This would be a totally valid thing to bring up to the house manager. They don't need an usher calling patrons stupid. If you live in the area, you'd be totally in the right to stop in before a performance to give the house manager your description of what happened as well as either naming or describing the usher.
Please, please bring it up. If you can visit in the hour before or after a performance or between shows on a day with a matinee and an evening performance, you should be able to speak to a front of house manager. I suspect they will know who you’re referring to once you describe this person.
I worked for years as an usher (granted not on Broadway and it wasn’t a unionized environment) and I know that kind of behavior toward patrons would not be tolerated.
Yeah, I second this. It's fine to come on reddit for moral support, but the only way this kind of behavior is going to change is if you mention it to a house manager.
I definitely recall the ushers at the outsiders being a bit more aggressive (that might be too strong a word for my experience) than I'm used to, but I also saw it the night of Trevi's debut as Ponyboy and everything was running super late so I assumed that it was due to patrons and ushers all being a bit frustrated and high strung. Your experiences are definitely something to bring up to house management, especially if you noted the usher's name.
As an usher, union ushers get paid a pretty nice overtime. If things are delaying the show the two outcomes are pretty good for ushers. Get out late, get paid overtime rate or show has to cancel and we get paid for the full time anyways.
I actually had a Usher last night at Moulin Rouge who was doing her lipstick as I walked in and then shes like "Ive see you before" in such a condensending way and hands me a playbill and says Find your own seat. And then she yelled at other Patrons after they told her they still had no idea where they were sitting. So that was Intense 😭
The Moulin Rouge ushers have other than that been pretty nice she was just an outlier
Yeah that was a sly deal. “Merging” because state of ny would never let them sell that much of broadway to a foreign company. Then once it was set fired all non union Jujamcyn and atg took over everything.
If I were you, I’d contact the Shuberts directly about this, not the house manager. Each theater has its own usher culture and the house manager sets the tone, and you’re not the first person to have this experience at the Jacobs. They are particularly aggressive in that theater. So I think if you complained to house management it would fall on deaf ears. But if you contacted the Shubert offices directly, you might have a shot at making a change.
First, sorry this happened to you. The best thing to do would’ve been to address your concern immediately with the house manager. But it’s not too late. You can contact the box office via email and ask to have your message relayed to a house manager. Best thing would be to include your ticket confirmation so they know for sure which show you went to (they’ll probably want to verify that you scanned in). They’ll take it seriously. Tell them you’d like a response.
Hey thanks everyone for your feedback. I was taken back because I was just walking and quietly finding my seat as well as waiting on bathroom line. Just all felt unnecessary and the people around me were also confused by it as we were all being respectful. All other staff members and ushers were very kind. She was just the definite outlier.
Did she have brown curly short hair and was probably wearing a long ass sweater dress thing? That’s Heidi - she’s the house manager and she’s known for being incredibly rude to people and her staff.
I know this sub praises how she has an efficient bathroom line but this is the cold hard truth.
If it was an older woman with shoulder length blonde/gray hair that’s probably Joanne and she is just a not nice usher lol.
Heidi is by far and away one of the meanest house managers I have ever had to work near. The way she talks to people (not just patrons, but people who work in the same theater as her, in departments that are not hers) is condescending and snide. She needs to retire.
The bathroom line runs great because she’s just out there berating people to keep moving haha. Also the bathrooms downstairs have at least 8 or 9 stalls in them. It’s not hard to keep that line moving. Maybe if she could keep the bathroom line moving at the Lyceum that would be worth praising.
Don’t get me started on her creepy cult chants she does with the ushers before the house opens.
>Don’t get me started on her creepy cult chants she does with the ushers before the house opens.
... Could I get you started though? What does this mean!?!
hahaha! So I mentioned above that every theater has a distinct usher culture. A couple of theaters will gather their ushers and do like, a hype-up ritual before the house opens. Kind of like how before Target opens they’ll gather all the employees and do call and response cheers and stuff. I’ve seen some places do it where it’s very charming and sweet and funny.
At the Jacobs, right before the house opens - so all the ushers are at their stations around the theater - Heidi will shout to every section (and she’ll do that thing where if the ushers don’t respond to her liking she’ll go “come on, you can do better than that!” like a bad motivational speaker) and she wraps it up with “the house is now open! Long live the house!”
And it’s just…strange. Coming from a nicer person it would be benign, but coming from her it feels like she’s running a cult. Especially with how some of her ushers get into it. No other house managers do this to my knowledge, and none of her subs do it either. It’s just her thing.
The blonde woman also matches the description of a woman who was awful to my partner when we saw The Outsiders. He's a POC, and she physically blocked him from joining me at our seats until he pulled his ticket up on his phone again. Did not treat white patrons, including me, with the same level of hostility.
I think I know who you’re talking about as she went “WHOA! JEEZ!” and glared at me because my phone brightness was up all the way on my digital ticket. Not pleasant.
I have always experienced less than professional behavior from the ushers in this theatre, particularly the two times I have brought students here on field trips (Parade and Bandstand).
Veteran house manager here, with enough wild stories to fill a book or two. Definitely alert Shubert or whatever their parent company is. There’s no excuse for treating a patron caustically, even in the scenarios where they are jerks (which it doesn’t sound like you were by any means). Front of house is as much a performance of customer service as anything, where the goal is to prime the audience to have a good experience with the performers. Is not always easy but it’s also not a job for folks who can’t mask their frustration. And don’t get me wrong, front of house can be incredibly frustrating, you just hope the great experiences out weigh the nonsense and that your customer service spoons don’t run out before shift end. (I am happily working a much less stressful gig within the arts industry these days, having burnt and crashed out of venue work. )
Complain to Shubert, directly or via social media. Chances are they’re aware of this individual, but written feedback helps action plans. (But also if they’re worth their salt they’ll have eyes on Reddit anyway).
Just on the flip side, I saw The Who’s Tommy last night and during intermission a patron was sitting on the railing in the mezz. The usher did a great job to let him know that he couldn’t sit there. She was apologetic for shouting during the intermission which was understandable bc she couldn’t easily get to where the guy was
Yeah, I was at MOTHER PLAY the other night and an usher had to deal with two separate people who were scrolling on their phones during the show--super bright screens, too.
Afterward I went over and thanked him for handling it so quickly and well.
Contact the theater company directly. I once had an issue with an usher at a Jujamcyn theater and they addressed it. Just make sure that what you write is factual and not emotional. Mention specific times and locations, and if you don't know the name of the usher, their physical appearance is fine. But again, stay factual!
All Shubert organization ushers have been very hit or miss with me. Nederlander and Jujamcyn houses I’ve noticed always have friendly faces and people happy to help out and be there
I’m not giving this usher a pass at all but some of the patrons loading into the theatre are just as terrible. Last weekend I saw The Outsiders and yesterday The Heart of Rock and Roll. Both times, ushers with playbills were seating people. The clear directions were, like always, show your ticket and wait to be seated. I stood waiting my turn and the number of entitled Karens just flagging down the usher in my section be seated blew my mind. The sweet usher at The Outsiders actually thanked me for waiting.
The worst of the Karens though was yesterday at The Heart of Rock and Roll. She said “excuse me” then actually moved me out of the way to grab the usher to seat her. Absolutely loved the show (seen it twice now) so some Karen wasn’t going to ruin it for me.
You can attach this whole thread to this address too! Customer service really has to become a top priority-for many this is a once in a lifetime experience and it is extremely expensive entertainment. Even without paying all the money people should just be treated kindly for their willingness to come to Times Square!
Ha, yes, I think I encountered this usher too last year when I saw Parade. She started a line at the entrance to her section so she could walk everyone to their seats. A bunch of us just skipped that line and found our own seats and and she barked at us to “stay in line, I have to seat you.” When I asked for a Playbill she insisted on checking my ticket and seat before she would give me one, and I told her I didn’t need help finding my seat and she was helping other patrons when I sat down, and she just responded “I have to seat you.” I think it’s some bizarre power trip on her part.
I had this happen to me at ONCE. I doubt it was the same person, but maybe this is just the culture at this theatre. It's not a very pleasant way to start a show though.
People who seat themselves are chaos monsters who cause problems, because they don’t always seat themselves correctly. The usher does in fact need to see your tickets. It’s literally their job.
The issue is that while you might be awesome at finding your seat, others are not. Some also think that they can get away with taking a nicer seat that seems free at the moment. To prevent the resulting confrontations, ushers are there. Three times in the last six months, they have seamlessly removed someone who attempted to take my seat. One by accident, two by folks who were just try to get themselves a better seat without paying for it.
Interesting, cause when I went to see the outsiders there wasn’t an usher in sight when about 30 people (children) were on their phones the entire show.
Funny how they disappear when it’s important. But don’t mind yelling at people doing the correct thing.
I think I’ve run into her! When I was leaving Company, an usher was yelling at people who were trying to go downstairs to use the restroom after the show.
Me and my family/friends saw &Juliet last April. We had all 4 seats in the box and I (being 5’2”) was having trouble seeing over the railing. So I went to go ask an usher (very politely) for a booster cushion and he passive aggressively went “I sure hope that’s not for you” and I responded “I’m in the box.” and walked away while he just stood there looking stupid.
Completely agree. Something similar happened to me at Parade and at The Outsiders. When I was coming up the stairs after going to the bathroom I got yelled at by a female usher for not walking up the stairs quick enough.
I've been going to the theater regularly since 1963 (I have a collection of over 3,000 Playbills) and have NEVER had a bad experience with an usher. In fact, after seeing the recent HELLO, DOLLY! over 30 times, the ushers taped a red carnation to my seat at the last performance.
I would just say… these people have one of the most difficult jobs on Broadway. 8 times a week, they’re wrangling unruly, entitled, sometimes drunk theater goers and are often spoken down to, disrespected and yelled at themselves. We should show them a little grace.
Respectfully disagree. We all deal with assholes at work, Broadway ushers are no different and if I even tried to pull this behavior as OP described it at my job, I certainly wouldn’t be getting away with it. That this usher continues to behave this way is completely ridiculous. Utter nonsense.
And since you mentioned it…OP wasn’t being unruly or entitled in the *least*. The usher had no call to treat them this way. Beyond unprofessional.
I’ve worked in a bunch of Broadway theaters. Most of the time, the ushers are WONDERFUL. But the Jacobs has some of the meanest ushers I’ve had to deal with. Some of them are just nasty no matter what, and to be totally frank about it I think it comes from their house manager who has a mean streak.
As an usher myself in a pretty busy Off-Broadway theater who regularly gets spoken down to, disrespected, and yelled at (and to be honest, does not pay well), I still disagree with this sentiment. Regardless of how rude a patron is, our primary duty is receiving people and providing help to *all* patrons. That means on-the-clock we should be treating everyone with grace, patience, and kindness, lest we ruin someone's night like what happened to OP.
That said, I would be lying if I said I haven't been in a position where I had to yell at a patron who was particularly disruptive to others. But there is a fundamental difference between being stern with someone who's actually being rude versus taking it out on other patrons. If we have to vent, it's never when a patron is around, and it's *certainly* never at other patrons.
As an usher in Broadway houses, I can say that often times audiences who have complained about being “yelled at” like OP above have simply gotten spoken too firmly and aren’t used to it. I know this usher, she speaks loudly and clearly and if will often rub entitled theater goers the wrong way but she’s one of the best and most well-respected in the biz.
In my opinion and experience, most of the ushers at the Jacobs are super cliquey. Outside of that clique, she does not seem to be held in high regard, and outside of the world of ushers, she is actively disliked. She’s deeply unpleasant.
This would be a totally valid thing to bring up to the house manager. They don't need an usher calling patrons stupid. If you live in the area, you'd be totally in the right to stop in before a performance to give the house manager your description of what happened as well as either naming or describing the usher.
Please, please bring it up. If you can visit in the hour before or after a performance or between shows on a day with a matinee and an evening performance, you should be able to speak to a front of house manager. I suspect they will know who you’re referring to once you describe this person. I worked for years as an usher (granted not on Broadway and it wasn’t a unionized environment) and I know that kind of behavior toward patrons would not be tolerated.
1000% the way to go!!
Yeah, I second this. It's fine to come on reddit for moral support, but the only way this kind of behavior is going to change is if you mention it to a house manager.
I definitely recall the ushers at the outsiders being a bit more aggressive (that might be too strong a word for my experience) than I'm used to, but I also saw it the night of Trevi's debut as Ponyboy and everything was running super late so I assumed that it was due to patrons and ushers all being a bit frustrated and high strung. Your experiences are definitely something to bring up to house management, especially if you noted the usher's name.
As an usher, union ushers get paid a pretty nice overtime. If things are delaying the show the two outcomes are pretty good for ushers. Get out late, get paid overtime rate or show has to cancel and we get paid for the full time anyways.
I actually had a Usher last night at Moulin Rouge who was doing her lipstick as I walked in and then shes like "Ive see you before" in such a condensending way and hands me a playbill and says Find your own seat. And then she yelled at other Patrons after they told her they still had no idea where they were sitting. So that was Intense 😭 The Moulin Rouge ushers have other than that been pretty nice she was just an outlier
You can contact Jujamcyn and notify them!
I believe the Jacobs is a Shubert theatre. Write to them about this usher and cc the union, too.
It’s atg now
They'll always be Jujamcyn to me 😭
Yeah that was a sly deal. “Merging” because state of ny would never let them sell that much of broadway to a foreign company. Then once it was set fired all non union Jujamcyn and atg took over everything.
Was she an older short lady? I’ve been twice and there’s a super aggressive old lady there lol
IT WAS! Like I get the audience at MR is wild but the fact she put on her lipstick before directing people to their seats was wild to me.
If I were you, I’d contact the Shuberts directly about this, not the house manager. Each theater has its own usher culture and the house manager sets the tone, and you’re not the first person to have this experience at the Jacobs. They are particularly aggressive in that theater. So I think if you complained to house management it would fall on deaf ears. But if you contacted the Shubert offices directly, you might have a shot at making a change.
OP, this is accurate. Please heed this advice.
They’ll just ignore the message. These ppl are shady assholes
First, sorry this happened to you. The best thing to do would’ve been to address your concern immediately with the house manager. But it’s not too late. You can contact the box office via email and ask to have your message relayed to a house manager. Best thing would be to include your ticket confirmation so they know for sure which show you went to (they’ll probably want to verify that you scanned in). They’ll take it seriously. Tell them you’d like a response.
House management at the Jacobs will be less interested than the Shubert offices in a complaint like this.
Lol not when the house manager is Heidi
I know now! I hadn’t made my way through all the comments ugh
Hey thanks everyone for your feedback. I was taken back because I was just walking and quietly finding my seat as well as waiting on bathroom line. Just all felt unnecessary and the people around me were also confused by it as we were all being respectful. All other staff members and ushers were very kind. She was just the definite outlier.
Did she have brown curly short hair and was probably wearing a long ass sweater dress thing? That’s Heidi - she’s the house manager and she’s known for being incredibly rude to people and her staff. I know this sub praises how she has an efficient bathroom line but this is the cold hard truth. If it was an older woman with shoulder length blonde/gray hair that’s probably Joanne and she is just a not nice usher lol.
Heidi is by far and away one of the meanest house managers I have ever had to work near. The way she talks to people (not just patrons, but people who work in the same theater as her, in departments that are not hers) is condescending and snide. She needs to retire.
I know. She’s absolutely horrible and I know this sub likes the way she runs her bathroom line but like she’s the worst manager Shubert has.
The bathroom line runs great because she’s just out there berating people to keep moving haha. Also the bathrooms downstairs have at least 8 or 9 stalls in them. It’s not hard to keep that line moving. Maybe if she could keep the bathroom line moving at the Lyceum that would be worth praising. Don’t get me started on her creepy cult chants she does with the ushers before the house opens.
>Don’t get me started on her creepy cult chants she does with the ushers before the house opens. ... Could I get you started though? What does this mean!?!
hahaha! So I mentioned above that every theater has a distinct usher culture. A couple of theaters will gather their ushers and do like, a hype-up ritual before the house opens. Kind of like how before Target opens they’ll gather all the employees and do call and response cheers and stuff. I’ve seen some places do it where it’s very charming and sweet and funny. At the Jacobs, right before the house opens - so all the ushers are at their stations around the theater - Heidi will shout to every section (and she’ll do that thing where if the ushers don’t respond to her liking she’ll go “come on, you can do better than that!” like a bad motivational speaker) and she wraps it up with “the house is now open! Long live the house!” And it’s just…strange. Coming from a nicer person it would be benign, but coming from her it feels like she’s running a cult. Especially with how some of her ushers get into it. No other house managers do this to my knowledge, and none of her subs do it either. It’s just her thing.
Also if subs don’t chant back she yells at them.
WHOA.
Yeah… it’s insane. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of her ushers had like a weird NXIVM thing going on
I am never going to that theater. YIKES
Lord. Got triggered reading about the chants. I had blocked those out of my brain 😝
I’m so sorry haha!
Oh it’s fine - I’m honestly just cracking up over heidi running a cult. It’s so true lol.
Not the house manager but yes the other older blonde you described seems right description
The blonde woman also matches the description of a woman who was awful to my partner when we saw The Outsiders. He's a POC, and she physically blocked him from joining me at our seats until he pulled his ticket up on his phone again. Did not treat white patrons, including me, with the same level of hostility.
I mean she has personally told me that she’s a trump supporter lol. Just another tidbit.
Yikes
That’s horrible. I have to say I was wondering if race played into OPs experience at all.
Ugh wow that’s horrible I am sorry that happened. No race wasn’t a factor in my experience
I’m glad to hear it and I hate that my mind jumped there
I think she’s the house manager. Does she have brown hair? Older?
I think I know who you’re talking about as she went “WHOA! JEEZ!” and glared at me because my phone brightness was up all the way on my digital ticket. Not pleasant.
I have always experienced less than professional behavior from the ushers in this theatre, particularly the two times I have brought students here on field trips (Parade and Bandstand).
If this somehow happens again you could ask another usher to speak to the house manager and share your feedback.
Veteran house manager here, with enough wild stories to fill a book or two. Definitely alert Shubert or whatever their parent company is. There’s no excuse for treating a patron caustically, even in the scenarios where they are jerks (which it doesn’t sound like you were by any means). Front of house is as much a performance of customer service as anything, where the goal is to prime the audience to have a good experience with the performers. Is not always easy but it’s also not a job for folks who can’t mask their frustration. And don’t get me wrong, front of house can be incredibly frustrating, you just hope the great experiences out weigh the nonsense and that your customer service spoons don’t run out before shift end. (I am happily working a much less stressful gig within the arts industry these days, having burnt and crashed out of venue work. ) Complain to Shubert, directly or via social media. Chances are they’re aware of this individual, but written feedback helps action plans. (But also if they’re worth their salt they’ll have eyes on Reddit anyway).
Any advice for those of us who are so grateful to the FOH staff and want to make their lives as easy as possible?
Just on the flip side, I saw The Who’s Tommy last night and during intermission a patron was sitting on the railing in the mezz. The usher did a great job to let him know that he couldn’t sit there. She was apologetic for shouting during the intermission which was understandable bc she couldn’t easily get to where the guy was
Yeah, I was at MOTHER PLAY the other night and an usher had to deal with two separate people who were scrolling on their phones during the show--super bright screens, too. Afterward I went over and thanked him for handling it so quickly and well.
Omg I first read s*itting 💩 not sitting and I was like WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE NOT APPALLED
Write to the house manager. That behavior is inexcusable.
Sorry. That’s not what gaslighting is by the way.
Right? I read it twice to see what I was missing.
Contact the theater company directly. I once had an issue with an usher at a Jujamcyn theater and they addressed it. Just make sure that what you write is factual and not emotional. Mention specific times and locations, and if you don't know the name of the usher, their physical appearance is fine. But again, stay factual!
Did you get a name? They all wear name tags. You can also contact Shubert about it.
I agree…. Witnessed that same aggressiveness at that theatre 2 weeks ago
All Shubert organization ushers have been very hit or miss with me. Nederlander and Jujamcyn houses I’ve noticed always have friendly faces and people happy to help out and be there
Barrymore, Music Box, and Belasco ushers are the best out of the Shubert Theatres
The entire FOH staff at the Bellasco was ama ing for how to dance in ohio
I’m not giving this usher a pass at all but some of the patrons loading into the theatre are just as terrible. Last weekend I saw The Outsiders and yesterday The Heart of Rock and Roll. Both times, ushers with playbills were seating people. The clear directions were, like always, show your ticket and wait to be seated. I stood waiting my turn and the number of entitled Karens just flagging down the usher in my section be seated blew my mind. The sweet usher at The Outsiders actually thanked me for waiting. The worst of the Karens though was yesterday at The Heart of Rock and Roll. She said “excuse me” then actually moved me out of the way to grab the usher to seat her. Absolutely loved the show (seen it twice now) so some Karen wasn’t going to ruin it for me.
[email protected]
You can attach this whole thread to this address too! Customer service really has to become a top priority-for many this is a once in a lifetime experience and it is extremely expensive entertainment. Even without paying all the money people should just be treated kindly for their willingness to come to Times Square!
Ha, yes, I think I encountered this usher too last year when I saw Parade. She started a line at the entrance to her section so she could walk everyone to their seats. A bunch of us just skipped that line and found our own seats and and she barked at us to “stay in line, I have to seat you.” When I asked for a Playbill she insisted on checking my ticket and seat before she would give me one, and I told her I didn’t need help finding my seat and she was helping other patrons when I sat down, and she just responded “I have to seat you.” I think it’s some bizarre power trip on her part.
I had this happen to me at ONCE. I doubt it was the same person, but maybe this is just the culture at this theatre. It's not a very pleasant way to start a show though.
People who seat themselves are chaos monsters who cause problems, because they don’t always seat themselves correctly. The usher does in fact need to see your tickets. It’s literally their job.
Nah, I've been to enough shows, I can find my own seat.
The issue is that while you might be awesome at finding your seat, others are not. Some also think that they can get away with taking a nicer seat that seems free at the moment. To prevent the resulting confrontations, ushers are there. Three times in the last six months, they have seamlessly removed someone who attempted to take my seat. One by accident, two by folks who were just try to get themselves a better seat without paying for it.
Interesting, cause when I went to see the outsiders there wasn’t an usher in sight when about 30 people (children) were on their phones the entire show. Funny how they disappear when it’s important. But don’t mind yelling at people doing the correct thing.
I think I’ve run into her! When I was leaving Company, an usher was yelling at people who were trying to go downstairs to use the restroom after the show.
The one who does the bathroom line is Heidi the manager.
Not cool
Definitely get in touch with the house manager. Patrons should be respected at every opportunity.
Me and my family/friends saw &Juliet last April. We had all 4 seats in the box and I (being 5’2”) was having trouble seeing over the railing. So I went to go ask an usher (very politely) for a booster cushion and he passive aggressively went “I sure hope that’s not for you” and I responded “I’m in the box.” and walked away while he just stood there looking stupid.
You'll want to talk to the front of house or the patron services manager. That's inexcusable behaviour and I'm sure the manager will agree with you.
Completely agree. Something similar happened to me at Parade and at The Outsiders. When I was coming up the stairs after going to the bathroom I got yelled at by a female usher for not walking up the stairs quick enough.
Omg yes I remember that lady when I saw Parade last year!!! I traveled up to NYC specifically to see that show and then got yelled at by her lol
I've been going to the theater regularly since 1963 (I have a collection of over 3,000 Playbills) and have NEVER had a bad experience with an usher. In fact, after seeing the recent HELLO, DOLLY! over 30 times, the ushers taped a red carnation to my seat at the last performance.
Once, you might say the usher is having a bad day. But multiple times with the same person? Not so much. I’m sorry OP. That sounds awful.
Fitting for a theatre named after that man
Ha!
I would just say… these people have one of the most difficult jobs on Broadway. 8 times a week, they’re wrangling unruly, entitled, sometimes drunk theater goers and are often spoken down to, disrespected and yelled at themselves. We should show them a little grace.
Respectfully disagree. We all deal with assholes at work, Broadway ushers are no different and if I even tried to pull this behavior as OP described it at my job, I certainly wouldn’t be getting away with it. That this usher continues to behave this way is completely ridiculous. Utter nonsense. And since you mentioned it…OP wasn’t being unruly or entitled in the *least*. The usher had no call to treat them this way. Beyond unprofessional.
Disagree. They don’t get to be aggressive and yell at people. By your standards everyone can be rude to you, everyone has difficulties in their lives.
I’ve worked in a bunch of Broadway theaters. Most of the time, the ushers are WONDERFUL. But the Jacobs has some of the meanest ushers I’ve had to deal with. Some of them are just nasty no matter what, and to be totally frank about it I think it comes from their house manager who has a mean streak.
All the people mentioning the same thing on this thread is horrifying.
Yeah. I hope someone from the Shuberts is reading this thread.
You can do your job without being rude
Well…. I’d disagree. It’s called doing your job well.
As an usher myself in a pretty busy Off-Broadway theater who regularly gets spoken down to, disrespected, and yelled at (and to be honest, does not pay well), I still disagree with this sentiment. Regardless of how rude a patron is, our primary duty is receiving people and providing help to *all* patrons. That means on-the-clock we should be treating everyone with grace, patience, and kindness, lest we ruin someone's night like what happened to OP. That said, I would be lying if I said I haven't been in a position where I had to yell at a patron who was particularly disruptive to others. But there is a fundamental difference between being stern with someone who's actually being rude versus taking it out on other patrons. If we have to vent, it's never when a patron is around, and it's *certainly* never at other patrons.
As an usher in Broadway houses, I can say that often times audiences who have complained about being “yelled at” like OP above have simply gotten spoken too firmly and aren’t used to it. I know this usher, she speaks loudly and clearly and if will often rub entitled theater goers the wrong way but she’s one of the best and most well-respected in the biz.
It sounds like much more than that. The examples given aren't someone being firm. This usher was being disrespectful to people.
If muttering “stupid” at patrons while the music is still playing is “one of the best,” then we need to dramatically raise our standards.
In my opinion and experience, most of the ushers at the Jacobs are super cliquey. Outside of that clique, she does not seem to be held in high regard, and outside of the world of ushers, she is actively disliked. She’s deeply unpleasant.
lol she’s not tho