Speaking of the theater, now would be a perfect time to review theater etiquette. Nothing’s worse than paying good money for a live performance and then having to put up with unnecessary nonsense.
“Mommy, how are they doing that?” My experience with this issue occurred during my second trip to the staging of “The Lion King” at the Paramount Theatre. We had stellar seats (a birthday gift) but didn’t expect an additional soundtrack behind us: a 5- or 6-year-old girl intent on making her own observations. Please don’t get me wrong – I am all about exposing children to live productions. However, if the child isn’t able to sit still and remain *mostly* silent for the duration of a show, perhaps a crowded theater isn’t the best place for her, no? Granted, the first thing out of her mouth was adorable – when the lion protagonist first appeared on stage, she exclaimed, “Siiiiiiiimba!” But it went downhill from there. And don’t think this is limited to children: my friend Nicole had the misfortune (also at a performance of “The Lion King” coincidentally) to sit in front of an exceptionally talkative group of women. We don’t need the play-by-play, people!
Stay in your seats, please. You paid good money for your seat – try to stay in it. Just this weekend I sat behind two people – in one seat. A father let his daughter sit on his lap for the majority of the performance, which would’ve been fine if she were four, but she was at least seven or eight and about a head taller than her father when perched on his lap. Meanwhile her chair next to him was empty. Luckily I was in the aisle seat so I could lean into the aisle for an unobstructed view, but what if I had people on both sides of me? I could’ve been up a creek.
Bottom line: use common sense and be considerate. And try to stay away from the passive-aggressive dirty looks if someone is breaking the rules – at least, that’s what I try to tell myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment