The Show Must NOT Go On

Yes, I concur - leave the audience wanting more not "oh god there's more!"

I think the music after the bows thing works with certain kinds of shows better than others. Generally jukebox musicals or shows of a similar ilk.

I look forward to your Thread Starters, Phantom- always entertaining in content and style- and this one is no exception!

I actually quite like a reprise of something really catchy we've heard earlier in the show but it has to be very short, and very sweet. And I agree with daniel- don't do it as a ploy to get a standing ovation.

(I'm fascinated by the "maggots song" although it's not one I've come across!

And I've never been offered a free liqueur after a decent meal, only a really crappy tourist meal. Perhaps this is why some shows offer an encore free of charge???)

If you want to leave, then leave (and if you think it makes you look rude then that's your problem). Curtain calls are never going to be loved by everyone, but I've never seen one that didn't go down well with a large part of the audience.

I like musical curtain calls, they generally wrap up a show nicely and I usually enjoy them. In certain shows such as Mamma Mia they're essential.

Then again, as a musician I find anyone who leaves before the orchestra finishes playing rude - no harm in getting close to the door, but unless you've got a train to catch that you're definitely going to miss, then give them the respect they deserve by listening right to the end.

I find it often depends on my mood, how tired I am and how much I liked the show. Generally I also prefer a short and sweet non-musical curtain call to applaud the cast and orchestra and be gone.

It gets extra-cringeworthy when a musical curtain call first gets people to their feet for a half-baked clap-along standing ovation, then moves on to the reprise of a slower number, so half the audience sits down again pronto, leaving others to look around in confusion before slowly sinking back into their seats (and up again a minute later).

Though generally I think London is great with curtain calls, it's worse in Germany. The worst I've ever sat through was an atrocious pile of dreck that masqueraded as a retelling of the Nibelungen Saga (think Wagner's Ring), which was topped off by an endless self-congratulatory "mega-mix" that reprised said dreck. I have so successfully banished it from my mind that I can't remember if we bolted before the mega-mix ended or if I just sat in utter frustration.

I agree, if I've just seen the musical I don't need a megamix review of the whole show again.

Though Mamma Mia would benefit from skipping straight to the megamix

Silent bows for a musical? Please, it's just wrong. Unless it's the Sam Mendes version of Cabaret where the ending precluded music and nearly precluded applause.

I'm guessing the reason they do it is very cynical and driven by marketing. People tend to over-remember endings and feelings, so if you can make your audience walk out feeling happy and upbeat, they'll remember the show that way (even if it wasn't very good). Word of mouth and reviews will then be better. Of course, backfires horribly if it annoys people, but we on this board are hardly representative of the average theatre attendee.

That said, I'd love to see a Sondheim Megamix at the end of each of his musicals.

And having done lots of amateur theatre, I can confirm there's a LOT of politics involved!

At the same time, i can't bear the "communistic" all bowing at once (regardless of role) you get in plays and at the Nash. 

I felt The Bodyguard didn't need that silly "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" singalong at the end. The final number was quite beautiful and poignant and then it was back to fake jollity. Ugh.