Jailbait

Last night, Cindy and I saw Jailbait, a play at Profiles Theatre, the wonderful storefront-ish theatre around the corner from my house. The show is about two 15 year-old girls that sneak in to a night club and hook up with some guys in their late 20's/early 30's (see critics reviews here and here).

KEY THOUGHT #1: I mostly liked it because it was funny and entertaining, although it did make me stop and think about one thing: how plays will resonate differently with every single audience member based on what that audience member has experienced in life. Whether you are a young adult (there was a pretty young girl there), a parent of a young adult (like the one who took a phone call from her 10 year-old...see more below), family member/friend of someone who made some poor decisions in their early adult years, or if one was/is that poor decision-maker.  It just made me think that you never know what's underneath anyone's exterior, what they've gone through/are going through in life.

So, about the lady (Lady A) in the last row: She received two phone calls during the show...the phone wasn't even on vibrate, it was on full ringer mode. First of all, seriously? In a 50-seat theater? But afterward, another audience member (Lady B) approached her about her rudeness and words were exchanged:
   Lady B: It was rude of you to have your ringer on during the show
   Lady A: It was my 10 year-old daughter, I had to answer
   Lady B: Well, then you shouldn't have come to the theater then if you  
               needed to take phone calls during the show
   Lady A: You must not have a child. And, it only rang once, so what's the
              big deal?
   Lady B: No, it was twice, and you actually talked on the phone to her

After they had separated and Lady A was walking out the door with her husband (Guy A) and the couple they were with, Lady A proceeds to just bad-mouth the outfit and looks of Lady B, saying she looked like a Labrador (although Cindy thought Lady A called Lady B a whore...still up for debate, I guess).

Then Guy A is talking to some other couple as they're walking away and the three of them are exchanging words (although the Guy in Couple A could have taken Guy A easily). And then, Guy A comes up to Cindy and me, and says "Do you want to snip at me, too?". Uh, no, we're just here for the entertainment of all the grown ups acting like they're on a playground.

KEY THOUGHT #2: All of that makes me think, can't we all just get along? Yes, it feels gratifying to tell someone that they've done something wrong....we feel like we've corrected an injustice (I particularly like honking at pedestrians who walk after the "Don't Walk" sign has flashed and leaving these notes on people's cars when they don't park correctly). But, in saying and doing those things, I'm just trying to relieve myself of my anger and annoyance, but it only relieves me for a minute or two, and after that, I've forgotten about it. Or else it just leads to more anger and annoyance, especially if I continue to tell the story over and over to anyone who will listen.
And why do we even call anybody out on anything in the first place? To get them to correct their behavior? Is my honking at them or someone politely saying "You know, that was kind of rude to answer your phone during the show," going to be effective at all? Maybe somewhere down the line, at Lady A's next night out at the theater, it will. But in the grand scheme of things, it's just not worth my time and effort to try and correct everyone else's misbehaviors. Well, at least not strangers' misbehaviors...to my closest friends and family, I will still offer my opinions :)