitled percentage of the world's population does indeed suck! But not all of them, not yet. 🤞
This is a thoughtful discussion about a very important topic. As a performer myself, I am particularly sensitive about this. I remember I was performing a Sondheim song in a cabaret show I did, a person was clearly not listening to the song. They were loudly laughing and carrying on with their table as the very quiet and tender song ended. I was furious with this audience member. It was SO incredibly disruptive, in a small environment.
Something I was reflecting on recently: there has been some research done about the effect of the pandemic and the collective trauma of prolonged social isolation. Obviously this problem did not just start in 2020 and people were rude at shows before the pandemic. However, I do wonder if many people have literally just forgotten how to act in public. I do agree it is horrible for both the performers and the audience members when there are the disrespectful audience members.
I am so glad Ryan also mentioned the over-privileged armchair critics. I attended a production of Sunday in the Park with George back in, I think, 2017. There was a group of audience members in front of me who literally spent the entire first act criticizing the show out loud and mentioning what Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters did. Thankfully I was able to move for the second act. But it was just horrible and immensely disrespectful to both the performers and the audience.
Yeah totally agree, have seen some pretty obnoxious behaviour in audiences in the past few months. I think definitely big juggernauts like Wicked or jukebox shows are more likely to attract it, my worst experience was at Moulin Rouge - a shocking amount of different people turned up like over 30 minutes after the show started, and then these latecomers all seemed to be drunk, made as much noise as possible getting to their seats,were texting or scrolling Instagram at best and singing along or filming at worst... it was really annying. But it's hard to say anything because engaging with them is going to interrupt your watching experience even more.
And it is depressing as well in line with what Ryan says here like when you overhear people in the audience talking badly about x,y,z as well like before the show or in the interval and you're just conscious of that negativity - like often I hear people complaining when they see understudies are on for example even if the main stars aren't celebrity/big names that they would have even heard of... like I get not always enjoying what you're seeing, I've certainly seen shows I didn't really vibe with, but you don't need to bring that energy back to the rest of the audience who may be enjoying it.
I've been to a few touring shows and almost every time there was someone who was talking or on their phone and the people that I came with asked them nicely to stop talking or to put away their phone. They did but gave a wtf look to that person. Like they were in the wrong and not them. So, it just puts dappers in the viewing experience for everyone around them because most people who buy tickets are generally trying to watch the show. And yes the music/ audio is loud, but the people who are around you can still hear and see you. It's not like you're in a bubble where no one can see you. Also, if this is your first time going to a show then you are confused about if this is the right time to talk or use your phone look around and see what the people next to you are doing, and then follow suit. Lastly, during intermission then you can use your phone and talk.
I’m a massive theatre fan from upstate NY who prioritizes getting to Broadway a few times a year and a lot of this really resonates with me. I’ve been in identical situations to the one Sam described a handful of times and it’s so deeply disappointing as the person who has looked forward to a specific show/performance and then has to listen to drunk and/or inconsiderate theatre goers. I’ve seen kids throw candy during & Juliet. I’ve seen people yell and make out during Hadestown. Unfortunately, the list goes on. On the upside, it hasn’t stopped me from attending live theatre and it hasn’t stop me from being incredibly giddy about Broadway and theatre in general. I’ll always be the person sitting quietly in my seat, watching whatever is happening on stage with genuine, awe and trying (sometimes failing) to shut out whatever’s happening around me. ❤
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When I went to go see west side story in Chicago I was genuinely SO excited because this is my favorite musical ever, I know every line, I’ve seen the movie over 20 times and obviously Ryan was in it, and I’m a huge fan! We got there and it was a Wednesday show so there was a group of kids on a field trip- when I tell you they wouldn’t shut up I mean it. They were talking THE WHOLE TIME even making fun of the show and I know they’re just kids, but they had chaperones and their chaperones easily could’ve told them to stop but they didn’t even try. I still loved the show, but these kids were what I was focusing on when all I wanted to focus on was the show and the actors I had been waiting to see for MONTHS
Damn I’ve been to enough Broadway shows where it feels sad to say that I feel LUCKY that I’ve never experienced anything this severe. If someone was talking loudly or even singing and is openly hostile when I ask them to stop, I would like to think I’d get up and go to the ushers, but crying tears of frustration because that would ruin my experience knowing I have to get up and miss even more of the show to get help.
When i went to see heathers last year, id been obsessed with it for a good few months and knew basically every word. I did not sing along. I lipsynced.
late to this vid!!! i saw wicked on tour in my state, and my experience was super amazing (even though my seats were super high up). two friends of mine went another night and they told me how two guys behind them sang through every song (very loudly) and no usher spoke to them, and they were afraid to say anything. they also aren't frequent theater goers so i felt awful that one of their very first and limited experiences was interrupted by people who couldnt fathom shutting up for 3 hours of their life.
I've had these experiences with talkative audience members, and what really frustrates me is how they take you out of the "moment". I hope this never happened to you in WWS in Chicago, Ryan. Because I came back for your performance numerous times, and the only time the audience was "wild" was in their applause and utter pleasure in never hearing a Tony quite like yours. As a Lyric artist, I can tell you I have never seen nor heard a better and more believable Tony than yours. Congrats!! I truly hope you enjoyed your Lyric and Chicago experience.
I feel like one of the only ways (whether it’s affective or not is tbd) to keep people from being disruptive in theaters is to just get the workers involved. Call over an usher to escort them out. I work at a movie theatre and we get so many complaints for loud people and we deal with it. But I am aware that not everywhere would be so lucky to be able to take care of that situation that quickly and painlessly.
My local theater has actually started to put things adressing some of this in the pre show message and I'm so glad. We just had Sound of Music so it included "the hills may be alive with the sound of music but please refrain from singing along or talking during the performance" and I loved that! As a general theater lover and a volunteer usher, audiences drive me absolutely batty and i wish I knew what the solution to all of this was
As an usher at my local performing arts center, I just worked Company when it was here. I had four people walk out and leave in the middle of Act One. Out of those four people, one dared to say that was the worst show as he walked out of my section. Just because you feel that way does not me you have to announce it.
I haven't been able to go to to Broadway before but let me TELL you... high school theater? even worse. I recently went and saw a production of my literal favorite musical, Newsies, and had the 'privilege' of sitting next to what I assume was a mom of an actor.... they would not shut up, took photos the whole time and then literally during the peak of the show, starting scrolling on Instagram? Like Sam, I didn't say anything but it did ruin the experience for me.
Congrats for this channel! Regards from Spain!💜💜
Every show I've been to since covid has been like this... And honestly I just assumed it was a local theatre/tour thing but it's crazy to know it's everywhere 😞 I often get really excited to see a show I know well and sometimes emphatically mouth along with the words, but I'd never so much as humm out loud and I don't understand how people can be so selfish
I saw Waitress in October 2021 for the revival with some of the OG cast plus Sara. It was the matinee show and these four old ladies were super intoxicated and they were pulling their masks down the whole time despite being asked by the staff to keep them up. Then during the one line where Jenna says that she doesn’t judge women who get abortions, they very loudly scoffed and were making angry grunts about that line. And that same reaction when Dawn and Ogie have the pride flag out during Bad Idea Reprise💀💀 It was still an amazing show though. One lady next got super fed up with them because they were super disrespectful and then she talked to the staff and they gave her a better seat
I went to see wicked for the first time and these teenage girls sitting in front of me were shit talking the entirety of their show while their mother was SLEEPING it annoyed me sm and gets me pissed just thinking ab it
Honestly, I know this isn't everyone's experience, but seeing six was probably actually one of my better theater experiences. The only audience disruption came from a phone alarm that went off and was quickly turned off. When I saw les mis on tour, there was a girl behind me who was whisper singing and it was annoying during do you hear the people sing and unbearable during little fall of rain because, man, even the sad love songs? Cmon
Actually, at WSS at the lyric opera, that happened again, except this time I actually said something at intermission, and she did stop. She almost seemed to have been waiting for someone to say something, which was like, ok, if you knew, why were you doing it, but whatever ig lol
And then I saw a local production of rent and there was this drunk lady in the row in front of me who kept whispering at various points throughout the show. Which was one thing, and annoying on its own. But then in this little, like, 120 or something seat theater, during Santa fe, there's the "anywhere else you could possibly go after new York would be a pleasure cruise"
And as angel said "a pleasure cruise", this lady just calls out "vegas". 120 or so seats. Like, these actors had no mics because this theater was so small
And then, much more egregious, at the end of contact when angel dies, everyone goes "it's over" and they're talking about sex, and then Collins says it alone with the implied meaning that angel is gone and he turned to the audience and this lady repeats back "it's over" in this very unaffected tone, like she's almost laughing about the fact
It was ridiculous
And what sucked even more was that this was the built in night they had for the understudies. The actor playing angel is a good friend of mine and a big reason I specifically went that night was to see her as angel. And I mean, it was funny, sort of, because one thing this lady said to her husband or whoever was "she has a wonderful voice" as angel was singing, and it was like, you're damn right, but you're also halfway across the theater from me and in the row in front of me and I could hear that, so if you could maybe shut up that'd be even nicer...
But anyway. I wish Dylan's excellent performance was what stood out to me about that night and not that damn lady, but alas, it's not
Regarding people crapping on shows at Theatre Row: I have a close friend who is a stage manager who has stage managed a few shows at Theatre Row. She is now working with Playwrights Horizon. If I can go to a musical about a girl with Dentata and not say anything negative about it(I love Will Connolly) before watching it, you can keep your mouth shut about whatever you are gonna watch.
I went to see chitty chitty bang bang and at one point my husband nudged me. I hadn't even realized I was singing along to toot sweets under my breath. Luckily no one else seemed to notice or care, but I was definately mortified and as such couldn't immerse myself in the experience. I'm not saying everyone should be able to sing in a theatre, just that it can happen without some one realizing it. Announcing it before hand though counts as premeditation...
you guys should make this a podcast. also ily🥰
I went to see Mamma Mia on the West End for the first time last summer. It was such an exciting thing for me because I'm not from Englend and it was my first ever live musical experience, a gift that I made for myself for my university graduation since I've been a musical fan for so long. Before the musical starts they specifically tell you something like "don't sing, the actors are there to sing for you". Well, I totally loved the musical, but the lady right beside me moved on the seat dancing and singing during EVERY SINGLE SONG. Now, I get it, ABBA's songs are amazing and for sure to dance to and you're having fun, but you can do that at HOME. I was so frustrated during the whole thing that it kinda ruined that first experience for me.
Oh also, there were 4 or 5 girls infront of me eating and making noises with the plastic bag in which they had candies. So every time they got one from the bag you would hear the very loud plastic sound. Oh and one of them was on the phone during the entire time. Just awful.
I am a competitive dancer and it is normalized in the dance community to yell or scream during hype dances, although during slower dances like lyrical, contemporary, and ballet dances we stay quiet and do the few claps as we see a cool trick. I don’t know how many times i have sat in a theatre and have heard so many people full of shouting during slower dances like it’s okay to cheer but not so much to wear the dancers can’t even hear the music! (it’s happened to me before) I definitely agree and think they should start implementing people to remove roundy people from theatres. At competitions i have heard so many people from behind crap talking other dancers and even people from their own dance studios it happened to my friend she was performing her solo and their were people crap talking her behind her mother.
This time last year, I was at a performance of the UK tour of Jersey Boys in Edinburgh when the show was stopped because a physical fight broke out between 2 audience members in the last 15 mins or so. There had been signs up all over the theatre basically saying not to sing along during the show but you would get the chance to get up, dance and sing during curtain call which most people paid attention to thankfully. The people fighting though were definitely drunk and rowdy and it took several front of house staff to separate them and get them out of the auditorium. The cast picked up where they left off and finished the show but it was really unsettling. I think there definitely is something to the idea that a lot of people have become selfish and lockdown left some forgetting how to behave around other people. It does make me reluctant to go when you know there's going to be poor behaviour that spoils the experience.
So my sister and I are low vision/blind and have to pay full price for a normal ticket and denied audio description. We have straight white canes that don’t fold. We tried laying them on the floor and got yelled at so my sister placed them up against a pillar. A lady behind us starts complaining ten minutes into the show nonstop about her view being blocked. So the user offers to take our canes claiming they can bring them back in an emergency. If there’s a fire we are screwed. The lady is still complaining so they upgrade her seat yet we are still being attacked by her friends and missing the show. Again those in the crowd are jerks and so were the ones working the crowds.
OMG I had the same experience at wicked last year at the fox except it wasn’t a big group of people. During popular these kids in the row ahead of us further to the side start singing along during almost the whole song. I had another experience at Les mis in KC. The lady in the row behind me started CRINKLING HER WATER BOTTLE during i dreamed a dream and was coughing during the worst times during the entire show which I understand considering coughs are so hard to hold back BUT THE CRINKLING OF THE WATER BOTTLE?! either way both casts were amazing. I also had another experience at Ain’t Too Proud where the lady behind me (like almost directly in my ear) was clapping to the songs and singing the more well known songs and humming during the entire show! It was so annoying but once again the cast of the show made up for it 100%. I also had an experience but I wasn’t in the audience. We did a production of Matilda jr. at my school and during my solo song, I saw so many phone lights shining in peoples faces. I mean I kinda understand, it’s a school production, it’s boring and is Kinda trashy but theater etiquette still applies in this setting.
Gosh, I feel this. Though I haven't had a bad theatre experience yet (I'm Australian so our phone rules & talking throughout the show etc are a bit more controlled than Broadway is), I've had terrible cinema experiences. Barbie was THE WORST. Throughout the whole movie, people were making tiktoks, taking photos and videos of the movie, talking, throwing food, etc. Even one of the girls I went with was taking photos for her Instagram & fell asleep during the movie. Now, with the new Mean Girls movie, I've seen videos of people (who didn't pay attention that it was a musical) groaning every time a song or musical scene was being done. Most of the audience was recording it on their phone and talking loudly prior to the songs.
Idk if it's because of tiktok or people have forgotten how to behave around other people, but it turns me off going to the movie theatre. (I honestly think seeing Mean Girls at the advanced screening was a good idea because the audience I saw it with was AMAZING.)
I've seen those videos of Mean Girls too and they actually got me so afraid of going to watch it at the cinema.
I LOVE YALL SM :) ❤❤
My first ever on Broadway show I saw was Aladdin with my highschool music department (and the music/theater people from a neighboring school) and I was in the front row of the balcony. I was sitting next to my girlfriend and gods bless her but she would not stop making little comments and jokes. I get that I wasn't a whole lot better since I was in 8th grade and it was my first Broadway show, but I was mostly whispering or just mouthing words to myself. Me and some other friends were mouthing the lyics to each other since we'd just done the show that past fall. It makes me worried that this will happen again when I see Hamilton in March with my class, and I think it just really sucks that this happens on such a larger scale everywhere.
Another thing with audience participation, I'm seeing Gutenberg the Musical later this month and I think it's really cool how they invite the audience to sing along during the finale. But that is the actors INVITING us to sing along. These stories infuriate me beyond belief, and probably beyond reason.
Part of me wonders if going to live curtain speeches would do anything. I think everyone ignores the recorded ones at this point or can’t hear it over the noise. If a person walks out on stage and the lights go down typically the crowd hushes faster and pays more attention. Then that person could very clearly outline the rules of no recording, no phones out, no singing along etc. it’s more work on that person but maybe it would set some accountability, inform the audience better and make it more personal to set expectations and consequences. It’s like we need to re-train theatre audiences. I also think there need to be better procedures and actions taken from front of house/ushers to enforce the rules. If need be bring in security teams if front of house needs back up for their safety to enforce the rules, other wise this will just continue to spiral downhill and cause a domino of other issues for the theatre industry.
Also when I see this stuff happen in the audience I fully call them out on it. I’m an AEA SM and I just go into my sm mode. I’ll give them a look of distain first and if that doesn’t work a shh or a please stop talking or put your phone away. At intermission I’m not above a lecture of theatre etiquette or even informing them of equity rules. Also have no issue going to inform ushers or even going to the house manager. I feel obligated to stand up for my fellow theatre workers and for the people trying to actually enjoy a trip to the theatre.
At smaller venues like theatre row and signature center I have had actors in my shows count how many rows up and over a person on their phone is and give me a full description so we can pass it on to the house manager and get them off their phones or even at times have them delete recordings. It’s so distracting and upsetting to so many actors and all of us backstage. People just think of themselves now more then they think of the collective community and others, but that’s a whole other discussion…
The theatre I go to sends out emails before show - not all it seems to be the ones that they think will attract the rowdy audiences, about being respectful of the cast and other audience members and reminds people not to sing. I think it’s a good idea but not everyone reads their emails before the show or probably care about what it says. So it would be nice if they had maybe more signage in theatre or the announcement at the start of shows emphasised this more.
I live on the west coast, so when I got to see Wicked on Broadway last year, it was maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity. If people were drunkenly singing behind me or talking the whole time, no matter how good the show was, I would have left having had a horrible experience seeing something I waited 8 years to see
i genuinely would be so heartbroken if i spent the amount of money it costs to see a show and had an experience like that. i don’t make a lot of money, i’m struggling most days, but every now and then i like to treat myself and go to a show and be in my happy place. so if i spent hundreds on a show like wicked or hamilton and some a-hole behind me wouldn’t shut up, i would be so sad. like good for you if you have the money to afford amazing orchestra seats but some of us don’t, and that one time seeing that show is the only chance we get to see it. i think a lot of the privileged people in this world forget that there’s such a thing as people who only get this once in a lifetime or once in a blue moon opportunity, or forget that other people exist outside of themselves… idk.
i’m lucky enough to live a couple hours from NYC so i don’t have to pay for flights, otherwise broadway would just be a dream for me, but the inaccessibility is hard enough for a lot of people, when i have that chance to see something and it’s ruined by a drunk idiot it would suck. i’ve been fortunate enough to never have experienced anything like this at a broadway show, but i have been to MANY local shows where there were older women just chatting about how bad the show was the whole time and it infuriated me.
sorry this was so long, i guess i needed to get that all out. i hope i made sense or a point and wasn’t just complaining the whole time 🤣
anyway, love you both and love that you two can be a voice on a subject that needs it desperately.
I've never been to Broadway since I live at the other side of the Atlantic, but these stories are just so wild to me. In here people go to the theater in actual suits or in like their best clothes and are very respectful during the shows. Though I have seen lately more people take out their phones and take some photos or record short clips, which is very annoying. But never talking or, God forbid, SINGING.
my first ever broadway show was wicked. if this had happened to me, it would’ve ruined my trip. it probably would make me stop liking musical theater, as i was only 11. so this is terrible
I got to see phantom in Italy last fall and we spent quite a lot to get good tickets... The man in front of us kept humming or singing ALL songs from the show. I even kinda missed the first 20 seconds of music of the night because he was busy very slowly and loudly unwrapping his candy😪
I have only been to a couple of shows, but I dance and that is a form of art, and it makes me annoyed when people think it is not hard to do what you are doing when you have been doing and working on this for months, and also it annoys me when people can not stop asking questions like just watch
I have friends who aren’t really theatre people come see me in shows and i can see them on their phones and talking to each other the whole time. It just makes me feel so sad and disrespected because I worked hard creating this art and you’re not even watching.
The last time I saw theater on Broadway was in 2018. I didn’t happen to notice any rude behavior like talking and singing along. We saw Waitress, Anastasia, and School of Rock, and they were great experiences. I’m so sorry for what happened to you at Wicked, Sam. That sucks!!
I don’t understand why people wouldn’t have good etiquette and want to suspend their disbelief and get immersed in a story. I also don’t understand why people would want to disrupt actors while they are working so hard to create art! It’s like workplace harassment.
I really don’t enjoy it when people sing along at concerts either. I want to hear the artist, not an off-key neighbor. Maybe there should be designated sing-alongs for some shows and the rest of us can watch in peace.
whoa i’m actually able to watch a vid close to its release
Even if I am invited I would not dare to disturb the show and sing along like in Six or something. Generally I am in awe of what is performed before my eyes so my jaw is so dropped to the floor I would not be able to sing or even humming.
When it is the curtain call I am vocal with my bravo and clapping even raising from my chair to congratulate the cast. Is it too much for the theater etiquette to be sometime the only one to raise and clapp when no one else does ?
LOVE YOU GUYS
I’m early to a sam and Ryan video for once :)
absolutely true! i went to a broadway show and there were some people talking a few seats from me. and i went from Peru to NY, literally for us latin american people is difficult to go to NY
When my grandmother and I went to see Hamilton for the first time in Chicago, there was a very drunk lady that was sitting behind me and some how spilt her wine down by back. I felt it, but didn’t say anything because I didnt know what kind of person she was. My white sweater got destroyed by the red wine.
In Australia - I went to watch beauty and the beast and the experience was not as bad as Sam's in ANY way, but. People were walking in and out of that theatre, CONSTANTLY. It was so distracting for me as an AUDIENCE member, so I can't even imagine how that could be for performers. But I was horrified at the amount of people having to get up and leave and come back and leave and... oh my gosh. And it wasn't just one person either. It was like. Full groups!? Anyways. Awful
way to early for this but im so excited
Great vid!!! just wanted to say that yeah, people suck. and i am very glad that my musical and and Broadway experience was awsome, and the crowds were amazing. i truly dont understand the kind of people that act so disrespectfully to such an amazing thing and act so awful about an experience that is supposed to be truly unique. i wish i could say people would act better and learn to respect shows, but sadly, i dont believe that.
I loved your videos so so much I had the exact same experience in Hamilton they were singing and in intermission I “made friends” with them to be quiet I am from Australia so I didn’t want to to ruin my experience
It's sad that this video won't reach the audience it should. I doubt any of the Sam and Ryan audience are the people who are doing this.
I know you guys said that at movies people don't come drunk that may be true but going to the movies is becoming a bad experience just based on the people around you who speak at loud volumes and take other people's seats, and throw popcorn all over the place I think society as a whole is becoming disrespectful in many places
I saw Hamilton last year on tour, when we were walking into the theater they said “don’t sing along unless that call on you too” which they don’t in Hamilton. The girls behind us were obviously hamilton fans like me and that most I did has silently lip sing one or twice. They sung along the whole act 1 and act 2. (Personally if I want to watch Hamilton and sing along I would go to Disney+)