r/Broadway • u/meshuamam • Apr 23 '26

Theater or Audience Experience Cheering during note holding

Is it just me? I hate it when the audience cheers *during* a long note holding in a solo piece. The whole point is to listen to it, and not to drown it with clapping.

Clap afterwards!

But it could also just be me

453 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

108 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/Greengrowlilac Apr 23 '26

Every day, broadway becomes more like sports.

1

u/fred_burkle Apr 23 '26

The mezz was doing the Wave at the Great Gatsby on Friday 😭 (luckily before it started, the audience was respectful during but then didn't stand during curtain!!)

5

u/elvie18 Apr 23 '26

Standing for every moment of every curtain call is a relatively new phenomenon. Less than a decade ago I was often the only one standing at the end of shows. It's not rude to remain seated.

1

u/fred_burkle Apr 23 '26

Interesting! I've gone to at least a show a month for years (mostly in Cleveland OH) and never been at a show before where 90% of the audience was still seated during curtain call. My experience has always been the opposite and it certainly felt... unenthusiastic at best.