Patti LuPone Phone — Have you ever gone to a Broadway show? Well, here's a piece of advice, never use your phone during an ongoing performance if you don't want a performer to confiscate it for the rest of the show.
During the second act of the play, "Shows for Days," at the Lincoln Centre on Wednesday night, Tony Award-winning actress and singer Patti LuPone seized a phone from a theatregoer, surprising the rest of the audience. The reason? The said audience member reportedly kept on texting in the middle of the play, Business Standard has learned.
This week, Broadway legend Patti LuPone took a stand and confiscated a phone from an audience member during a performance. The white glow of a mobile phone screen in a dark theatre is considered as an irritant and major distraction to performers.
There have been a series of similar incidents involving mobile phones. Unfortunately, it was the final straw for Patti LuPone, who strongly acted and said these occurrences usually destroy live performances. Following the incident, the 66-year-old industry veteran issued a statement, as per CNET.
"We work hard on stage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones," LuPone said in the statement. "When a phone goes off or when a LED screen can be seen in the dark it ruins the experience for everyone else - the majority of the audience at that performance and the actors on stage."
"I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore," she continued. "Now I'm putting battle gear on over my costume to marshall the audience as well as perform."
Despite incessant audience reminders to switch off phones during theatre performances, some patrons still continue to disrupt shows by texting or talking on phones, which in several incidents have forced stage performers to deal with the issue creatively. While some just either pretend they didn't notice the rudeness at all.
Meanwhile, Patti LuPone's phone confiscation came less than week after another New York theatre removed an audience member from the stage after reportedly trying to plug his mobile phone in an unfunctional electrical outlet on the stage of "Hand to God."
In line with Patti LuPone's phone-seizing incident, The Sydney Morning Herald reported the confiscated phone was returned to its owner at the end of the show.
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