10 of the best and 10 of the worst movies of the year

The 13 most cringeworthy moments in 'Dear Evan Hansen' - from the lack of chemistry between Evan and Zoe to the odd portrayal of mental health

How old the stars of the 'Dear Evan Hansen' movie are compared to their characters

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="3023281" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ben-Platt">Ben Platt</keyword> played the lead role as a high schooler in the Broadway musical "<keyword id="4640066" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dear-Evan-Hansen">Dear Evan Hansen</keyword>."</li><li>Now a movie-version of the story has been made, and 27-year-old Platt is reprising his role.</li><li>Platt tweeted and then deleted a comment about "people being jerks" over his age. </li></ul>Ben Platt received much acclaim for his starring role as a high school teen in the Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen." Now the play has been turned into a feature film, and 27-year-old Platt is reprising the part of Evan Hansen. Though adults playing teenagers isn't anything new in Hollywood, <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> criticisms of his older appearance among high-school students seems to have rankled the actor."Thank u from the bottom of my [heart] for the outpouring of trailer love yesterday," Platt wrote in a since-deleted tweet, <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/ben-platt-responds-dear-evan-hansen-trailer-criticism-1234976568/">which you can see in Variety's report here.</a> "The film required me to revisit areas of personal pain, so seeing ppl excited &amp; moved makes it so deeply worth it. PS to the randos being jerks about age, read this great article and/or watch grease."Platt was around 21 years old when he first took on the role of Evan Hansen, an anxious teen who creates a mess for himself when he gets involved in the aftermath of a classmate's death by suicide. <div type="image" title="ben platt dear evan hansen" height="1105" width="1474" msid="82787370" hostid="261"></div>People's reactions to the trailer on Twitter included plenty of jokes about his age and appearance seemingly standing out.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-screaming into the void (@fruitskywalker) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1394691698450702337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-jonny jon jon butter shabadoo (@thejonbutter) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1394702689884311555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Erin Somers (@SomersErin) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1394808292766068737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 19, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Erik Anderson (@awards_watch) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1394678216627953666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-d’artagnan | (@ayellowlamp) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1394677983084953606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote>In the tweet Platt has since deleted, he was referring to <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2021/05/dear-evan-hansen-trailer-ben-platt">a Vanity Fair article about the "Dear Evan Hansen" movie.</a>"I think everybody obviously had in their minds that I wasn't going to stay teen-adjacent forever," Platt said in an interview with Vanity Fair. "The need to get it done was a little urgent. Then of course the pandemic happened, and I kind of assumed that was that - it would be a no-go, and by the time the pandemic was over, I'd have outgrown it."But Platt was able to film his part shortly before his 27th birthday last fall. He told Vanity Fair that he has lost "about 15 pounds" with a "very specific diet," plus grew his hair out and shaved his face frequently to make sure he didn't have five o'clock shadow. "I was just stripping myself into being a teenager for the last time," Platt told Vanity Fair. "For what is hopefully the last time."Platt is joining a long history of 20-something actors playing the role of high school students in TV shows and <keyword id="406" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Movies">movies</keyword>. He referenced "Grease" in his tweet, which <a href="https://www.insider.com/grease-stars-vs-characters-ages-2021-2">famously posed adults in their 30s as 18 year olds.</a> Even Netflix's kid-centric series "Stranger Things" <a href="https://www.insider.com/stranger-things-kids-actors-ages-2019-7">stars 28-year-old Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, who is 18.</a>You can watch the trailer for "Dear Evan Hansen" below.<iframe width="680" height="383" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g_c_Jd-hP-s" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Ben Platt reportedly deleted a tweet calling out people 'being jerks' over his age in the 'Dear Evan Hansen' trailer

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Season four is a jukebox '90s <keyword id="11909346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="musical" source="Orion">musical</keyword> highlighting the performance of Black people living in America.</li><li>While the ending has clever themes these are drowned out by bizarre musical moments.</li><li>Warning: Spoilers ahead for "<keyword id="11974699" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dear-white-people" source="Orion">Dear White People</keyword>," season four.</li></ul>How do you end a contemporary series about racism - an issue that seems to have no end in sight?For the showrunners of "Dear White People," the answer is a jukebox '90s musical that expresses the performative aspects of being Black in modern-day America, even though up until now, the series has not had a single musical episode."Dear White People" is a comedy-drama set in Winchester University - a fictional Ivy League institution - but uses that setting to hold a mirror to modern American society. When we're introduced to the show, Winchester is diverse and according to some within that campus "post-racial," now the university is actively, or rather performatively, dealing with its internalized racism after events that mimicked last summer with the resurgence of the <keyword id="12021107" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="black-lives-matter-movement" source="Orion">Black Lives Matter movement</keyword>.It seems "Hamilton" ignited a fire in musical fans everywhere because in the last half of this year, we will get at least seven movie musicals, including a new adaptation of "West Side Story" and an adaptation of "Dear Evan Hansen."At their best, movie musicals can inspire and showcase beautiful performances, at their worst, well ... "Cats."Whilst "Dear White People" does have its fun and beautiful musical moments, most of the song performances feel utterly bizarre and make it hard to take the show seriously, especially when we get emotional breakup scenes set to NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" and Mint Condition's "Breaking My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)."<h2>Season four of "Dear White People" is obsessed with performance.</h2><div type="image" title="Dear White People season 4" height="2397" width="3197" msid="86458212" hostid="261"></div>Performance is a theme that touches almost every part of the story throughout this season, both literally through the singing and dancing, and metaphorically.The creator and showrunner of "Dear White People" <keyword id="12109383" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="justin-simien" source="Orion">Justin Simien</keyword> <a href="https://www.insider.com/dear-white-people-creator-justin-simien-reason-season-4-musical-2021-9">told Insider</a> that the musical is the "perfect metaphor" for Black people existing in white spaces, which is exactly what the students at Winchester are experiencing.One of the main characters, Sam White (Logan Browning) leads a radio show with the same name as the series, which normally criticizes the university and its students in an attempt to provoke change. Similar to how "Dear White People" was platformed last summer after receiving a boost of viewership after the death of George Floyd, White's radio show also receives more recognition when it is publicized on the University website and on posters around campus.Thematically, season four is incredibly clever. In particular, Sam's journey of deciding whether to be radical or bide her time gaining influence to make change is a thought process that many have had especially after the events of last year made saying "Black Lives Matter" radical. However, the clever themes are overpowered by the music.<h2>There's only one song that works: Marque Richardson's hauntingly beautiful performance of "Virtual Insanity" </h2><div type="image" title="Dear White People season four." height="2400" width="3199" msid="86458218" hostid="261"></div>That being said, the performance of Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" in episode five is a standout.Watching Reggie Green (Marque Richardson) with a spotlight on him as he tap-dances in front of a bunch of white characters pointing guns at him is an incredibly haunting and powerful scene."Dear White People" was not afraid to tackle the police brutality problem in America in its first season, with a fight at a campus house party escalating to Green having a gun being pulled on him by a security guard who thought the computer major was a threat. This obviously has emotional and psychological impacts which Green deals with throughout the remainder of the show from avoiding that pain with vices to assisting and eventually worshipping Moses Brown (Blair Underwood), the campus hero who is later revealed to be taking advantage of his students. Hence, this performance doesn't only highlight his biggest fear, and fear for many Black men living in America, but also his decision to take back control, first by using the weapon that once harmed him and then by using his coding ability to develop an app to help his community.Richardson gliding around that room sends such a powerful message that it almost makes up for the average musical performances in the rest of the series. If only more of the musical performances had as much purpose as this one did.<h2>The "honest" but sad ending of "Dear White People" asks its audience whether they are willing to continue the progress made last summer.</h2><div type="image" title="Dear White People Season 4" height="2400" width="3199" msid="86458220" hostid="261"></div>When asked by Insider whether "Dear White People" has a satisfying ending, Antoinette Robertson, who plays Coco Conners in the series, said that the ending was "honest.""We may achieve the height of our dreams and they may not necessarily be as gratifying as we believed. I think that rings true for all of the characters," she added.Robertson is right: despite the jokes and joyful performances, the ending of "Dear White People" does not end on a happy note. From its "controversial" name, "Dear White People" exists to raise conversations and questions without pointing to the right solution to ending racism and creating an equal equitable society because there still isn't one. However, if there's one message the ending leaves with its viewers it's that it's up to them to continue the movement.At the end of every episode, a character on screen stares directly at the camera for an unsettling couple of seconds before the screen goes black. This is used in a bigger way in the finale and, in light of the themes of performance, this has always been a change of view from us watching the characters to the characters watching us.We've seen how they've succeeded and failed and now we become the performers, showing whether we are willing to make a difference or just turn off the screen and continue on with our day.Last year, conversations advanced to realize that companies and individuals must be anti-racist instead of just not racist if we want to live in a world without racism. In the end, "Dear White People" asks its audience whether they can continue that anti-racist work or whether that was simply a temporary performance.<h1>Grade: B+</h1>

'Dear White People' has themes that speak to Blackness surviving in white spaces. Sadly, that's drowned out by utterly bizarre musical moments.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Ben Platt's poor handling of a nepo baby question went viral and reignited nepo baby discourse.</li><li>Meanwhile, "The Idol" was so bad, everyone basically forgot Lily-Rose Depp is Johnny Depp's kid.</li></ul>Just when we thought we'd escaped <a href="https://www.insider.com/9-nepo-babies-that-raise-the-profiles-of-their-parents-2022-12">nepo baby discourse</a>, Ben Platt went and dredged it all up again.On Friday, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/ben-platt-theater-camp-nepo-baby-new-york-magazine-molly-gordon-1234786447/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rolling Stone</a> published its interview with Platt, which was conducted prior to the SAG strike and as part of the press tour for Platt's new movie "Theater Camp." The story quickly went viral, and it's not because people are just really excited to see "Theater Camp."At one point in the interview, reporter Ej Dickson asks Platt about his inclusion in <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/what-is-a-nepotism-baby.html#_ga=2.104268355.2128311265.1689624452-43348651.1689624452" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Magazine's viral Nepo Baby Issue</a>, an exhaustive look at celebrities who have become famous largely thanks to having already-famous (or at least influential) parents, and what he makes of the discourse surrounding it."We're going to skip right over that if we can," Platt says in response. When Dickson follows up to clarify that Platt has "no comment" on the topic, Platt's publicist jumps in to cut it off, telling Dickson, "If we could just focus on 'Theater Camp,' that would be great. Thank you."The exchange ended up being baked into the very framing of an otherwise non-contentious interview (its headline: "Don't Ask Ben Platt This One Question"), and near instantly became fodder for online mockery. Virtually all of the internet derided Platt's sidestepping of the nepotism question.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1679882964954492928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2023</a></blockquote>But Platt — the son of megaproducer <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0686887/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marc Platt</a>, who has been nominated for three Oscars and produced the 2021 movie adaptation of his son's star-making Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen" — is just the latest nepo baby being blasted for their response (or lack thereof) to being called out on their nepotism. Celebrities like <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellendurney/gwyneth-paltrow-hailey-bieber-nepotism-babies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gwyneth Paltrow</a>, <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/hailey-bieber-nepo-baby-shirt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin)</a>, <a href="https://people.com/music/lily-allen-says-nepo-babies-have-feelings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lily Allen</a>, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/jamie-lee-curtis-nepo-baby-conversation-aims-to-hurt-2022-12">Jamie Lee Curtis</a> have all been called out for being critical of the discourse or defensive of their privileged start in the industry.Some nepo babies, however, have been applauded for their response to being called a nepo baby — most notably Allison Williams, whose dad is former TV anchor Brian Williams. "All that people are looking for is an acknowledgement that it's not a level playing field. It's just unfair. Period, end of the story, and no one's really working that hard to make it fair," <a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/allison-williams-m3gan-profile.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Williams told Vulture</a>. "To not acknowledge that me getting started as an actress versus someone with zero connections isn't the same — it's ludicrous."Even <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1359857/meghan-mccain-shares-message-for-her-fellow-nepo-babies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meghan McCain</a> had a better response than Platt's refusal to answer, urging her "fellow 'Nepo babies'" to "just acknowledge your privilege, the opportunities your last name has gotten you and move on" in a December Instagram story.Interestingly, there's one nepo baby who has managed to skirt the discourse in more recent months — Lily-Rose Depp. She was initially roasted to the high heavens for telling <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a41894075/0125-0141-an-idol-rising-december-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elle magazine</a>, in an interview for their November cover, that it "doesn't make any sense" for people to "reduce somebody to the idea that they're only there because it's a generational thing." In the same interview, she explained why she's refused to weigh in on her father Johnny Depp's controversies, saying she'd rather be "defined for the things that I put out there" than defined by "the men in my life."Weirdly, that kind of worked. People are now not really talking about the fact that Lily-Rose Depp is Johnny Depp's daughter. Unfortunately, they're talking about <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-recaps/the-idol-finale-hbo-cringe-ends-the-weeknd-lily-rose-depp-sam-levinson-1234782380/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how awful her HBO show "The Idol" is instead</a>. That might be the key, then: Don't want to talk about being a nepo baby? <a href="https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-idol-2023/season-1/critic-reviews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Do something even worse</a> than having famous parents, and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/lily-rose-depp-idol-sex-scenes-1235525283/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">everybody will want to talk about that instead</a>.

The nepo babies can't win, so they might as well lose instead

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Val Emmich felt powerless when his elder daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.</li><li>Shortly after, his younger daughter received the same diagnosis.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Val Emmich. It has been edited for length and clarity.I live in a constant state of fear. My daughters, 11-year-old Harper and 7-year-old Lennon, have Ttype 1 diabetes, a chronic condition in which the pancreas makes little or no insulin. If, for some reason, they didn't have access to insulin, they could die.Nothing has made me feel as powerless as when my wife, Jill, and I learned of each girl's diagnosis.<h2>How they were diagnosed with diabetes</h2>Harper was diagnosed on December 23, 2020, when she was 9 years old. Our family was sledding with friends, and we realized that Harper's ski pants from the year before were sliding off her waist. Also, she kept having to take breaks from sledding to pee. Our friend mentioned that he had just attended a talk about <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/health/conditions-symptoms/what-is-diabetes">type 1 diabetes</a> and learned that peeing and weight loss were symptoms of the condition. This confirmed Jill's intuition that something was wrong. We had already noticed that Harper had an unquenchable thirst, drank a ton of water, and woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Because she is naturally thin, we didn't notice her weight loss until her ski pants were suddenly too big.That next day, Jill took Harper straight to the doctor.After examining Harper and running tests, the pediatrician took Jill aside and told her to bring Harper to the ER immediately. Because of COVID, only one parent was allowed in the hospital. I was stuck at home in a state of shock.Jill and Harper stayed at the hospital overnight and arrived home close to midnight on Christmas Eve with boxes of medical supplies. The boxes covered our entire dinner table. Jill sat me down and relayed everything that she had been taught in the hospital. That's when it really hit me.No more sleeping through the night. We'd have to wake up every few hours to check Harper's blood sugar. No more spontaneous snacks or meals. Everything had to be measured, weighed, and calculated. I had to learn how to use a needle and administer insulin.I struggle with anxiety and depression, as well as codependency. In the weeks after Harper's diagnosis, I fell into a deep funk and was not very helpful. I felt paralyzed. I give Jill so much credit because she was as scared as I was, but she sprang into action. Without her, I don't know how we would have managed as a family.Harper took her diagnosis surprisingly well at first, but eventually, it sunk in that she'd have to deal with this condition for the rest of her life. Many emotional breakdowns followed. That was probably the hardest part for Jill and me as parents: When she asked us why this had happened to her, we didn't have an answer.This spring, we asked the pediatrician to pre-screen Lennon for type 1 since it runs in our family. When Jill called our endocrinologist with the results, they told her to immediately pick Lennon up from school and take her to the ER. Those numbers meant what we had feared — she, too, had type 1 diabetes.It felt like we were back at square one. I was more devastated than I had been with Harper's diagnosis because now I knew what type 1 meant. It didn't seem possible to be able to raise two kids with this condition.<h2>They help each other</h2>Luckily, Harper really stepped up to the plate. She made sympathy cards for Lennon, helped with insulin-pump changes, blood-sugar testing, and carb counting. I think they both take a lot of comfort in the fact that someone close to them truly knows what they are going through.Raising two young children with type 1 diabetes is overwhelming. Simple things become difficult.It's hard to find a babysitter that can handle the demands. Because of that, Jill and I have less time to nurture our relationship. Also, sleepovers with friends are nearly impossible. We can't send our kids to spend the night somewhere and expect another kid's parents to care for them through the night. It destroys any sense of spontaneity. Before leaving the house, we must make sure everyone has their diabetes bag with all their supplies and that we have "low" snacks packed.Once in a while, when Lennon can't have a dessert because her blood sugar is too high, or she can't have a sleepover, she wells up with tears and asks us if there will ever be a cure. All we can say is that we hope so.Val Emmich is a writer, singer-songwriter, and actor. His book "Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel," was a New York Times bestseller.

My wife and I are raising 2 daughters with type 1 diabetes. It can be overwhelming at times.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="12635667" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="west-side-story" source="Orion">West Side Story</keyword>" disappointed at the US <keyword id="11957006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="box-office" source="Orion">box office</keyword> in its opening weekend with $10.5 million.</li><li><keyword id="46161" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="disney" source="Orion">Disney</keyword> inherited the movie in its acquisition of the Fox film studio.</li></ul>Adult-oriented dramas and musicals <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-box-office-of-house-of-gucci-encanto-means-2021-11">have struggled at the box office</a> this year, and not even Steven Spielberg's take on "West Side Story" could turn the tide. The movie opened over the weekend exclusively in theaters with $10.5 million domestically and $4.4 in international markets. With a $100 million production budget before marketing costs, it's a disappointing figure for Disney, which inherited the movie in its acquisition of the Fox film studio in 2019. It could still have legs through the holidays and awards season, but has an uphill battle.It follows other musicals and adult dramas that have underwhelmed at the box office this year as the theatrical industry strives to recover from the pandemic, including: <ul><li>"House of Gucci" — $14 million opening weekend</li><li>"In the Heights" — $11.5 million opening (also on HBO Max)</li><li>"Dear Evan Hansen" — $7.4 million opening</li><li>"King Richard" — $5.4 million opening (also on HBO Max)</li><li>"The Last Duel" — $4.7 million opening</li></ul>Older audiences have been slow to return to theaters, and just 26% of the "West Side Story" audience over the weekend <a href="https://twitter.com/ERCboxoffice/status/1470067320005353473">was 55 years or older</a>. Meanwhile, the most successful <keyword id="11898343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movies" source="Orion">movies</keyword> this year have been driven by younger audiences, like "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Venom: Let There Be Carnage."Some feel this reflects a long-term shift for the theatrical market. Richard Gelfond, the Imax CEO, recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/imax-ceo-talks-dune-the-future-of-moviegoing-and-china-2021-11">told Insider</a> that the pandemic has "accelerated the drive towards blockbuster movies," i.e. franchise releases like "Shang-Chi" and "Venom."After the success of "Shang-Chi," Disney announced that its remaining 2021 releases would have 30-to-45-day exclusive theatrical windows.Disney might feel compelled to quickly move a film to either of its <keyword id="11899360" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="streaming" source="Orion">streaming</keyword> services, Disney+ or Hulu, if it has a slow box-office start. But in the case of "West Side Story," a preexisting deal between <keyword id="6868021" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="warnermedia" source="Orion">WarnerMedia</keyword> and Fox (now called <keyword id="12730531" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="20th-century-studios" source="Orion">20th Century Studios</keyword>) prevents Disney from streaming the movie simultaneously while it's in theaters like it has for other titles like "Black Widow" and "Jungle Cruise." The deal, which ends next year, gives WarnerMedia pay-one window rights to 20th Century movies, meaning they would stream on WarnerMedia's HBO Max after their theatrical and video-on-demand windows. Instead of dropping it on one of its streamers, Disney could make "West Side Story" available to rent early on VOD platforms before it jumped to Max. Disney would just have to break its 45-day theatrical window promise in order to do so.Disney and WarnerMedia did recently amend the agreement so that Disney+ or Hulu, and Max could share streaming rights on select 20th Century titles before Max's exclusive pay-one window begins, <a href="https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/disney-warnermedia-fox-movies-streaming-2022-1235117329/">Variety</a> reported last month. But the only movie to get that treatment so far is the animated "Ron's Gone Wong," which starts streaming on both Disney+ and Max December 15, according to Variety. It's unclear what other movies might be part of the new agreement.A Disney representative did not respond to a request for comment.

'West Side Story' disappointed at the box office, as adult dramas and musicals continue to struggle

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Attending a play can provide hours of fun. That is, if audience members adhere to <keyword id="11947917" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="theater" source="Orion">theater</keyword> rules.</li><li>Insider asked <keyword id="11909345" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="broadway" source="Orion">Broadway</keyword> and off-Broadway experts about their top etiquette tips for watching a show. </li></ul>Now that Broadway is back, theatergoers could use a refresher guide on how to behave during a live performance — particularly in this COVID-19 era. Recently, Insider spoke to a number of Broadway and off-Broadway experts to ask about proper theater etiquette. Below are eight tips to follow the next time you're in a Broadway theater. <h2>1. Don't talk during a performance</h2>This might sound like an obvious, no-brainer tip, but it bears emphasizing considering how many people commit this breach of audience conduct. Remember: You are not in your living room where no one can hear you except your spouse or your cat. Other theatergoers have ears and so do the actors. For Broadway League theater critic Scott Harrah, this simple rule is one that he has seen too many people ignore at shows. He finds it mind-boggling. He recalled one notorious incident while reviewing the Broadway musical "War Paint" in 2017. It involved a young woman sitting in a row in front of him. She was sitting with an entourage of "boisterous" people, he said, talking and laughing obnoxiously."She was also drinking wine and getting more and more intoxicated," said Harrah, who's been reviewing shows for New York newspapers since 2005. He currently serves as editor and publisher of <a href="https://stagezine.com/">StageZine.com</a>, a theater news and reviews website. "No one would say a word," he continued. "Why? She is an A-list celebrity who has won a Tony Award, but she managed to distract everyone in the theater and ruined the show for many of us. "I wonder if she would have appreciated such behavior when she was working on Broadway a few years earlier?"<h2>2. Cell phones should be completely turned off</h2>You hear that? Not on vibrate or in airplane mode, where they can still flash and annoy fellow theatergoers, but powered off. As in … off. In 2015, Broadway grande dame Patti LuPone made headlines when she grabbed a cell phone away from a texting audience member during a performance of "Shows for Days" at Lincoln Center. LuPone didn't break character."She didn't know what was going on," LuPone <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/theater/hold-the-phone-its-patti-lupone.html">told the New York Times</a> at the time. When the pre-show announcement tells you to turn your phone off, please obey that edict. Otherwise, you may risk the chance of having a very irate diva snatch away your iPhone. <h2>3. Don't block the aisle during intermission or after the show </h2>When the show ends and the curtain call is over, it's common courtesy and good etiquette to grab your things and exit the aisle quickly so everyone can get out. This also means not bringing your shopping bags with you. Robin Rothstein, a playwright and former director of operations at touring-show producer Broadway Across America, told Insider: "The Broadway <keyword id="12650320" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="theaters" source="Orion">theaters</keyword> are old and seats are small. Don't go shopping at Bloomingdale's before you go to the theater. People need to realize most of the theaters are not new and require legroom."<h2>4. Never record video or take photos during a show </h2>"It is the ultimate sign of disrespect in the theater," said off-Broadway performer Jenna Nicole Schoen, whose credits include "Wicked," "Jersey Boys," and "A Chorus Line." "It is very uncomfortable for everyone when you are reminded not to record, especially if the rules are already established."One of the most infamous incidents involving this infraction was when the late acting great Katharine Hepburn <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/15/nyregion/notes-on-people-use-of-flash-angers-katharine-hepburn-flash-of-anger.html">interrupted a 1982 Broadway-bound performance</a> of "West Side Waltz" in Boston to yell at a woman who had, contrary to theater rules, taken a flash photograph of Hepburn in action. The woman was then kicked out of the theater and the performance resumed. <h2>5. Make sure you clap at the end of a musical number — not during it</h2>Showing appreciation for a performer by clapping is excellent theater etiquette — but not in the middle of a song. Not only does it qualify as spectacularly bad timing, but it's distracting to the performers and fellow audience members. Devin E. Haqq, an actor who has appeared off-Broadway with theater companies ranging from the Barrow Group to the Epic Theatre Ensemble, told Insider he recently witnessed a variation of this faux pas while watching a performance of "Springsteen on Broadway." During the show, he said, an audience member was the only one to clap in the middle of an upbeat ballad — and as a result, was ejected from the theater. Haqq said in speaking to the audience afterward, Springsteen called this gaffe the "bane" of his existence.<h2>6. Don't wear a sweatsuit or cut-offs</h2>This might be counterintuitive to some, since Broadway doesn't have a dress code. But if you have spent a great deal of money on a ticket and parking, why would you go to a theater looking like you just crawled out of bed? As a performer, Schoen appreciates when audience members are dapper and well-groomed. "This one is a tradition that I love and really appreciate," she said. "When I am heading into the show and I see people a little spruced up, it gets me really excited to perform for them and give them a special night. It shows a lot of respect and class. " <h2>7. Keep your masks on while you're in the theater</h2>This is necessary to protect the actors on stage and your fellow audience members, said Broadway producer Dan Stone, whose credits include "Dear Evan Hansen" and "Moulin Rouge." "Theaters do not want to run the risk of having to close down due to positive COVID-19 cases," he said. "They've worked too hard to bring live theater back." <h2>8. Arrive early</h2>Being late is jarring because it interrupts the flow of production and movement of a show, even if you're being escorted by an usher to your seat. But it's not enough to be on time. You have to be early these days, said Charlene Speyerer, a veteran Broadway stage manager who is currently providing COVID-19 safety training to shows like "Caroline or Change" and "Mrs. Doubtfire."Speyerer said during this ongoing pandemic, when Broadway theatergoers must show their vaccination cards and ID upon checking in, it's crucial to get to the theater early to move through the line in an efficient manner."Use the restroom without a long line," she said. "Then, relax in your seat with your mask on as you read the playbill and celebrate all of the artists who have joyfully returned to work after an 18-month hiatus."Amen! Now that you know the eight rules of proper Broadway etiquette, buy a ticket and enjoy a show.

We asked Broadway actors which audience behaviors annoy them most &mdash; here are their 8 theater-etiquette rules

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5705437e9105841c008bb070-1000/nathan-lane-david-schwimmer-cuba-gooding-jr-courtney-b-vance-john-travolta-in-the-people-v-oj-simpson-episode-10.jpg" alt="american crime story The People v. OJ Simpson" data-mce-source="FX" />FX</div></div></div><ul><li>Top showrunner Ryan Murphy signed a five-year deal with Netflix, reportedly worth $300 million dollars, in a major win for the streaming service.</li><li>Murphy has created such hit shows as "Glee," "Feud," and "American Horror Story," and has a bevy of content still on the way, including a "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" prequel for Netflix starring Sarah Paulson as Nurse Ratched.</li><li>We ranked all of Murphy's shows past and present based on Rotten Tomatoes critics scores.</li></ul><hr /> Superstar television showrunner Ryan Murphy has signed a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ryan-murphy-moves-to-netflix-leaving-21-century-fox-disney-2018-2">five-year deal with Netflix, worth a reported $300 million.</a> The deal will mean all of Murphy's future shows will be on Netflix.And Murphy has an amazing track record in the industry.Two Murphy-created shows are currenty airing: new law enforcement procedural "9-1-1" on Fox and a new season of "American Crime Story" - "The Assassination of Gianni Versace" - on FX.These won't go to Netflix, unless Fox makes a deal, but Murphy already has some upcoming shows made for Netflix.His "Ratched" series - a prequel to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" focused on the vile Nurse Ratched (played by Louise Fletcher in the original 1975 film, this time played by Sarah Paulson) scored a Netflix order in September. A Murphy comedy starring "Dear Evan Hansen" star Ben Platt called "The Politician" is also set to stream on Netflix.Prior to the Netflix deal, FX had greenlit a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ryan-murphy-feud-renewed-for-season-2-about-charles-and-diana-2017-2">second season of Murphy's anthology series "Feud"</a>, this time focused on Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Murphy has also been developing a drama-musical series called "Pose" for FX, with the largest transgender cast ever for a scripted series. With so much TV coming from Murphy, it's easy to forget what he's already put out. Here are his major shows, past and present, ranked from worst to best by Rotten Tomatoes critics scores:Side notes: We broke ties with audience scores, and his first show, "Popular" in 1999, had no score. Rotten Tomatoes also takes the average of each season's score for the show's score, which is the number we used. We decided to separate the two seasons of "American Crime Story" because they are so wildly different, whereas the seasons of "American Horror Story" are far more connected.

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