If anyone here goes to this please report back as to the location of these seats, as I am very curious as to where in a theatre in the *round* you will find these seats that "will not be disruptive to other audience members in attendance."
(Besides, does anyone even get cell service down there?)
I was planning to buy a ticket to see Godspell during a visit that I am hoping to make in May, but if they can pull crap like this - allow tweeting at a regular performance to which an unsuspecting audience has already purchased tickets with no warning that they would do this, then there is no way that I would trust them with any advance ticket money. If i had purchased one already for that performance, I would absolutely ask for a refund, and even go so far as to bring my credit card company into it as a form of fraud if they refused to refund the ticket just by my asking (i.e. changing audience rules after selling the ticket, which drastically changes the experience).
There is no way that it can be non-intrusive in a theatre-in-the-round setting - there are no seats that no one can see. Maaaaaaybe if it were last row rear balcony of a regular theatre one could consider an argument for non-intrusive, but even then the diffuse light and clicking of keys would still most likely cause disturbance to those nearby. The only way i could imagine it would be if the tweeters sat in the last row of a regular theatre and anyone who had previously purchased tickets in the five or ten rows in front of them were moved forward to better seats with no extra charge. But even then i'd be really skeptical.
Why even go there? It's a slippery and ugly slope.
Even if it is possible to allow tweeting without disturbing other patrons, the establishment of a "tweet section" destroys the basic covenant of live theater: that we in the audience freely agree to devote two-plus hours of our time to whatever is happening on stage.
Everyone should read Arthur Miller's essay, "The Tragedy of the Common Man." In it he argues that in real life we would treat Willie Loman no better than Howard (his new boss) does. (And one could extend the argument to say we would be as desperate as Stanley to get Blanche Dubois out of our bathroom.)
(Added later: I totally confused the Miller essay with one by Williams himself. The William's essay on time and attention in the theater is "The Timeless World of the Play." Those who don't know these short essays should read both and then discuss them with someone less embarrassingly addled than I. Sheesh!)
The difference in how we see those characters on stage arises from the commitment we make to pay closer attention to them than their co-workers and even family members do.
An audience member who is busy tweeting and thinking of his or her next clever tweet has completely betrayed his half of the theatrical contract. (One might say the same of same-night reviewers who are busy writing while the show is still going on. But that's another rant.)
Sorry to sound like an old fart, but for once, I think the sky really is falling. Unless we want to end up with nothing but overly amped theme-park musicales.
What good comes from commenting on something while it's happening? Way to discourage engagement and critical thinking. What a stupid affectation this is. I can't imagine these tweeters writing anything worth our time.
If you read Ken Davenport's blog you'd understand. He thinks that tricks like these are the answer to all Broadway issues. He usually reads like a 16 year old doing a school project.
Gaveston2, I agree with your point as well. I was saying that there is really no viable way to avoid disturbing other audience members, but of course even if you could it would still be rude to the performers. Talk about sprinting in the wrong direction. There are already too many people who think it's okay to talk to their neighbors during the performance, or to unwrap loud crinkly-wrapped candies or sneak their cell phones out for 20 seconds to send a text, all of which are horribly distracting and still occur with alarming frequency. To allow the texting to happen in the open without the texters having to hide their phones is just nuts. To subsidize the behavior by enticing it with free seats is beyond nuts - bordering on mildly sociopathic.
I just don't understand why anyone thinks this is a good idea. I get that they want to bring in younger audiences and social media helps that, but I don't think this actually adds to the experience at all.
I live tweet during TV shows from the comfort of my sofa, and yes, it's fun to see the other comments on the hash tag, but I don't see how they think 15 people in a 750 seat theatre can compare with millions of people watching the Madonna halftime show or the latest Glee episode. The fun of it is the communal experience (insert Last Supper joke here). Someone sitting at home watching others tweet about a show they're not seeing sounds depressing.
This besides the fact that the experience of watching TV with commercial breaks, bathroom breaks, pausing the DVR to run to the kitchen, channel surfing, etc. etc. is completely different than live theatre. Live tweeting is a schizophrenic experience. Live theatre requires undivided attention to get the full impact of the work. I can't imagine why anyone would want to whip out their phone to tweet commentary. Can you imagine something like that during final moments of Sweeney Todd?
*spoiler*
"Razor razor cut cut cut"
clickety-clacking typing
@Sondheimluver: OMG @JoeSmith in @SweeneyBway just killed #SweeneyTodd! Gasped IRL!
BwayGirl89: RT "@Sondheimluver: OMG @JoeSmith in @SweeneyBway just killed #SweeneyTodd! Gasped IRL!" She totes did, I heard her! #LMAO #SweeneyTodd
If coming up with commentary and hashtags and searching for cast member's Twitter handles is of greater importance to you than experiencing the performance right in front of you, you're doing theatre wrong.
Strangely, I never get service on my phone when I'm down in that theater. If I need to check my messages during intermission I need to go upstairs to do it.
This is about nothing but the almighty dollar but let's face it: any revival that "updates" the libretto with references to cellphones and current pop culture phenomena isn't exactly looking for artistic legitimacy. It's a "whatever-will-fill-the-seats" mentality of the most obvious kind.
The sad part is that by pandering to "younger people" who are non-theater goers they are lowering basic standards of audience behavior under the guise of staying relevant. So instead of learning about what a theatrical experience is all about (yeah, I know...it's "Godspell", after all) we'll get newcomers tweeting non-stop just like they do at work, in school, at the mall or while driving 68 miles an hour in their parents' SUV. So much for theatrical standards.
I can't imagine Actors Equity would allow it. Why would the performers have to be subject to that distraction. It's one of the reasons cameras are forbidden in theatres, let alone glow in the dark text machines. It's a David Merrick type tactic that will never happen. Publicity.
The only thing I disagree with on this thread is AAD's comment about pop culture in Godspell. That was part of the oringinal intent of the show...for each cast to make it relevant for its time and audience. The show is nothing but a sunday school class without it. (I'm not backing this production itself, as I haven't seen it) j
I, too am aghast over this. If I was STUCK at this perfomance, I would complain like hell and demand my money back. You know darnn well that there will be others (NOT in the tweet seats) that text anyway...and what can the ushers REALLY do about it?
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Posted: 2/9/12 at 04:34pm