Theater Etiquette-GRRR- Page 4
Theater Etiquette-GRRR
#75re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/14/08 at 9:48pm
Now I go to the theatre all the time. I've seen just about everything in New York and London and I always make a point of dressing smartly, mainly because I never have to dress up and it keeps a night at the theatre special.
Many times my outfits have been commented on by other patrons. At The Drowsy Chaperone in NY and Crazy For You in London I wore striped blazer and wingtip shoes and people thought I was in the show and was going to suddenly jump out of my seat and join in.
At La Cage Aux Folles in NY I got a comment from the stage (from one of the dancers) about my outfit and at The Boy From Oz my suit got me a part in the show! Hugh Jackman said he thought I was one of the smartest blokes he'd ever seen in a theatre, he got me walking up and down the aisle like a model, I danced with him (bumping and grinding) and he even got me to give him a kiss!
So sometimes (especially if you don't mind being the centre of attention like me) it pays to dress up a bit.
#76re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/14/08 at 9:56pm
Oh, and I have tickets for (my first) Broadway Bares, the midnight show, in June.
I'm thinking I might have to come up with a special outfit (which can be recycled a week later at New York Gay Pride!)
Why should Rocky Horror be the only show where the audience dress up? Let's start a new trend. Knickerbockers at Spring Awakening, beehives at Hairspray and as for Naked Boys Singing...
nyb418
Understudy Joined: 3/19/04
#77re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/14/08 at 11:06pm
People are offended by jeans at a broadway show? Have you folks that have a problem with jeans looked at the GAP/Guess/Express price tags these days?A nice fashionable pair costs about the same as a ticket does these days!
Updated On: 3/14/08 at 11:06 PM
LittlexFallxOfxRain
Featured Actor Joined: 2/25/08
#78re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/14/08 at 11:36pm
To me, it depends on the show. Jeans in the Phantom of the Opera is silly. A pair of nice (not ripped, dirty, too tight or too baggy) jeans is good for a show like Rent. However, what you wear isn't nearly as important as your behavior.
Updated On: 3/14/08 at 11:36 PM
LePetiteFromage
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
MaronaDavies
Featured Actor Joined: 3/17/06
#80re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 12:29am
When you go to a show you're not in a participatory event, like church. You're not applying for a job or making a presentation to your boss. You're sitting in a very dark room for two and a half hours and your focus is on (or should be!) the action onstage, not the people next to you.
If people's attire on Broadway was of any real importance, the shows would specify a dress code, much in the same way restaurants, posh parties and clubs do. They don't. If someone wants to dress up for the theatre, it's their personal choice and that's cool. By the same token, though, I don't expect them to impose their optional dress code on me.
george95
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/1/08
#81re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 12:37am
I see Phantom of the Opera just about every other week it seems like and I ALWAYS wear jeans.
While I completely understand where people are coming from when they talk about how back in the day everybody dressed up and all that, I am starting to resent that notion for theater-going.
I think of going to theater as an everyday regular thing. I dont like to think of it as a special night or an occasion that warrants formal or even semiformal dress.
Common sense dictates that you won't roll around in mud before you go to a show, but, thankfully Broadway is no longer a place of elitism, tuxedos, and blue-haired old ladies. So come as you are--and think of Broadway not as a fancy exclusive place--think of it as an artistic, creative world where you can dress how you want.
LePetiteFromage
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
#83re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 12:42amI think texting during the show is the most annoying thing ever. Tonight at Gypsy, there was a girl who was clearly uninterested in the show (looked like her parents forced her to go) and she texted the entire show. There's nothing worse than watching Patti get ready to do "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and then seeing a bright light in the corner of your eye. VERY distracting. The ushers spoke with her parents at intermission, but they didn't seem to care. The girl wiped her phone right out and someone yelled, "Put that away!" The phone never came back out.
LePetiteFromage
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
#85re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 12:46am
Common sense dictates that you won't roll around in mud before you go to a show, but, thankfully Broadway is no longer a place of elitism, tuxedos, and blue-haired old ladies. So come as you are--and think of Broadway not as a fancy exclusive place--think of it as an artistic, creative world where you can dress how you want.
Finally, a theatre etiquette thread that touches upon A NEW AND INTERESTING TOPIC.
I think there's definitely something of note here -- those who think the notion of "theatre isn't special" is good, and those who think it's bad. It makes me think of the marketing for Baz Luhrmann's La Bohème -- you lure in non-opera fans by saying it's not like all the other operas, and yet you alienate the opera fans by saying it's not like all the other operas. You can't please everybody.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
george95
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/1/08
#86re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 12:50am
Yeah texting is probably the most annoying thing, because it is like a flashlight in your face, and it seems that people don't realize that others are also able to see the bright light.
Last summer at Les Mis, these girls in front of me kept texting, and I finally just leaned forward and read the texts, which made them uncomfortable enough to stop.
But then after the show, I took my phone out, and I had left it on and the ringer was on loud! That would have been really had if my phone had gone off after I just bugged other people about texting. That was the only and only time I left my phone on during a show, and it was because I took it out at intermission to make sure it was off, and I inadvertently turned it on while double-checking that it was off---I'm coo coo for cocoa puffs!
#87re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 1:05amIt's interesting, it's not like I don't think theater isn't special anymore because I go frequently. I do think it's special and I feel privileged I get the opportunity but I suppose I don't equate that with having to dress up to show my respect for theater. I show my respect by going and being a good patron.
"My name's Lenny. What's yours?"
#88re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 1:18amI've gone to like 5-6 shows in the past 2-3 months. and just because I wear jeans does not make each of them special.
#88re: Theater Etiquette-GRRR
Posted: 3/15/08 at 9:58amNow I wish I'd worn pajamas to The Pajama Game!
LePetiteFromage
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/19/08
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