The New York Times: First things first: You’re not imagining things. Standing ovations have become ubiquitous in recent years. They’re now so frequent that it often feels to me as if the audience members making a statement are those who choose to remain seated, rather than those who rise to their feet.
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Growing up, I went to see a lot of local performances and even some Broadway shows with my family. I cannot remember a single one of those shows not ending with a standing ovation. I remember being a child and not understanding why everyone was standing, but doing so alongside them anyway just to fit in. When I got older, I learned the whole meaning behind a standing ovation, but today I still continue to stand for each performance anyway because it feels like an expectation. Personally, I never cared whether or not the performance deserved the standing applause because I was going to do it either way. That being said, I kind of agree with this article that the standing ovation has lost its meaning because of its popularity. Truly earning a standing ovation by the early standards means that the show has moved the audience on a deep level, but just witnessing one out of habit becomes routine and almost worthless. I think that if standing ovations are going to be the standard, then there should be something else that functions as the highest order of applause so that people working on a show truly feel that special accomplishment that used to come from the ovation.
This is something I have thought about recently while at shows. Receiving a standing ovation isn't an exciting accomplishment anymore, it's just disappointing if you don't. It's like when someone says "my dad hates theatre, but he finally liked this show." And that feels so much better than hearing another person say "great job", when you don't know if they mean it. I think it would be nice if the norm changed and standing ovations regained their meaning, but social norms are a difficult thing to reverse. Theatre is generally a very positive place and people are always uplifting each other, but sometimes it gets to a point where you don't know if people genuinely mean their compliments or if they just want to be nice. All to say, standing ovations can be a rewarding thing for a cast & crew if they feel it is well earned.
“Standing ovations” are now given at the end of every single Broadway show. And just shows in general. I personally would no longer count these as “standing ovations” since they are regular and happen at the END. It feels very mundane and not special, just like it is a way to punctuate that it is the end of the show. It's a common courtesy and I would not consider it a “standing ovation.” I would however consider a standing ovation something that happens spontaneously in the middle of a show. I did, too, think of everyone standing up during the bows as a standing ovation until I witnessed an ACTUAL standing ovation in the middle of a show. It was magical. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before, everyone was so overwhelmed with emotion and drive, the ovation lasting around two minutes so loud and roaring that they could not even attempt to resume the show. And I, personally, don't think That the standing cheers given at the end of each show take away from this at all. It really was a different kind of fervor and energy that filled the air. I do also think that it is right to stand to clap at the end of a show, as it distinguishes it from other moments in the show, this time congratulating the crew and everyone else who made the production possible. I hope everyone gets to experience a true standing ovation one day, I am so glad that I have, it really just demonstrates the power of theatrical live performance and storytelling.
I definitely agree that standing ovations have become so common that they’re significantly more noticeable when they don’t happen instead of being noticeable when they do but I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal. While yes, I agree that the ubiquity of them makes them less special and it can be harder to signify when a show truly deserves an exceptional amount of applause, I think that there are also other ways to signify this. While every show does have a standing ovation now, I have seen some that last less than a minute while I have seen others that last for significant periods of time. People will always find some way to convey how well they think the actors did and how good they think the show was and taking away the differentiating factor of standing vs sitting during applause does not change this. Even during a standing ovation, you can always tell the audience’s real level of enthusiasm.
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