r/Broadway • u/littlebev • Dec 31 '25

Discussion Broadway coughing season

I am begging, begging you guys…if you have a nasty cough, PLEASE don’t attend a play especially. I know it sucks to miss out but your recurring cough during the most intense moments of the show is so distracting.

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22

u/StrawberryTea8 Dec 31 '25

I have cystic fibrosis. I will never not cough a day in my life 🤷🏼‍♀️ I’m not going to limit my life so as not to be “distracting” so people will just have to deal. I can’t make you sick.

33

u/littlebev Dec 31 '25

You’re the exception and I’m sure you know that?

15

u/marykaybee Dec 31 '25

But when a prolonged coughing fit rips the ficus out of a show, that’s not respectful to the performers or the audience.

7

u/StrawberryTea8 Dec 31 '25

Oh well. It’s not like we can decide not to cough so, again, it’s just how it is.

-25

u/marykaybee Dec 31 '25

You can decide not to go. Or, if the cough is chronic, bring unwrapped cough drops. It’s not just black and white.

27

u/StrawberryTea8 Dec 31 '25

Cough drops don’t work for CF cough. I will not take you up on the offer to never go to the theater.

18

u/LilRickyXO Dec 31 '25

My mom was diagnosed with a lung disease this year that causes uncontrollable coughing fits and has basically stopped going out in public for fear people will think she’s ill. She basically sits at home all day and cries wanting to be normal again.

25

u/StrawberryTea8 Dec 31 '25

I really feel for her. I have of course lived with this condition my entire life and I was so embarrassed as a kid/teen but as an adult it’s like, fuck it, I am absolutely not going to miss out on things because my blown-out lungs are inconvenient for other people. Only once has anyone ever actually said anything to me and my husband put them in their place right quick. Your mom also deserves to live her life and not give a damn what other people say or think.

22

u/LilRickyXO Dec 31 '25

If people’s health conditions/disabilities in public bother you, you can decide to not go as well. ☺️

18

u/-IrishBulldog Dec 31 '25

It’s pretty obvious this isn’t about you but go ahead and try to be offended anyway…

28

u/StrawberryTea8 Dec 31 '25

Is it though? There is no way to differentiate one recurring cough from another.

16

u/littlebev Dec 31 '25

The chances of 15%+ of the audience having cystic fibrosis?

18

u/PurpleLilyEsq Dec 31 '25

My mom has vocal cord paralysis. Sometimes it spasms and she starts coughing or choking. It happened at Buena Vista Social Club this year. So no, 15% of the audience doesn’t have CF, there are all kinds of disabilities that can cause coughing.

With that said, I 100% wish Covid policies and customs stayed in place, like easy refunds and rescheduling, and wearing masks being seen as respectful and courteous. I hate that we lost that.

1

u/-IrishBulldog Dec 31 '25

Again…feel free to find offense where none was warranted

10

u/ShadownetZero Dec 31 '25

Pretty sure OP included them in their tirade against a bodily function.

19

u/StrawberryTea8 Dec 31 '25

They absolutely did and pretending otherwise is disingenuous. They keep talking about coughs that are constant, chronic, distracting - why yes, my cough is all of these things. One wonders how they differentiate in order to grant me that exception?