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 Will there be any Republican theatrics tonight during President Obama's State of the Union address? The question is buzzing around Capitol Hill. 
 
 TPMDC asked House Minority Whip Eric Cantor if he has given Republican members any direction about how they should behave tonight given Rep. Joe Wilson's shout of "You lie" during President Obama's last address to Congress in September. He said he hoped there would be no outbursts. 
 
 (Though Cantor (R-VA) told me last time around that Republicans would be "attentive." As we all know, that didn't happen.) 
 
 For his part, Wilson (R-SC) says he will be a "gentleman" tonight. 
 
 Instead, Wilson will give a "live" response on Facebook following the address, he told supporters today on Twitter. 
 
 The DCCC has already challenged Wilson (R-SC) on whether he'll pull another stunt. Rep. Todd Tiahart (R-KS) joked that it was a fundraising boost for Wilson, according to the Wichita Eagle. 
 
 Republicans weren't shy about criticizing the president before his speech, however. 
 
 "Any time a president comes to Capitol Hill it is an historic occasion," Cantor said, adding a caveat that he hopes Obama has "listened and learned" that his agenda is not supported by the American people. 
 
 Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) said he agrees with "80 percent of what [Obama] says and disagrees with 80 percent of what he does." 
 
 He also said the president's spending freeze proposal has "a whole lot more to do with headlines than deficit lines." 
 
 Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform offered a mocking State of the Union "Bingo" which includes a "government subsidized free space" and Obama favorite "let me be clear" as spaces on the board. ||||| WASHINGTON—Members of Congress didn't hold hands or sing as they listened to President Barack Obama's speech Tuesday night, but they did almost everything else to show they were heeding the recent calls for greater comity. 
 
 Enlarge Image Close Reuters President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday to a joint session of Congress. 
 
 They applauded Mr. Obama twice as much together as the Democrats applauded him alone. Applause did not even always divide along party lines, a break from the past when the president's party cheered raucously while the opposition remained silent. 
 
 In another anomaly, lawmakers of different parties sat together during the speech. The scramble to secure bipartisan dates leading up to the event had given the Capitol the aura of a pre-prom frenzy. 
 
 Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) agreed several days ago to sit with Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.). On Tuesday, he encountered Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) in a Senate elevator and told him, "I wanted you to be my date, but I already asked Tom." 
 
 When Sens. John Thune (R., S.D.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), said they'd be sitting together, aides began calling them the prom king and queen, since they're considered two of the better-looking members of Congress. Lawmakers admit the bar is low. 
 
 "To a certain extent, this has been a little bit of a dating show: 'Who are you going with?"' said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska). "It reminds me a little bit of eighth grade." She added, "There are no cooties to be had between Republicans and Democrats." 
 
 Lawmakers have been sitting together by party since President Woodrow Wilson began delivering the address to Congress in person in 1913, according to Third Way, the centrist Democratic group that proposed the joint seating. 
 
 Since the Jan. 8 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.), many members of Congress have called for greater civility. That led to a series of unorthodox pairings Tuesday night and a State of the Union unlike any other, just two months after a turbulent election. 
 
 A seat was kept empty amid the members of Arizona's congressional delegation in tribute to Ms. Giffords, and lawmakers wore black-and-white ribbons in honor of the shooting's victims, six of whom died. 
 
 Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), one of the most conservative members of Congress and a tea-party favorite, sat next to Sen. Mark Udall (D., Colo.). Sens. John Cornyn (R., Texas) and Patty Murray (D., Wash.), who are leading their parties' campaign efforts, were paired up. Indeed, Mr. Cornyn spent much of the past year unsuccessfully trying to defeat Ms. Murray. 
 
 As he entered the chamber, Mr. Obama leaned over to grasp the hand of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.), who later gave the tea-party response to his address. 
 
 Rep. Joe Wilson (R., S.C.), who gained attention in 2009 for calling out "You lie!" during another Obama speech to a joint session of Congress, chatted amiably with Rep. Susan Davis (D., Calif.). 
 
 Sens. John McCain (R., Ariz.) and John Kerry (D., Mass.), their parties' most recent losing presidential candidates, also engaged in a lively conversation before the speech. During the address, Republicans and Democrats exchanged quiet comments at some remarks by Mr. Obama. 
 
 Republican Analyst Ron Bonjean tells Jerry Seib and Kelly Evans that while President Obama made attempts to reach across the aisle in his State of the Union Address, Republicans are still skeptical about many of his talking points. 
 
 All day Tuesday, lawmakers tried to ensure they could sit beside their dates. At 5 p.m., four hours before the speech, more than 200 lawmakers, about 10 times the usual number, had reserved seats by placing placards with their names on the chairs. 
 
 As in any dating situation, some faced rejection. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) asked Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) to sit with him, but she declined, saying she was already sitting with Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R., Md.). Mr. Cantor ended up sitting with Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, a fellow Virginian. 
 
 Sen. Udall (D., Colo.), the chief congressional promoter of the bipartisan seating craze, suggested ways to continue the civil tone in coming weeks, for example by holding monthly bipartisan lunches. 
 
 But any such push faces challenges. Right after rubbing elbows at the speech, lawmakers headed out into a Capitol hall to launch partisan slings at each other on camera. 
 
 Write to Naftali Bendavid at naftali.bendavid@wsj.com
– House Republican Whip Eric Cantor has attempted to preempt any members of his party tempted to pull a "Joe Wilson" during the president's State of the Union address. "I hope there are no outbursts tonight" Cantor said, but added that he hopes Obama has "listened and learned" that the American people do not agree with his agenda. As for Wilson himself, the South Carolina congressman said he would be "a gentleman" during the speech and refrain from anything along the lines of "You Lie!" again, reports Talking Points Memo. He also promised to offer his response in full afterward on his Facebook page.