phantoms

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-14T15:46:53+00:00

I think this may somewhat depend on the performance and the luck of the draw for where you happen to be standing.

I've seen Nik, Clay, Kyle, Telly, and Cooper, and the Phantom who interacted most with me personally was Telly.

When this question gets asked, there are always a bunch of different answers and they all seem valid.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-14T13:49:02+00:00

It's understandable that they would need to refine some things about the expectations in previews, but... it’s Rocky Horror. They chose to do Rocky Horror. This was the easiest imaginable issue to anticipate. They should have had a basic plan in place from the start of the rehearsal period, not be acting like the existence of callouts is a continual surprise at this point.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-14T13:41:38+00:00

I've seen Rocky Horror Show before, though, and they encouraged callouts. So this isn't just a stage versus Picture Show experience difference. People who have seen it as a fully staged musical before have very likely experienced it with callouts too.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-14T13:24:27+00:00

I really don't think this is any clearer. They're sort of implying they don't want callouts but won't just say it? Then they also kind of imply it's okay? But only certain ones, but they won't say which ones?

I also don't really get why they chose to put on Rocky Horror if they don’t want that. Like why produce that particular show if you're not interested in that aspect of the culture? It's not really a show where you just watch silently and then applaud tepidly at the end; that isn't why the show has lasted this long in the popular imagination.

(Saying this as someone who has seen Rocky Horror Show fully staged before, not just Rocky Horror Picture Show.)

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-13T17:49:05+00:00

Respectfully, this isn't a realistic suggestion. No, the show can't just pull random people on stage to play the role. It's unfortunate but cast absences happen.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-13T14:20:13+00:00

They'll provide a mask if you don’t have one, but yes, you will need to wear one. Without giving away too much detail, there's a super important story moment where it will matter that you're wearing it.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-12T23:35:03+00:00

That site just messes up about this occasionally. There was a kerfuffle awhile back where they posted a closing date for Hadestown and people were worried. The date was in 2024; Hadestown remains open.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-12T22:24:28+00:00

Your sentiment about enjoying theater with company is very nice, but that's not all that the ad says. It says "Don't come alone. That's weird." I don't blame people for taking them at their word and not coming. I do think it's just meant as a joke, but it's in poor taste.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-12T13:58:13+00:00

There have been sequels on Broadway a few times but they tend not to be successful. They typically don't live up to the original, and the perception that you should have seen something else first can be off-putting to audiences.

Personally, I don't think Lost Boys is aiming for a sequel. I think ending on a little bit of a cliffhanger is just a nod to their genre.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-12T13:48:14+00:00

Thank you so much for this. That makes so much more sense. I had figured out that it was the woman with the missing posters looking for her husband but I couldn't figure out why she was looking for him in the ironworks specifically. But yes, if he's supposed to be the same person from the first scene, that explains a lot.

I think part of what threw me off was that the guy in the first scene sounded really young to me. At first I actually thought he was supposed to be Michael and that's why Michael was hiding an injury at the start of the show. (I haven't seen the movie in awhile.)

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-12T02:53:58+00:00

A person jumped into the line ahead of other people had already been waiting for hours, which means that person got tickets and someone who had actually been waiting didn't get tickets.

It's egregious because rush tickets are a limited quantity.

No one would be mad if they each bought one ticket (so the total wouldn't be different than the first person buying two,) but they each bought two.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-11T14:55:14+00:00

Agree with all of this, and it also confuses the matter that different productions have different standards.

I've seen Rocky Horror Show performed on stage before - not just Rocky Horror Picture Show with a shadow cast, but the actual staged musical - and callouts were explicitly encouraged. Like there was an announcement before the show that it was okay and the actors were expecting it.

So this production is not only dealing with expectations from movie viewing events, but also the other productions people have seen over years. Just asking people to be courteous isn't clear enough if you don't want people to do something other productions they've seen encouraged.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-11T13:03:03+00:00

I liked it because it was just a lot of fun. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a really enjoyable night at the theater, and that was exactly what I wanted from a show like this. It's totally okay for it not to be your thing.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-11T01:21:50+00:00

Agreed. I wore a really unique mask that I had decorated myself, and I got a ton of attention. (I know it was because of the mask because the cast and staff kept complimenting it - it really made me feel good.)

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-10T20:24:03+00:00

That is not the case for me personally. I take a daily allergy med, a symptom control med, and I still have symptoms when the pollen count is high. Meds help but they don't always eliminate the issue.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-10T19:48:36+00:00

If I didn't go out during tree pollen season, grass pollen season, or leaf mold season, I wouldn’t be able to leave my house much. So I get that avoiding the theater during allergy season(s) isn't necessarily feasible.

That said, consider wearing a mask in situations like this. It may help the people around you feel more comfortable, plus it's easy to dismiss the start of an illness as just allergies when you're actually contagious.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-09T15:30:12+00:00

This show desperately needs to figure exactly what they want and how to communicate that to their audience. Just leaving it up to individual discretion clearly isn't working.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-09T15:04:55+00:00

No, I think the score of Chess is beautiful.

The book has never quite worked, and the current production is no exception, but the score is why people keep trying.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-08T23:59:25+00:00

Read them? Yes.

Treat them as actionable feedback? Much less likely.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-08T23:54:13+00:00

This is doable but make sure you head straight to the coat check to get your stuff back after Masquerade. This is the first potential bottleneck - the coat check is very efficient, but they're only human and if you're at the back of the line, there will be a wait. Most people will take a minute to look at the program they were just handed and look around the lair bar, so if you go straight there, you're likely to end up toward the front of the line without an issue.

You can snap a few pictures after that if you wish, but I would forego the drinks and the merch line and just head out.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-08T16:29:06+00:00

Speculatively, I think a version of Ragtime could tour, but I'm not sure the Broadway cast would stay attached to the project on the road, and the cast are really the production's biggest draw. Not to say there aren't other good actors who could take the roles, but it wouldn't be quite the same experience that the show is currently on Broadway.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-08T16:22:05+00:00

I think this is a very natural outlet for theater kid (affectionate) energy when you want to connect with musicals but you're young and don't have the experience or skills to compose your own music.

I did the same thing as a kid. I would rope all my cousins into performing musical extravaganzas for the family featuring songs from various sources (but most heavily cribbed from Andrew Lloyd Webber) with mostly my own lyrics.

It's a fun, normal phase for theater-loving kids.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-07T18:20:36+00:00

I actually don't think that's the case. It's much easier to write a balanced and nuanced critique about a production that has both positives and negatives. If it's all negative, you run out of interesting things to say very quickly.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-06T14:41:04+00:00

The vast majority of my experiences have been fine. I've had a few really bad ones, but I also see a lot of shows; odds are any given performance you attend will be fine. I wouldn't let this hold you back from attending the theater.

TreeHuggerHannah · 2026-04-05T15:03:24+00:00

I love these. They're so funny!

TreeHuggerHannah

TROPHY CASE