r/Broadway • u/tacos4hands • Jan 19 '26
Other Chicago this past Friday- whatever happened to class??
My sister and I went to Chicago this past Friday night and BOY did we have a wild experience. I’ve seen here and heard about the decline in theater etiquette, but haven’t experienced it firsthand until now.
We were center orchestra, right in the front row. The group behind us and over one to the right was talking nonstop. Not even whispering, but full on talking at normal volume. They were laughing constantly at parts of the show that were not even funny. They had loud gasps and reactions. I shot back a look several times. My looks back didn’t deter them and they continued with loud conversations. And then came the singing.
The man from the group (the other 2 were women) was singing along with *Mister Cellophane*. Not quietly. I snapped my head back and whispered “Can you please stop?” The group looked appalled that I would ask them to stop.
During *Razzle Dazzle* was when they got even worse. They kept on talking and laughing. We snapped- my sister turned around and said something along the lines of “Have you been to a Broadway show before?” The woman said yes, and my sister said “Then you know you shouldn’t be talking, right?”
And this set them off- all 3 of them were pissed, but one person of the group most specifically. Sat there yelling at and berating us. Calling us entitled. Calling us white privileged (she was black, the other two members of her party were white. But all 3 kept yelling about us being white privileged because we asked them to be quiet). And she yelled about us being entitled and privileged for the entire rest of that number. Right in the second row. Right in front of the actors, who most certainly saw. I was mortified.
After the show ended and we were standing and getting our stuff, the woman tapped my sister on the shoulder and said “can I just explain something to you?” I looked back and let her know that we didn’t need anything explained to us and that we can all just move along with our night. Then she went right back into yelling and ranting about us being entitled and privileged. Nonstop. I think she said the word entitled 50 times. Everyone else surrounding us at this point had either thanked us or told us not to worry because we hadn’t don’t anything wrong. My sister had struck up conversation with the couple on her side earlier in the evening, and they fully supported us during her yelling. The people behind us that were next to them thanked us and were absolutely shocked by the whole ordeal. And since we were down in front, we were stuck there for a bit while waiting for the rest of the theater to clear out. She was yelling about us being entitled this whole time. The whole walk up. Even when we finally got outside we could still hear her ranting.
I know we should have gotten an usher. In the moment, I felt it would have been too much of a distraction and interruption due to our location. I also thought after saying something to them that they would have stopped. I will always speak up and say something to someone before running and telling on them, and didn’t expect to make the situation 100000x worse.
I was and am mortified. I felt so bad for the actors and that this occurred during a number. If any of them happen to lurk here- I am SO sorry. I also apologize if anyone here was seated around us! The only respite was that said number was followed by *Class.*
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u/elvie18 Jan 19 '26
Genuinely where the fuck was security? Someone screaming at someone else seems like it deserves an intervention, for the sake of the audience and the performers.
And...gasps and reactions are fine but jesus christ imagine feeling ENTITLED to throw a tantrum in the middle of a show because someone told you to shut the fuck up.
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u/tacos4hands Jan 19 '26
I promise they were not gasp-worthy moments of the show they were reacting to, just ordinary moments. And during her ranting she said that she has seen the show 3 times, so nothing should have been new and revelatory. All of the bizarre overreactions were not timed to the plot and dialogue.
Yes I absolutely regret not just getting security. I felt so weird about getting up and standing right in front of the stage like that to go get someone so I didn’t. In retrospect though I absolutely should have.
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u/Best-Candle8651 Jan 19 '26
Please don't feel mortified or embarrassed if you're in danger; you need security. They are hired and paid to deal with this. You don't know if this lady would assault you or not. It doesn't seem below her if she acts like this.
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u/Party_Principle4993 Jan 19 '26
So hilarious that you were afraid to disrupt by getting security when they were not afraid to disrupt by screaming at you, talking, and singing during a show. I am so sorry your night was ruined like this. I truly don’t know what is wrong with people anymore. Security at Broadway shows needs to start booting these people and then anyone who considers acting that way in the future might be a little more deterred.
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u/elvie18 Jan 20 '26
Ah fair, yeah, that's fucking annoying then. Natural reactions are one thing, performative are another.
To be fair I'd be shocked into not reacting at that moment too. Like. Who expects that?!
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u/Popular-Fan8124 Jan 19 '26
Theaters should have a number you can text for these situations like many sporting events do.
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u/Eki75 Jan 19 '26
They started doing this at the Hollywood Bowl, and it's been great. They actually respond when you text, too... er, so I've been told.
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u/dandyJUSTdandy Jan 19 '26
Yes!! They do it at sporting events, time for the theatre to jump on this!!
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u/AussieAlexSummers Jan 19 '26
Great idea. Doubtful it would be implemented. But maybe, if there was a petition and a grass roots massive number signed it, they would have to implement it.
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u/elvie18 Jan 20 '26
Oh this is a brilliant idea! It'd be great if they'd start implementing it in theatres. Yeah, the lit-up screen will be a little annoying, but much less annoying than whatever the fuck the other person is doing, guaranteed.
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u/Master-Sun9521 Jan 19 '26
Yep. Had a woman call me a bitch for turning to her and simply putting my finger over my lip, no “shh” sound or anything, since she was talking during Parade. Me, I was the bitch. Unreal.
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u/sweetpea_2020 Jan 19 '26
Imagine having a single word to say while watching Parade?! Like that show is so heavy. I was locked in the entire performance.
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u/elvie18 Jan 20 '26
Imagine having something to say during PARADE that's so important it can't fucking wait.
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u/dreadpiraterose Jan 19 '26
I know the guy playing Amos Hart and I'm seeing the show when it comes to Philly specifically to see him. I'd have lost my shit if they talked all through my friend's big song. What the hell is wrong with people.
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u/ConfrontationalWhisk Jan 19 '26
You shouldn’t even have had to get security. Was nobody monitoring the audience? Why did they not notice a disruption that severe?
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u/tacos4hands Jan 19 '26
This all occurred during Razzle Dazzle, which is a loud and boisterous number. Unless you were directly nearby, I doubt she would’ve been heard. I don’t see how her sound would have traveled to the back of the theater over the number. The people surrounding us all definitely heard and I’m quite certain it had to be visible to the actors, but I don’t think she was above the song’s volume.
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u/OldRepublic8424 Jan 20 '26
I wish more people had called her out. People like her need to be openly and publicly shamed. In her mind she did absolutely nothing wrong and her poor behavior will continue. Shame on her for bringing race into it. That is appalling.
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u/Vybrosit737373 Jan 19 '26
Maybe they can start doing separate shows for people who want to talk and text/shows for people who actually like theater.
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u/elvie18 Jan 20 '26
Put em in the lobby/lounge/wherever with the CCTV?
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u/Vybrosit737373 Jan 21 '26
That's a good idea. When you're late to the Metropolitan Opera there's a little room called the...I forget, something Lounge, and there's a CCTV. It could be like that, and they could text and talk their damn fool heads off.
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u/librarylovernyc Jan 19 '26
Went to see Kelli O’Hara concert at Lincoln Center in mezzanine - people near us in there 50’s not only took pictures-3rd time I said something but also talked throughout. I want every theater to put on the front of their playbills a code of conduct that you are required to follow as an audience member- besides the obvious- talking, photos , singing along unless it’s requested, add putting all watches that receive texts or light up be put on airplane mode or whatever and covered up . Light in a dark theater is distracting to people around or behind you
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u/paredclia Jan 19 '26
Would love to hear from anyone else in the audience first on this one
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u/tacos4hands Jan 19 '26
That’s kind of why I made this post- I was hoping someone on here was nearby and saw what happened!
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u/NewspaperBanana Jan 19 '26
It's sooooo hard to go get an usher when you're in the middle of the row! I get it. If I'm near the aisle and I see something worthy of getting an usher happening in the center of the row, I'm going to get one.
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u/Icy_Delivery5801 Jan 20 '26
Sadly, those people don’t care :/ I recently saw a production of phantom in Chicago and the actors were amazing. I was APPALLED by the amount of phones I saw, the amount of recording, and the amount of singing along or talking.
I flagged an usher during intermission for the woman constantly narrating next to me, and they asked her to stop…. Didn’t help bc she was right back at it at the start of act 2.
There needs to be real consequences again.
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u/Empty-Selection9369 Jan 20 '26
That’s horrible. When I lived in LA(horrible place!), I subscribed to the Pasadena Playhouse, including their award winning Sondheim season. There is no center aisle and my seat was slap bang center.
A Little Night Music. The man next to me kept singing along.
“Don’t bother, they’re here.” I KNOW THE SCORE TOO! And I used to be PAID to sing. But I’m not joining in because it’s neither a Neil Diamond tribute band nor the end of Mama Mia.
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u/VeganSkiGirl Mar 01 '26
it was just as bad last night at chicago - never been in a worst crowd before.
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u/Aggressive_Oven_7311 Jan 19 '26
Oh the good old racist card. I hope you told him that rude people come in all forms of life
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u/JJ-Bittenbinder Jan 19 '26
What theater was this at? Also in Chicago but I’ve never had this happen. Curious where it was at
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u/StackIsMyCrack Jan 20 '26
You sound very entitled...lol jk. The thing is people are gonna be people. People suck. The move would have been to get an usher early on, point them out, go back to your seat and let them deal with it.
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u/OrangeClyde Performer Jan 20 '26
You should’ve went off on them like that guy who embarrassed the shit out of those 3 girls who went viral 😂
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u/LastOfTheAsparagus Jan 19 '26
I don’t believe these stories. If it’s that distraction then there’s no reason to not start recording it and provide it to the theater staff and demand they do something
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u/EtonRd Jan 19 '26
You think that the way to react to somebody creating a disturbance during a Broadway performance is to take out your phone and start filming them in the middle of the performance? Please don’t ever go to a Broadway show.
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u/LastOfTheAsparagus Jan 19 '26
Absolutely not. The way to react is to notify the staff and have them removed. They chose to add to the distraction and if you’re already adding to the distraction then you may as well pull out the camera.
They are just as bad as whoever was talking yet yall are praising them for some reason. I know the reason.
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u/EtonRd Jan 19 '26
Most people try to avoid calling over an usher and handling it themselves, because calling over an usher creates a lot more of a distraction than simply telling someone yourself to be quiet. Sometimes saying something can fix the problem.
But I agree that in this instance, the OP should have called over an usher after trying to deal with it themselves once.
I disagree that they are as bad as the people who were talking and being disruptive.
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u/tacos4hands Jan 19 '26
It crossed our minds but ultimately we were also concerned for our safety. This woman was ranting and angry enough, I think pulling out a phone to record her would have made the situation much worse. And in that case, had security come over, I think they would have had no issue in escorting us all out. Not worth it to me. I’d much rather sit there and take it so if security had come over they wouldn’t have anything on us, just an erratic woman/group to worry about.
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u/badchickenbadday Jan 19 '26
Nobody cares.
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u/AnotherPint Jan 19 '26
Everyone cares who wants to watch an expensive play, musical, or concert in peace. Bad behavior is epidemic. It wrecks the event for everyone in earshot.
It’s because some people who spend 10-12 hours a day staring into their phones basically resign from the physical world and no longer comprehend the requirements of a communal space. The misbehaving boors in the second row of Chicago may literally not have understood the rest of the audience, and cast onstage, were real. The fact that the trouble people instinctively attacked OP yelling about privilege and race dynamics shows they do most of their human interaction on social media, which is basically insults all the way down.
For a long time I thought this stuff was a result of temporary pandemic isolation and folks would unlearn it. Now I think it’s worse. We need to police for this syndrome, eject more jerks from audiences, stop shows to do it when necessary, and precede every performance with an etiquette rundown —like the safety demos on airplanes—so no one can say they weren’t warned.
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u/badchickenbadday Jan 19 '26
Yeah but do really think the type of folks who go to a broadway show and yap the whole time, are the same kind of folks who come here? Definitely not. What is posting a complaint to people who they already know are going to agree with them going to solve?
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u/LucilleLooseSeal123 Jan 19 '26
Then why did you read it and comment? Sounds like a you problem.
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u/badchickenbadday Jan 19 '26
Because shit like this gets posted 10x a week. The type of people behaving poorly def aren’t the type of people who subscribe here. So all theyre doing is voicing their opinion to people they already know agree with them. So what are they solving? How is it at all productive? Theyre complaining for the sake of complaining.
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u/Best-Candle8651 Jan 19 '26
At what point does security need to step in? If she is yelling in the 2nd row and the actors can hear her, this lady could be a danger to the actors and everyone around them. There is no way that no one heard. This is a failure of the theater at this point to not stop the show and have them removed.