Singing along at a musical to cause such upset?

[cantbeatfreshsheets]

I went to a musical yesterday with my parents & sister to celebrate my mums birthday. We had a really nice day & this was the last thing we had planned. Arrived a few mins late and got to our seats with no problems.

After about 20 mins in. A catchy song came on. It was Tina Turner. My mum sang along for a couple of times during the chorus. It was hard not too. The whole show was about her being oppressed. Which is exactly how we felt after what happens next.

The lady in front turned around. Looked at my mum & said could you please, then used her hand against her mouth to gesture my mum to zip it 🤐 very passive aggressive.

Mum looked at us as if to say. What the F**
Anyway. She said I'll have to speak to her at the interval. Meanwhile I just thought what a spoilsport?!?! If you can't sing along at a musical what's wrong with the world. It's not like she was singing at the top of her voice???

It resulted with the lady in front going to make a complaint about my mum as mum tapped her on the shoulder and said during the interval How dare you tell me how to behave. My mum ended up going to see the manager herself where the other women was acting like we were trying to victimise her for not being happy against us telling her it was a free country. They said we were aggressive and being unreasonable?!?!

She said. It said on the way in you can't sing. We said. Well we didn't see that notice as we were late. We ended up leaving as my mum was so cross. There was a slight scene. The other woman was behaving like a child in my opinion. Has the world has gone mad.

My sister and I told her that she had spoilt our mums birthday and She was clearly enjoying playing the victim. I think she was probably shocked we confronted her over it.

We left. Were we being unreasonable? Or has the world gone crazy? I'd love to hear you're thoughts.

It seems like the OP (and her mother) is not familiar with musicals or the theatre, so has no concept of what is and what is and what isn't appropriate, especially when the OP doubles down by saying in their OP "If you can't sing along at a musical what's wrong with the world."

That's the whole point. You are not supposed to sing along at a musical. It would be like singing along with an orchestra playing at the symphony. You are supposed to listen to the professionals, that's what people pay for. The OP does not seem to have even the base concept of the theatre, you don't sing along at a musical, that is the biggest faux pas, and most people, even children, know this instinctively.

Unfortunately though that a sign not to sing along needs to be put up, despite the 99.999999% knowing this by instinct, you will have that 000.0001% who have no common sense because some people have no concept of how to behave appropriately and were raised away from civilisation, lacking awareness and common sense.

It's the same reason we need to have 'caution - hot' on takeaway drink lids, or 'do not swallow product' on shampoo bottles. Because some people simply have no concept of common sense or how to behave in a civilised society. There should be no need for a 'do not sing along' sign, it should be bloddy obvious!! It is for as I said 99% of the public, but we have to have signs for the .01% like the OP who don't understand how to behave in a theatre or when out in society. Worst still, is the OP and her family's stubborn aggression when told. Any other civilised person would be mortified, and apologise profusely, yet the OP and her family seem to have no sense of shame or self-awareness.

The lady in front showed remarkable restraint and politeness, and was probably also trying to give the mother a 'heads up' that you don't sing. Most people would be a lot more forceful when faced with such uncivilised behaviour from the OP's family. The woman in front (and other people in the room) was the victim, the OP's mother was not a victim (except of her own ignorance of how to behave appropriately in public).

Also, the women tell your mother to be quiet isn't passive aggressive, she's literally saying what she means there

woman*

OP passive aggressive would be her saying to your mum "could you sing about louder I don't think the front row can quite hear".

The women in front wasn't passive or aggressive, she just asked her to be quiet in a situation where your mum's behaviour was spoiling the enjoyment of other people.

If your mum had said "eek sorry" like a normal person and stopped doing it then it would have been an insignificant event for everyone else.

But you and yours were aggressive in your reaction and behaved like a bunch of absolute drama llamas and carried it on. Like kids to, do get the last word.

Op is not coming back anytime soon. Of course you are BU. I would have gone mad at someone doing that!!

Next time I go to the theatre I'm taking my 8 year olds trombone and joining the orchestra, that's no different to singing along surely? 🤔

If I'm new to something, I normally take my cues on how to behave from the people around me. If nobody else was singing, I'd have felt like a right wally singing myself.
Was your Mum a little 'merry' so to speak? Was it her first time to a musical?
Apart from your Mum's night being ruined, the lady in front's experience was also ruined by the argumentative song-bird behind her.

Is your no doubt as cultured as you and vocally blessed mother Hyacinth Bucket, OP?

Your mother got herself (and you) thrown out of the theatre with her arrogant, aggressive, entitled attitude- and thoroughly deserved it. You don't sing in the audience, it will quite obviously ruin the enjoyment of those around you.

The only show I've ever been too that was ok with audience participation was Buddy. And even then, people only went for it during the Winter Dance Party numbers and the encore. I also still have yet to forgive the late comer who stomped in during Fiddler on the Roof last month. Thankfully he arrived just in time to avoid interrupting "Sabbath Prayer" or he might have been the one praying (with a menorah jammed where the sun don't shine).

Wow. I took my eight year old to a musical recently. He tried to join in. I let him do two lines, then whispered to him to be quiet. He looked around and said, “oh yes, these people want to hear the actors”. More sense than your mum!

Your mum was very rude indeed to sing along at the theatre. People pay to hear the cast not the enthusiastic amateur sitting behind them. I’ve been in theatres when these annoying people with no manners have been asked to leave by the theatre staff.

Yes, your mum was in the wrong.

Live gigs you can usually sing along at, musicals and plays and so on, no, people really won't like it.

Tbh, the singing your mum did is far less of a problem than her behaviour afterwards.

Next time I go to the theatre I'm taking my 8 year olds trombone and joining the orchestra, that's no different to singing along surely?

hahahahahahah Good one. I will bring cymbals. lol

I hate people who arrive late for shows or cinema......

Once they had pointed out that there was a sign, requesting you didn’t sing a long, that YOU missed because YOU were late....then you (your mum) should’ve apologised and eaten a large slice of humble pie.

I'm surprised you were allowed in late. Both the theatres near-ish us have signs saying you won't be allowed in if you are late.

hahahahahahah Good one. I will bring cymbals. lol

Bagsee the recorder then. That will impress them for sure.

Wow what an utter bunch of miseries! Dance and sing your heart out in my opinion!!

Same for funerals.

Tessabelle74 I learnt the violin for a year 40 odd years ago - if I bring DDs fiddle with me can I play along too - I can read the notes, just can't play them in tune?

Wow what an utter bunch of miseries! Dance and sing your heart out in my opinion!!

People are paying to hear the actors on stage. They don't pay a not so small fortune to listen to some selfish, thoughtless and likely tuneless twat.

I went to a Derren Brown performance once. Two women in front were chatting the entire first half and the whole point of his performance is that all of the dialogue gets wrapped up in a big finale where a "trick" is revealed that has been going on the whole time without anyone realising.

I tapped their shoulders and told them we had paid to hear Derren Brown, not their weekend plans. I later heard them laughing to their friends about the "stupid bint who was obviously short of a shag." I stayed there next to them until they saw me, then happily walked away smiling.

Idiots.

Wow what an utter bunch of miseries! Dance and sing your heart out in my opinion!!

Yaaaasssssss Hun!!! Learn all the lines and shout them along with the actors too. Commando roll onto the stage!! Perform your own choreography! Mount the stage hand!! Moon the conductor!! Receive standing ovation!!

For. Fuck. Sake.

This is a much-discussed issue in the theatre world. We want to attract 'new audiences' to theatre. We do it partly by producing 'Juke box' shows, a selection of well-known popular music strung together with some sort of storyline. Then we get upset when the 'new audience', not traditional theatre-goers, confuse the ettiquette of theatre and 'gig'.

It's nothing new. The trad boom of the 1950s and 60s attracted vast teenage audiences to theatres and cinemas to see both live bands and films like 'It's Trad, Dad!' - and they wanted to get up and dance. Which was DEFINITELY against the rules!

Oh yes. Not U to not realise the posted ettiquette, very U to argue when reminded of them.

I think it's fair enough to call OP unreasonable but to call her some of the insults that have been scattered throughout this thread is also unreasonable - unless any of you have ever lacked good perception at one point or another?

OP and her family treated the theatre like a gig, oops...I'm guessing she wasn't thinking straight about what was going on because she was probably feeling overly protective of her mother (whom she perceived to have just been shut down by a stranger on her birthday)... and she was focused on that? Either way, I'm pretty sure OP has got the message by now.

OMG.... We go to these all the time and always there's some wannabe singing along that's great... When you pay megabucks to go to listen to Daniel ODonnell or even more to Adele
... Do we sit quietly.. Absolutely not... Sing your heart out Mum... I'm with you OP.... It's only really operas you don't singalong to... But Yes if a notice says don't sing... I wouldn't go again... What a shame.. Happy Birthday OPs mum 🎂🍻💐