Do people attending plays & musicals have a moral obligation to the performers to try to stay awake?

[Demovictory9]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/why-pay-100-and-more-for-a-theater-ticket-if-you-sleep-during-the-performance/2018/05/10/8235ad18-5214-11e8-b00a-17f9fda3859b_story.html?utm_term=.b60d7041e2f5

The esteemed Manhattan theater in which I spent several hours on a recent Saturday night might as well have been a dormitory. Up and down the rows and aisles, people could be seen in various states of drowsy repose. A woman in the row ahead of mine had her head thrust all the way back, as if she were paying the audience member behind her to shampoo her hair. A younger man at the opposite end of the row behind me was fighting to stay awake, his droopy head snapping back to upright each time his eyelids became heavy. The woman next to me slept through the entire first act. She opted not to return for the second.

I continually shifted my gaze from the actors droning away in this more than usually dreary piece to observe the more entertaining tableaux their customers were creating. A young woman cuddled with her seatmate, lapsing blissfully into dreamland. An older gentleman sat ramrod straight, his eyes gently closed: He could have been the model for a bust titled “Eternal Rest.”

-----

Perhaps even more to the point: Do people attending plays and musicals have a moral obligation to the performers to try to stay awake? Would earlier curtain times offer some mitigation of crowd fatigue?

I recently talked about the impact of audience snoozing with a highly regarded director of contemporary and classical plays, and what he told me shed light on how even one sleeper can take the air out of a performance. Sometimes, he said, actors can lose their edge at the sight of dozing spectators. (Many times, I’ve seen people in seats in the front row hunched over in slumber.) When the actors exit the stage, the idea can be conveyed to other members of the cast waiting to go on that, well, tonight is just not a good house. And being human, the cast, the director said, might perceptibly deflate, maybe even pull back a tad on the reins of their performances.

[Sailor65x1]

1. Shouldn't the converse be true?

Don't the performers have an obligation to be engaging enough to keep their paying audience awake?

[Glamrock]

3. Agreed!

And, a "bad crowd" should make one work harder, not less so. Although, I'm a musician not an actor, so I could be off base. But that's how I've always operated....

[Demovictory9]

4. i recently attended a good play on less than a full night's sleep

had to fight the sleepies with all my might. Small community theater, only 30 in attendance. Hoped the cast didnt notice. Wasn't their fault.

[Me.]

2. Perhaps The Problem Is

"the actors droning away in this more than usually dreary piece"

After all, people have paid a lot of money to attend a B'Way show and maybe are owed more tha a show that puts them to sleep.

[Demovictory9]

5. good point.

[Demovictory9]

6. Comment following the article:

My dearest wish, all my life, has been to go to NYC and see a real live Broadway Musical. Imagine my shock when I saw Nathan Lane being interviewed when The Producers was the hottest ticket in town talking about how all the people were sound asleep in the front row. He said that it kind dampened the energy level of himself and Matthew Broderick. Having said that I take an elderly lady to the movies because she says she loves them. As soon as the lights go down her head either falls forward or back and she sleeps through the entire thing. I have had to nudge her to stop her snoring!

[Me.]

12. Sorry But I Find His Comments Disappointing

[thewhollytoast]

10. A true story about Brahms

I was nine years old and pretty excited. I got to get dressed up and do a grown-up thing. My mom and dad in an attempt to broaden my horizons arranged that we attend a real live concert at the Festival Hall. Dad loved classical music. Mom loved classical music. They wanted me to love it too. I lasted about 15 minutes. Dad lasted probably 20. Mom said she was mortified, but before she could nudge either one of us, she nodded off too. Between phrases I perked up a little, only to see that both of my parents were asleep. My nine-year-old thought was, "Okay, I guess this is what you do at a concert."

On the way home in the car, mom and dad came to a conclusion, "It must have been the Strings."

Music is powerful medicine. Brahms makes you sleep, Chopin makes you sleep, while Beethoven, depending on the piece, and enjoyed in conjunction with dark liquor, might make you want to throw bill collectors down the stairs, or groom the perfect goatee.

Listen Responsibly,

Toast

[KPN]

7. Nah. If they can't keep you awake ..,

[Docreed2003]

8. I see two problems with this

First, as others have pointed out, the actors/actresses should be performing at a level that keeps the audience engaged. I get that and I understand the point completely.

However, as to my second point, our current generation, and I'm including myself in this critique
, is so dulled by the constant instantaneous award of likes/comments/snaps/dislikes from social media that the sheer act of sitting through a three hour production is more than their minds can handle. That's the sad state of where we are in this country!

[democratisphere]

9. Plays, musicals, movies and church sermons are all great places to catch up

on much needed sleep. You are obligated to wear an anti-snoring device so as to not annoy others.

[byronius]

11. One's view of this probably depends on how much stage time one has had.

That kind of thing burns if you've been there, done that.

If you're doing your job and shining your light, it feels like a personal slight. Primate thing, I suppose.

It's why live theater and music is sooooooo tough. Thick skin required.

I find bad theater even more interesting than good. I watch the performers, think about their lives.