Don't understand why this place is so popular

So, I've been living in Beijing for a year now, and when my parents came to visit something they really wanted to do was listen to folk music, and we looked into Lao She Teahouse from recommendations from natives that it was a good place to listen to traditional music and see performances from old Beijing. What we got was an expensive show that was pretty underwhelming, one cup of tea leaves refilled with hot water (we were told that each person got three cups of tea), and some simple snacks that one can find on any corner of Qianmen.

The shows were well prepared, but more than half were only in Chinese, with no subtitles or translation provided on the massive screens on each side of the stage. Since these were all scripted, I don't see why we couldn't have gotten a translation. Also, some of the performances were just lost on non-Chinese, like the oral mimicry and two-man comics. The magic show was pitiful; I've seen better shows on US street corners. The last two shows were acrobatics and face-changing, which were fantastic. Overall, I sat through two hours of decent shows for less than 20 minutes of entertainment.

Also, this isn't a problem with the teahouse but I have to bring it up. Chinese people who attend this show do not treat it like a Western show. They will stand up in front of you to get a better view, talk throughout the whole show, and watch videos on their laptops and cellphones. This really ticked off my older father, who wanted me to go explain to them how this was really distracting him! Obviously I didn't, but it can be disturbing to people who see this as the height of rudeness.

Overall, I just don't see the appeal. It's a variety show, but not all Chinese and not very good to boot.