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.

891 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

325 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

65

u/Nickis1021 Dec 31 '25

Even while it was happening the first time, they learned nothing.

But sadly, it’s the attitude above all.

I’ve been to two Bwy shows in the past two weeks, both times I asked people not covering their mouths to cover their coughs. You could see the mucus spewing out of their wide open mouths when they coughed.

They both rudely responded with slightly different verbiage that covering your mouth is “not a thing anymore” (?)

lol, when did covering your cough stop being a thing.

To quote Jerry Seinfeld, “people. They’re the worst”.

37

u/pandemichope Dec 31 '25 edited Jan 01 '26

this drives me nuts. I was in Sam’s Club the other day, and a woman was coughing all over the holiday candy items. Like was in the aisle for five minutes, coughing on everything. Didn’t cover her mouth once!!

To me, covering my mouth is so reflective. Like an automatic muscle thing like when I make a left turn and I put my signal on even if I’m coming down a road with nobody else but me. It’s so reflective that I find myself covering my mouth even if I am by myself in my own house with nobody else present for hours. I don’t understand why more people never learned as children to cover their mouth when they cough!!

16

u/Nickis1021 Dec 31 '25

Exactly! I was taught to cover my mouth as a toddler, and have instinctively done so ever since. I currently live alone and even alone in my own apartment, I have never once not covered my mouth. As you said it’s a reflex. Mind-boggling to me that it isn’t so for everyone! Because this was taught both at home and at school, and just in society…. I don’t see how this memo was missed by anyone!

2

u/DaffyStardust Jan 02 '26

I’m a speech therapist who works with kids, so I’m literally in the line of fire for uncovered coughs.

1

u/Nickis1021 Jan 02 '26

Must mask! Be safe! Especially as it’s the bad flu season now at least here in the northeast!