By Jane Holahan
Published Jun 21, 2006 12:47
There’s a buzz of anticipation in the air, and everyone is hoping to see a great show, even this theater critic.
The lights go down, the buzz settles, and the curtain (usually only figuratively) goes up.
And it begins.
The Over Laughing.
I’m talking about the “ISN’T THIS THE FUNNIEST SHOW YOU EVER SAW IN YOUR LIFE? HA! HA! HA!” laughter that doesn’t fit the mildly amusing show you are watching.
There’s the cackler who steps on lines by laughing before they’re completed.
And the friend of the cast who thinks he’s doing everyone a favor by cracking up at every line, even lines that aren’t intended to be funny.
Not to mention the actress who wishes she were on stage and whoops so loudly you have to notice her.
And then there’s the director who just loves the show so much, he can’t help himself.
Well, this theater lover has had it.
I’m sick and tired of audience members who ruin a show for the rest of us.
And that is what they do. They ruin shows.
When these people are really bad — and I have endured really bad Over Laughers — they become so noticeable they distract your attention from the show.
You know Over Laughers are in the audience when just the appearance of an actor causes audience members to laugh uproariously.
Or when an actor says something that’s meant to elicit a chuckle, and an audience member begins sounding like a hyena.
Hey, dude, it’s not that funny. Why are you howling?
At a recent show, someone in the audience was laughing so loudly and so dramatically, I started fuming after a while.
She was taking the humor away from the actors up on stage by drawing so much attention to herself.
And when she started laughing at lines that were supposed to be serious and fairly heavy, well, I figured she just loved hearing the sound of her own laughter.
I suspect a lot of Over Laughers have good intentions. They want to help their friends in the cast. Their theory seems to be that if they laugh loud and hard at everything, it will become contagious.
Well, the exact opposite usually turns out to be true.
I notice Over Laughers. They make me way too aware that the funny line isn’t all that funny. Certainly not as funny as their laughter would indicate.
But hey, I am not a laughter Nazi.
I know comedies need laughter. It loosens up the audiences.
I can deal with sitcoms that have laugh tracks. I understand why they are there.
But fake over-the-top laughter isn’t the kind that catches fire. It’s the kind that makes you even more aware of the work going on up there on stage, and comedy requires a lot of hard work.
But being aware of that work makes it less funny.
I understand that when people genuinely find something funny, they will laugh a lot. It adds to the pleasure of going to a comedy.
Yes, their laughter might spill over onto lines that aren’t particularly funny, it might be ultra loud, but that’s OK. It’s genuine.
And just because I don’t find something funny doesn’t mean other people can’t truly be amused by it.
I know this.
But Over Laughers are not regular audience members. After almost 20 years of opening nights, I recognize a lot of them. They are usually friends of the cast, supporters of theater, talented people who want their friends to succeed.
They mean well.
But you can’t make a show funny when it isn’t. You can’t get people to crack up when they are inclined merely to smile, which sometimes is as pleasant as laughing.
So all you Over Laughers out there: Do your fellow theater lovers a favor and get real. Laugh for your own sake, not to make the rest of us laugh. It doesn’t work.
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Jane Holahan is a New Era staff writer. Her column appears every other Wednesday.
