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The term “peanut gallery” originated in vaudeville theaters where the cheapest seats were located in the back balcony and rowdy patrons would throw peanut shells at performers. The term later became associated with the children’s show Howdy Doody. Today, other terms like “sitting with the angels” or “nosebleed section” are used for cheap and undesirable seats.
Although many people associate the term peanut gallery with the children’s television show Howdy Doody, its origins can be traced back to the days of vaudeville. Many theaters charged patrons different prices for different sections of seating. The most expensive seats were usually located near the stage on the ground floor, while the least expensive seats were located high up in the back balcony rows. Because these places were so cheap and remote, they often attracted a much rowdier crowd who enjoyed taunting or taunting the performers.
One of the least expensive concessions available to the public on the balcony was roasted peanuts served in the shell. Peanut shells soon became a favorite weapon for loudmouths, who regularly pounded the lower seats and performers with them. Experienced performers soon learned to “play for the crowd” or “play for the cheap seats” to avoid an onslaught of peanut shells and boos.
Due to the association between the peanut shells and distance from the stage, this area of the theater became known as the peanut gallery. The peanut gallery section followed in the theatrical tradition of groundlings, poor audience members who loitered in front of the stage during Shakespearean productions. For many people looking for affordable entertainment, a ticket to the Peanuts arcade was the best they could do.
Eventually vaudeville’s popularity waned with the advent of television and movies. Since most seats, even balcony seats, gave audiences a decent view of the movie screen, many theaters stopped charging different prices for different sections of the seats. Instead, balconies in segregated theaters were reserved for African-American patrons, a practice that became one of the lynchpins of the civil rights movement.
When children’s television pioneer “Buffalo Bob” Smith introduced his show Howdy Doody to American viewers, his studio audience consisted of 40 children selected from thousands of applicants. In reality, many of the audience members selected were children of television executives and show sponsors. Buffalo Bob called this captive audience of enthusiastic young men the Peanut Gallery, both a vaudeville reference and a comment on the size of the audience members.
The concept of harassing an artist or offering unsolicited advice is still referred to as “commenting from the peanut gallery.” An artist or speaker can launch a preemptive strike against critics by not requesting commentary from the peanut gallery or acknowledging the presence of hecklers in the cheapest seats. The Peanut Gallery often serves as a hypercritical Greek chorus, letting performers know whenever they’re failing on stage.
Today, there are other popular names for the cheapest and least desirable seats in a locale. Some unfortunate patrons of a sporting event or concert may find themselves “sitting with the angels” in the top rows of the section furthest from the stage or field. Others call these seats the nosebleed section due to the high altitude which could cause nosebleeds. There are also “nocks,” seating located so far and above the action that binoculars would be a requirement.
