Went to a natinee of Phantom yesterday and was exceedingly annoyed by surrounding folks who kicked chair, rattled food bags incessantly, explained play constantly to kids, whispered, zipped bags; people whooped and hollered as if they were at a ballgame. Applauded at all the wrong places but thats trivial. Don't people know that you are not supposed to talk, whisper, rattle bags etc? Dont they know to learn about the plot and explain it to a child in advance and to educate a child about etiquette? I guess not. If a child cannot remain still and silent--and thats not easy for most--they should not go to plays!
People pay a fortune for tickets and traditional etiquette seems to have gone out of style. It was as if folks were at a ball game. Why I think people act better in movie theaters! I spoke to the house mgr who said its a real problem but that they dont want to lecture and educate audiences due to fear of turning them off. Frankly, I think its necessary! What do you think? Am I just an old crab?

I find that to be one of the biggest problems with Matinees. The theater in a way contributes to the problem by selling food that can be consumed during the performance (although they cannot prevent food being brought in from the outside...or could they?)

My biggest complaint about the theater are those shrinking seats with absolutely no leg room. Hmmm, just like the airlines!

I agree with you, and think it is very much true. But attending a matinee always opens you up to a younger crowd at the low end of the "learning curve."

I think, in general, people have become very lazy audience members. We are too used to being alone in our own home in front of the tv, or at non-live or relaxed events like lawn concerts or movies.

I was thrilled last spring to hear a 7th grade teacher explain to a large group at a student literary reading event the differences in behaviour when attending a sporting event or an "academic" event. She cautioned there would be no cheering, only a polite applause at the end of each reading. And she reminded the teen-agers how to sit properly in a chair! The kids later moaned and groaned and complained that she treats them like babies. But from a parents point of view, I think far too many of them never learned any kind of theatre etiquette at all, and that goes for their parents' generation too! Hence, we all suffer through experiences like yours.

That isn't limited to matinee musicals. I found people whispering all the time when I'm at the symphony, both in Philadelphia & in Dallas. Maybe because I was sitting at the nosebleed section?

That has been a complaint of mine in the past. Even for an evening show in London once, An Inspector Calls, a class full of children (old enough to know better) making noise until the play made even them sit still and listen.
But then, adults make a fair amount of noise too, in movie theaters, restaurants, you name it.
I think it is called a Lack of Manners , wherever you go. sigh.
cranky also, Scarlett

It's understandable, Scarlett. If I had my personal being and belongings in the path of a hurricane, I'd be a little cranky too

I also agree. I think people feel they're at home watching TV and it's perfectly acceptable to talk out loud and comment on the action.

But here's an upside. I attended an opening week matinee of A Raisin in the Sun in May. Standing outside in line I was amazed that about 75% of the audience were under the age of 16 -- looking like school groups. The noise level on the sidewalk was deafening. I actually thought about ducking out and missing the show as I sensed a horrible afternoon in store. But when the show started and PuffDaddy, PDiddy, Sean or whatever his name is this week entered and the audience went wild, they all settled down. The performance went without audience incident. I was simply amazed how quiet and attentive all those kids were. And how great that these kids were in a Broadway theatre audience. The guy who attracted them there may have been the weakest link in the show, but I respect his appearance totally since it meant a "new" audience for Broadway.

This has been a problem, especially at matinees, for more than a quarter of a century. I remember Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy complaining about the afternoon crowd back in the 1970s. They blamed television -- and the fact that so many in the audience arrived by bus and felt entitled to continue the conversations they had started on the way to the theater. Some actors have actually stopped in the middle of a performance to tell the audience members to quiet down.
House managers routinely make announcements about photographic equipment and cell phones; maybe they should bite the bullet and give a little instruction in general theater etiquette as well.

And don;t even start on the movies!

Within the last month we had a contretemps in which one viewer was (finally) escorted out when he wouldn;t turn off his cell phone. And another show during which an obviously reluctant hubby was working on his computer (glaring screen and all) while eveyone else tried to watch the film.

I hate to pass the buck but maybe it is the parents?

I know our parents were so strict with us that if we were making noise in a place we weren't supposed to be noisy, firstly we got The Look from daddy. We got The Look one time and that was it.

After The Look, if you made noise, you were taken out of the theater, church, ballet, you name it, you were In Trouble.

I'm sure the threat of In Trouble was much worse than being In Trouble but it certainly kept us in line.

I don't think this problem is limited to theater matinees--people behind us at the opera at a Saturday evening performance last winter were eating something with UTENSILS.

Don't blame people who attend matinees... Last year we went to a matinee to see The Producers and I was shocked to see a older gentleman come in to the front of the orchestra in denim cut off shorts...yechh. The rude ones...still think they are home watching tv. As for kicking chairs a polite word to the child is what we would do. Thre is a segement of the theatre going population who go because its a "hit" or "must" see, but they show no respect for the theatre or the actors...never mind other theatre goers.

I live in NYC and I really hate to go to the theater because of the rude people. But it's not just the theater. Everywhere people are just rude. There is a prevailing feeling that "It's my right to do anything I feel like doing no matter what". As they say in the musical Chicago: Nobody's got no class.

As an earlier poster said, this certainly isn't a recent development. I'm in my mid-30s, and have been going to various performance since I was 5 years old. My mother always threatened our lives if we misbehaved, and after the show, we would discuss the rude people who talked during the performances.

But one thing that is a recent development, and very annoying, are standing ovations. People don't seem to understand that these should be reserved for the very best performances. Every single show and concert I've been to in the past 10 years, people have done the now obligatory standing ovation. Of course, these are the same people who clap while the conductor still has his arms raised.

Some people actually believe they have manners and are completely oblivious that they are disruptive. Others know that they are disruptive and don't care - some even enjoy it.

We attended a Broadway matinee at Christmastime one year. The theater seating was typical. Just enough leg room. A woman nearby had come straight to the theater after a huge shopping spree at Macy's with half a dozen or more huge shopping bags. After complaining loudly that she was not permitted to check same in the coat room, she simply brought them to her seat where folks on both sides were expected to sit around them.

When we attended Lion King, the mom, dad, and three kids directly behind us had a shopping bag full of goodies and drinks. They rustled and crinkled and munched and slurped. After I turned around several times, the mom hollered "What's YOUR problem." That did it. There was a SIGN over the entrance - "No food or beverages allowed in the theater." I went to the lobby and found an usher and asked if that sign is enforced. He told me "very much so" and set about taking care of it. I hesitated, figuring they'd kick the seats or something to retaliate. He said he'd take care of that too. He went into the theater and quietly advised the mom that if she did not put the food and drinks away for the duration of the show, they would be asked to leave. (Then, he led us to some better unsold seats.)

We hardly ever see a movie in a theater anymore. Too much commotion.

And concerts! How about those folks singing along, whistling, screaming...

And baseball games! In and out and in and out for more beers. You can hardly enjoy the game.

And, many movie theaters DO prevent you from entering with food from the outside. Once, I was told I could not bring my carry-out coffee into the theater (which I had purchased next door on a bitter cold night after finding out that no hot drinks were sold in the theater). When I protested that the theater did not sell coffee, I was told "too bad". Well, too bad for the theater, which was nearly empty for that show anyway. I left.

And what can you say about those people who don't turn off their cell phone despite being told to do so.

We were at a performance of the Nutcracker several years ago with our kids who were around 7 and 10 at the time. You expect a certain amount of noise at these performances, after all they are geared toward children, but the group in front of us took the cake. There were about 10 of them, an elderly couple, their 2 daughters, and the daughters' children ranging in age from about 5 - 15. During the show they were constantly changing seats. Some of the children spent part of the show on the floor playing. One little girl took off her shoes and put them on her hands and banged them together to the music. At the point in the show where applause was called for, they all screamed, hooted, and pumped their fists as if they were at a hockey game. Amazing!

Then there was the lady who decided during my niece's dance recital to make a cell phone call behind us and chat with a friend.

There are a lot of rude people around!

I hate going to the movie theater these days. When I was a teenager, my parents would drop a group of us off to see a movie and then come back to get us. Even though our parents were not there, we did not chat or run up and down the aisles because we knew if we got into trouble, our parents would kill us.

These days, I now rent the popular movies because the kids come in groups and run around swapping our seats and changing which row they want to sit in and then during the movie they run up and down the aisles and make a good bit of noise in it. I always wonder how some of these kids got into the theater for these R rated movies because I thought the rule was a parent had to be with them. I know when I was a teenager, the parent just had to purchase the tickets (but this was many moons ago when things we very different). Now I thought they were much stricter on that.

The cell phones are the worst. Mine is always off. If I am waiting on a call, then I do not need to be watching a movie. I have heard and seen many people carry on numerous conversations in the movie theater on their phone.

Also, what about the people that bring their babies to the theater? I have never met a baby that would quietly sit or sleep throughout a whole movie. Just does not happen. The baby cries, they try to hush it, the baby gets louder, etc.

Lastly, the going in and out to get beverages and food or go to the bathroom does not bother me at a ball game. However, what does bother me, is the people that feel oblige to stand, rather than sit, throughout the entire game thus causing the rest of the people behind them to stand as well. Stand for big plays but please sit for most of the game. I purchased those good seats so I would not have to stand and would be able to see the game better.

I went to my first Broadway play last December and was rather shocked at how small the theater and its seats were. I wore nice dress-up clothes and was amazed to see that people were arrriving wearing jeans and sweats! My whole life I had envisioned a Broadway play as a glamorous, elegant event.

Anyway, I have now been to about B-way 8 plays this year, I am continually amazed to see people schlepp in wearing shorts and tennies, and using cell phones, eating loud food. AT the Boy From Oz we were in the balcony, totally squished, and the lady behind us loudly told us she couldnt see over our heads and would I pleases sit down further in my seat; I was incredulous as I could not see well either as there was a head in front of me but never would I have dreamed to ask the lady in front of me to squish down for the entire play.

One nice thing happened once. It was frigid and snowy out on matinee day, I decided to look at the marquees and escape the cold by watching a play, any play. A lady saw me looking indecisive and approached me with a ticket, she said her daughter was not attending as she was sick and asked if I would like to go in with her group! These were bus ladies from New Jersey, about a hundred of them, all finely dressed and delightfully chatty before, during,and after the play but perfectly behaved during the play. Nice afternoon for me.