Sadly disappointed
by 50 year theatre-goer on 5/11/25VBC Mark C Smith Concert Hall - HuntsvilleRating: 2 out of 5I was lucky to attend the world premiere of Les Miz in London in 1986, with the original cast. Since then, I’ve see it 5 more times, in New York and again in London, over these past 40 years. The recent Huntsville performance was solid, but the sound system, due to amplification, tended to distort the music and voices a great deal, making it hard to understand what the voices were saying. The score was also sped up a bit, likely to shorten the length of the show for most audiences. The real violation that may result in me not returning to that theatre space was the absurdly large number of audience members who were on their cellphones during performance! It was absurd! I’ve never seen so many screens light up during a show, and I heard 7 phones ringing during the show as well. Also, there were a record number of guests getting up to go out of the auditorium, and return, during the show! Multitudes of people crawling over others and returning without a thought about interrupting other’s evening!? It was like I was at a baseball game with elementary school kids, rather than at a theatrical performance. In New York City, as an example, if you leave the auditorium during a performance, you do not come back in until an intermission. The same is true in London, Paris, Milan, and even Nashville. Very embarrassing that so many people were texting and going in and out and in and out of the theatre, and the ushers did nothing about it! Alabama needs to learn how to go to the theatre!