<p>Those stories are shockingly rude and unacceptable.</p>
<p>But I have to say that I disagree with the assumption that the reason that more “boorish” people are coming to the theater is because the ticket prices have been discounted. That’s tantamount to saying that money is commensurate with class and manners, and that is unfortunately not true. Money doesn’t somehow confer class and manners/etiquette.</p>
<p>I would attribute this sort of behavior as one of the fallouts of our sometimes-too-casual culture and with the sense of entitlement that it seems people increasingly have. They paid for a ticket so they feel entitled to bring fried chicken into the theater, or to ask an actor to pause in her monologue until they are seated. It’s all about <em>them</em>, instead of about sharing a communal artistic experience.</p>