Hello all. I'm sorry for being E&T all weekend but I have been busy seeing a couple of shows and enjoying the freakishly warm weather we are having. Plus there were so many posts the other night that I fell asleep at my desk while trying to catch up..! I'm probably missing some things I wanted to reply to, but here's what I have off the top of my head.
Ann - I am originally from Hawaii, and I can tell you the novelty of snow wore off long ago. But it was pretty amazing to me to see it for the first time.
td - I lived in Pittsburgh for a year and went to a concert at the Benedum Center once. What a beautiful building!
Ben - loved the Halloween pictures!
Noel - sorry to hear about your experience yesterday. My roommate and I were mildly inconvenienced by the subway fire, but nothing like what you went through! Glad you were still able to enjoy the opera.
Jennifer - hope you feel better soon.
Sarah - everyone else has basically said what I think about the drunk parents, so I won't repeat it, but I think you handled the situation very well. And congrats on the new job!
Here is something I feel like getting off my chest: Yesterday I went to a matinee performance (of WICKED). I ended up sitting in front of this young girl who talked really loudly through the first act. Continuously. I understand that children will ask questions and the like, but the parents didn't do anything to quiet her or at least get her to whisper, and the girl was talking constantly, not just here and there. My friend and I shushed her a few times, hoping the parents would get the hint, and the girl went right on talking. Finally I turned around and asked if they could please quiet her down (they didn't). During the intermission the father started shouting at me for "yelling" at his little girl, and did I feel guilty at all for that. I replied that I did not feel guilty as the girl distracted me through the whole first act, and I didn't pay $100+ to hear her talk. He tried to justify this by saying she was excited and wasn't I ever five years old, and I said sure I was five once, but I was taught to have manners and courtesy while in public! He then tried to give me $100 so I could "come see the show ten more times," and suggested I could go home with him and tell him how to raise his kids. I told him that raising his kids wasn't my problem, and thought to myself what an idiot - he thinks he can pay me off and that solves the problem? There were a hundred other children there and none of them were talking. I reiterated that an audience is entitled to a quiet performance with no distractions, and it was a manner of courtesy, and he got really close in my face and told me to shut up and go f*** myself. What a lovely example of a human being.
I was bracing myself for the worst in Act II but there was nary a peep. I suspect that maybe the mother got the hint and either left with the girl or moved, because I sneaked a glance during the cast bows and two of their seats were empty. Whatever happened, I'm glad about the outcome, and I'm also glad that I enjoyed the show (it was fantastic!) enough that the guy didn't ruin the afternoon for me.
I'm sure some of you DRs have had run-ins with obnoxious children or theatregoers. Are there any really memorable ones? (Not the most pleasant topic I know, but I'm sure it makes for vivid stories later!)
