Musical theatre etiquette
Hello everyone, this is one of my first few times posting to Reddit. Am not too sure how this works but will give it a try!
I am writing this from Singapore; I am a Eurasian and have lived here since a young age. I absolutely love Les Mis and watched it excitedly in 2016 when it came to Singapore; I have watched Les Mis (and other musicals) on Broadway and the West End; I am a huge musical theatre fan. I was really excited when Les Mis The Arena Spectacular came to our shores in March 24 May - I was looking forward to seeing Lea Selonga perform live as Madame Thenardier, and as Nathania Ong (a local Singaporean Asian actress) as Eponine.
I was swept up by the songs in the first act, which touched a deep chord in my heart. Imagine my shock when, during the intermission, a tall male usher wearing glasses came to me and in a harsh, loud and punitive tone, shouted at me to stop singing as patrons were allegedly complaining about me. I was taken aback, as I thought I was just mouthing the lyrics. I felt mortified and I apologised. The usher did not make further eye contact with me, and walked away before I could finish my sentence.
Thereafter during the second act, I found myself frozen to the seat - I was unable to sing, to move, to concentrate on the show. I did not even dare to clap after each song. Despite paying an expensive SGD 230+ per ticket, sititing at the front, I was unable to enjoy the show and sat there quietly, turned to stone. A faithful patron of the arts, I had looked forward to Les Mis with high expectations and the experience was ruined by the callous approach of one single staff member. I am shocked and disappointed by the delivery/approach of this service staff, and saddened that it appears to be extremely wrong to sing during a musical.
I suppose I also need to take some responsibility for my actions as I did not realise I would be such a disruption, and perhaps I may have gotten carried away because Les Mis is a favorite musical of mine. I do apologise for my actions. I have attended musicals for the past 20-odd years, and this was the first time I had received such a complaint. My experiences attending musicals abroad was that patrons were singing along to the tune of the songs, and sometimes swaying to the beat. Patrons were standing up and clapping wildly during the encore. Perhaps the social etiquette in Singaporean Asian musicals is different - no one around me appeared to be singing along, some patrons were munching pop-corn, and most of the folks around me were sitting quietly in their seats. No one rose during the curtain call despite the thunderous applause all across the concert hall. I tried my best to fit in, but I guess in the midst of everything I forgot to "blend in" and started swaying to the songs.
I don't think this classifies as a AITA post - I guess I'm just looking for a safe space to share how I sincerely felt, and also express my deep disappointment for not being able to enjoy a musical that I have loved dearly. I think the feedback carries much truth; it is the delivery of the feedback that didn't really land well with me. I hope my experience attending a Singapore musical is an exception and not the norm, and I will do my best to be respectful of other patrons in future.
Thank you, fellow Redditors, for listening. Do go gentle with me. I look forward to attending Les Mis live again (when I have the courage to!)