Please excuse this late post. I have been missing-in-action, yet again. I need to give up one thing to keep blogging, but right now, it is blogging that has to take a back seat. My apologies. This post was originally written on April 4 - a day after watching Les Miserables at the Solaire Theater.
 |
| Yay! Les Miserables! |
We've been waiting for April 3 for a number of months, and when it finally came, Les Miserables did not disappoint! However, we would have enjoyed more if the people around us were decent enough to keep their fellow theatre-goers in mind. The man right in front of me kept moving! He couldn't decide if he wanted to sit up or back, or if he wanted to tilt his head to the left or right. HE.JUST.KEPT.MOVING. It was the same for the couple directly in front of my brother and his fiancee. They kept stretching - trying to keep awake. The girl kept fixing her ponytail (in the middle of a scene!), and they were constantly on their mobile phones. Hello, did you guys come to watch or what? And I heard, KY and my folks weren't so lucky, either.
Hence I am writing this post with a list of things to remember when watching a play, be it one as big as Broadway, or a small school play. People, please mind your theatre manners!!!
1. MAKE SURE YOU WANT TO WATCH THE PLAY, MUSICAL, ETC.
Seriously, if your boyfriend ain't interested, leave him at home. Boredom at the theater will only result in that person doing things that will eventually distract other theatre-goers. Last Sunday, somewhere behind us, a husband snored so loudly, his wife kept nudging him. I also spotted a bored teenager on his mobile 80% of the time. Of course his face was illuminated by his mobile, and you can spot that face in a dark theater. Which brings me to point number 2...
2. TURN OFF YOUR MOBILE PHONES!
The theatre isn't a place for you to be surfing the net, or texting your yayas at home. And as I've said, the light is distracting - even to the actors onstage. So it isn't enough to keep your phones on silent or airplane mode. TURN THEM OFF. There is always Intermission for you to attend to matters. And please, NO PHONE CALLS!
3. BE ON TIME.
Nothing more irritating than late-comers excusing themselves to get to their seats. Especially after the first scene has started. I know it is customary to allow people to get to their seats after the intro song has ended, but please, if you are seated way, way in the middle of a row, be at the venue on time! I remember KY and I coming in late for a small play at the RCBC Plaza once (we were really, really,
really late because of terrible traffic from QC), and the only reason we were allowed in was because there were two extra seats by the door at the Balcony. Otherwise, I don't think they would have let us in! There were also only two scenes left (eeps! yes,
that late). After that, we made it a point to be at every venue at least an hour early - making allowances for lack of parking, a light snack, getting lost, going to the restroom, etc. But please, people, don't come late!
4. IT CAN WAIT.
Whatever it is, if it isn't a life or death situation,
it can wait. Yes, that phone call can wait. Your piss can wait (well, you should have gone before entering the theater!). The latest
chismax can wait. Your sudden urge to propose to your girlfriend can wait. At least wait for intermission. Even the smallest distraction can ruin a show, not only for the audience, but also for the actors - who can very well forget their lines because you decided to get up to go to the loo. Also, I am sure you paid thousands of hard-earned pesos for your seats, so please focus on the show, and stop with the whispering. You may think no one has noticed, but your neighbor is just suppressing the urge to hush you because that, too, in itself can be annoying. I've already watched a play where someone from the audience yelled out loud to shut up someone who kept sending a text (the keypad tones were so loud). So please, people... WAIT.
5. THE THEATRE ISN'T A KARAOKE BAR.
Aside from talking, please, please, please suppress the urge to sing along. People are paying thousands to watch the show and hear the actors sing. They didn't come to hear you. When we watched Les Mis, the girl behind A had the nerve to sing along to "On My Own!" Goodness, she was even out of tune, people couldn't help it, so by the second stanza, they were already shushing her, to no avail. Her family members were already telling her to stop, but she went on singing with Eponine. When I couldn't take it anymore, I turned around and asked her in the softest voice possible if this was going to be a duet. And that was the only time she stopped. Really, people, if you want to sing in a musicale, audition for the part! But don't sing when you're supposed to be watching other people sing. You are ruining the night for others!
6. KIDS.
If your kids aren't old enough to sit through all of 2 to 3 hours, please reconsider, and leave them at home. True, there are kids who love theater, even my son appreciates it, but because I know he'd get tired after an hour or so, we decided it was best for him to go to KidZania. But some parents brought kids! I could hear a couple of them whining from where I was. When a theater has no definite rules as to age limits, decide what's best and go from there. Hire a sitter, if you must.
I suppose I don't have to rattle off the usual rules like no eating, no drinking, etc. Overall, people pay good money to see these shows. If you have the money to buy these pricey tickets, I am sure you'd have enough to buy yourself some manners.
YOU HAVE TWO MORE DAYS TO CATCH LES MISERABLES IN MANILA! BOOK YOUR TICKETS FOR THIS WEEKEND HERE!
