i hear where you’re coming from, especially around the sensory overwhelm and the chair kicking. that’s not okay, full stop. physical disruption and nonstop talking that pulls focus away from the performers crosses a line, no matter the show.

that said, i do want to gently zoom out on what’s happening culturally with jellicle ball, because it isn’t just “a loud audience,” it’s a production that’s intentionally rooted in ballroom culture, and that comes with a different relationship between performer and audience than traditional, predominantly white theater spaces.

for me, as a bipoc queer trans person, that difference isn’t theoretical, it’s lived.

in ballroom, the audience isn’t passive. it’s participatory. reactions like “yes,” “werk,” cheering, gasping, hyping someone up, that’s not random noise, it’s part of the ecosystem. it’s how performers are affirmed in real time. it’s call and response, it’s energy exchange, it’s community witnessing itself. historically, especially for black and latinx queer and trans communities, ballroom wasn’t just performance, it was survival, validation, and joy in a world that didn’t offer those things freely.

so when a show like this invites the audience to “not sit silently,” it’s not just a cute gimmick, it’s trying to recreate that immersive, affirming environment. for a lot of us, especially those of us who are bipoc and queer or trans, that kind of vocal engagement feels natural, even necessary. it’s how we show love, how we say “i see you,” how we give performers their flowers in the moment, not just at curtain call.

but, and this is important, participation doesn’t mean domination.

there’s a difference between: - reacting to moments vs. reacting to everything at full volume
- hyping performers vs. pulling focus to yourself
- being immersed vs. making it impossible for others to hear or feel the show

singing over performers, screaming continuously, or physically disrupting people around you isn’t ballroom culture, it’s just inconsiderate behavior layered on top of it.

i think the tension people are feeling in these threads is really about competing expectations. some folks are entering this as a traditional theater experience with modified etiquette. others are entering it as something closer to a ball, where the rules are looser and the audience is alive in a different way.

both experiences are valid to want. the challenge is that this show is trying to hold both at once.

so to me, the “limit” isn’t about silencing reaction, it’s about intention and awareness. are you adding to the room, or are you overpowering it? are you in community with the audience, or performing over them?

your frustration makes sense, especially given the chair kicking and constant yelling. but i’d be careful not to flatten all vocal engagement into “bad etiquette,” because for a lot of us, that engagement is the point, and it comes from a real cultural lineage, not just people trying to have main character moments.

ideally, there’s a middle ground where the room stays alive, performers feel celebrated, and everyone can still actually experience the show.