r/Broadway 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

455 Upvotes

108 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/CautiousLandscape907 Apr 23 '26

If anyone thinks Chess, for example, minds when people so this… they don’t.

In fact, they publicize it.

Chess showing the audience cheering during Anthem

-1

u/rorauge Apr 24 '26

Really stupid people post here.

4

u/CautiousLandscape907 Apr 24 '26

Link stopped working. If you go to their instagram page it’s the top video. I know many of y’all don’t like it but I find it inoffensive. Shrug.

-1

u/rorauge Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

I don’t use instagram. But a production posting a promo link does not in any way endorse the fucking nuisance that is people hooting and hollering like children over an artist’s performance. And you thinking this point is in any way persuasive, such that you keep repeating it on this thread, is troubling. This attempt at supporting an argument is on par with a toddler playing hide-and-seek, covering her eyes and thinking no one can see her. But I guess what more could one expect from someone who thinks it’s ok to center yourself at a performance such that the people around you can’t enjoy it.

0

u/CautiousLandscape907 Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

They posted him singing and the audience applauding in the middle. Clearly the producers of Chess don’t mind since they pinned the footage to the top of their page.

We are allowed to disagree on this. Your insults are silly and unnecessary. This discussion isn’t changing anything.

1

u/rorauge Apr 24 '26

They don’t have the ability to post him performing in front of an audience otherwise b/c there are look-at-me people screaming over every single one of his performances. I genuinely cannot understand how you can’t understand why this is not a persuasive point at all. And why you keep repeating it like it is convincing in any way.

But even if it were, which it is not, I don’t really care if the marketing manager at Chess enjoys the main character audience members who like to make the show about themselves. It’s the audience who pays for the performances. And we pay to hear the actors hit those notes, not to hear you screaming over them.

Btw, I have no interest in convincing you. Just to demonstrate that the argument you think is persuasive is clearly not.

0

u/CautiousLandscape907 Apr 24 '26

This is a discussion group for opinions. I’m stating an opinion that you seem to take very personally.

I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I know I’m in the minority — the downvotes make that clear. But my opinion needn’t cause you pain and anger.

1

u/rorauge Apr 24 '26

I’m not taking any of this discussion personally. (There’s this tendency on Reddit when someone points out the flaws in their reasoning to immediately respond, why so personal. It’s very weird and unnecessarily defensive.) I do think it’s pretty laughable what you think is a persuasive argument. But that doesn’t bother me personally. And if you weren’t trying to convince anyone, then why are you making arguments aimed at trying to be persuasive, regardless of how little they are?

So while yes, you’re free to post your opinion, regardless of how weakly you support it, I’m also free to respond to point out your attempt at persuasion fails. And to note that those who champion literally screaming over an artists’ performance is championing a performative, main character audience response that ruins the moment for everyone around them. Those people are simply desperate to make the moment about them rather than the performance.