At my school, every once in awhile students are offered free tickets around New York City, which for a school of theater students, is better than gold. My most recent opportunity was to see the closing night of the revival of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams on May 21, 2017. This was my second time seeing this show and it’s one of my favorite plays, so of course, I am beside myself with excitement.
For those who are unfamiliar, The Glass Menagerie is a “memory play” in which the leading character is also the narrator, drawing events from their own memory. The staging of this particular production is very minimalistic. Most shows you go to, the lights dim and there’s an announcement telling people to turn off their phones, not to leave until there’s a change in scene or wait until intermission. The story begins with Tom (the leading man) running onto the stage and beginning the dialogue. The house lights do not dim and there’s no other indication of the start of the play. There’s no intermission and people are not permitted to reenter if they leave the theater.
I figured that grown people would be respectable enough to not need a reminder to silence cell phones and not to get up in the middle of a scene, but apparently, the audience of this closing night needed the reminder. With this show in particular, in the first minute or so I can understand people turning their phones off due to not realizing it had begun. However, phones rang about twelve times throughout the course of the performance; loud enough that the entire side orchestra could hear and would look around hoping whoever’s phone it was would turn it off or leave.
I left the theater upset I couldn’t enjoy the beautiful work of art more than I did because I was constantly distracted by the sounds of vibrating phone and the sounds of people shuffling to leave their seats at inappropriate times. So here’s a quick rundown of basic theater etiquette:
1. When you buy candy or any sort of refreshment for the show, please be courteous when enjoying your snack as to not make any sort of loud wrapper noises during the show.
2. If you have to leave, please only do so during intermission or, in an emergency, during a scene change. If a show, like The Glass Menagerie, does not have an intermission and has rules against leaving, plan ahead. Go to the bathroom before the show begins or wait until afterward.
As an audience member, please be aware that performers have put in countless hours of work into what they’re doing on stage, so be respectful of their work and give them your undivided attention, and don’t distract other audience members.
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