Ben Brantley, Theater Cellphone Use

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 2:19pm

Cellphones ringing are wrong, except when it's a friend of yours.
Link

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 2:35pm

A friend who can't figure out that phones have a "silent" or "vibrate" feature.

[D2]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 2:36pm

10 to 1 his friend is blond.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 2:37pm

10 to 1 his friend was "paid for for the evening"

Updated On: 2/12/10 at 02:37 PM

[Taryn]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 3:29pm

So his point is that we shouldn't be pissed at people who leave their cell phones on during a show because it might hurt their feelings?

He'll have to do better than that.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 4:07pm

I highly doubt a mother old enough to have a 17 year old son would be his choice for a dumb blonde hired date.

That said, it's a stupid article and she should be embarassed about it going off. I'm not going to feel bad because it was an honest mistake, because 9 times out of 10, it is a mistake. It doesn't make it any less disruptive or inconsiderate to all the audience members who had the sense to turn off their phones.

[RuprechtJr.]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 4:40pm

I saw HAIR last night and the lady next to me, albeit very friendly during intermission, actually answered her phone during act two. Ironically she answered it during "Electric Blues" during the loudest part. Thankfully it was on vibrate, but still what would posses you to actually ANSWER the call?

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 5:14pm

She was still shaking at intermission, and bowed her head in shame and fear as we moved toward the lobby, bringing to mind those photographs of shorn French women accused of collaborating with the Nazis.

I...I...

..there are no words.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 7:32pm

There was only once -- ONCE! -- when I forgot to turn my phone off and it rang during a show. Thankfully, it was during RENT, in the middle of a loud song, the phone was buried deep in my pocket, and my ring tone was "One Song Glory." No one else seemed to notice.

Now I always check at least twice to make sure it's on silent.

[BrianS]

Posted: 2/12/10 at 8:06pm

Brantley is wrong on this one. And wrong on actors being discourteous as well.

This article felt like a hack writer's "i have a column due tomorrow" situation and isn't up to par with his usual wit or insight.

[Rotel1026]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 1:14am

Maybe he wrote it to brag that he had a female date. I thought he was gay.

I saw Grinch during a weekday matinee. I was sitting next to one of the chaperone that was sitting with the group of kids and she answered her phone when it rang. You'd figure a teacher would be trying to set a good example for her kids, but obviously not.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 2:45am

I was gonna say, the only interesting part about the article is that his date was a woman...can't see a purpose with this column. Reminds me of when Carrie Bradshaw wrote a column about french fries because of a deadline.

[mc1227]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 8:13am

A date for the theater is not necessarily a "date".

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 8:56am

I honestly have no sympathy for people whose phones go off in the middle of a show. It's disturbing and distracting, and every show has an announcement now that tells you to turn off cell phones before the performance begins. I understand having kids at home and being concerned, but turn your phone on at intermission, give them a quick call or text and make sure everything's all right, and then turn it off again. If for some reason it's impossible for you to be unreachable for an hour and a half, don't go to the theater.

Also this really does seem like a Carrie Bradshaw writing a column about French fries type of situation hahaha...the article says nothing except that he had a deadline and had nothing interesting to write about.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 11:57am

And wrong on actors being discourteous as well.

No actor ever in the audience of any show has had their cell phone go off by accident? I sincerely doubt that.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 1:17pm

Besides, it was not an uncommon occurrence during Mario Lopez's stint in A Chorus Line for his phone to ring - and have him answer it and carry on a conversation while he was in the show, in the back of the house, as Zach. Granted, that's a pretty obvious exception to the rule, but there you are.

I think some of you are misreading Brantley (though I do agree the article reads like a "Got a deadline, what to write?" situation). I didn't anywhere see him saying it was okay for his companion's phone to go off - just that he now understands how mistakes can happen and that he himself doesn't get as angry and righteous as he used to. The whole article was essentially about his attitude change.

I don't think it was particularly bright of him to write it (and yes, the shorn female collaborators line was way over the top), but he wasn't saying it was acceptable. Not everyone's perfect, people do get distracted and forget sometimes. I once had a phone that used to turn itself on if jostled just the right way. To this day, I remove the battery from my phone once I'm in the theater, even though I doubt my current phone has the same problem.

[BrianS]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 1:53pm

He never said it was a mistake and it wasn't a mistake.

Thoughtful people turn off their phones at performances. Those people don't even need an announcement before the show instructing them to do so. The announcement is for the inconsiderate or those too stupid to comprehend "there is a noise making object on my person... I should silence this object."

To have a cellphone ring during a performance is to be both inconsiderate and stupid since you a)didn't have the forethought to turn it off on your own and b) couldn't follow the remedial instructions to do so.

[Fanb]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 9:20pm

Was the date more embarrassed that her cell phone went off, or that she was seen publicly with Ben Brantley?

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 9:52pm

" it wasn't a mistake."

And you know this wasn't a mistake just exactly how, BrianS? Brantley said "A" isn't in the habit of bringing her phone with her at all - I inferred from this that she wanted to remain accessible to her children, perhaps checking her messages at intermission or after the show. That her face went "ashen" when the phone actually rang says to me that she did not expect the phone to go off at all, but rather that she thought it was silenced or off. Otherwise, she'd have been expecting it and she wouldn't have been so mortified.

"He never said it was a mistake"

Not directly, but it's strongly implied when he says this:

"My first instinct was to glare at her, but when I saw her ashen face as she riffled through her purse, I melted."

You've never, ever forgotten to turn your phone off. Good for you. Some of us are just a little less perfect than you are, I suppose. Sometimes people make errors, they forget or make a mistake, thinking they turned it off or silenced it. All Brantley was saying was that he isn't as judgmental about the issue as he used to be. He never said or even implied it was okay that his date's phone went off - just that he was a little more understanding about it now.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 9:55pm

But why does this case make him more understanding? Because the lady's son might have had a college application emergency that couldn't have waited two and a half hours or so?

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 10:08pm

Couldn't say, Phyl, I don't know the man. There's probably more to the story than he's telling. It seems obvious that this woman is someone he cares for, so now it's personalized it for him, whereas before it was always some anonymous stranger annoying him. Maybe she has some sort of stress disorder and was really anxious about the 11 year old. Maybe one of them was sick. Who knows?

And then there's that whole bit about him having to write a story when he really didn't have one. As I said, not particularly bright of him, as he had to expect a bit of a backlash.

[raker]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 10:36pm

There is no reason to leave a phone on while in the theater. If you're waiting for a kidney, stay home and wait for the call. If your 17-year-old can't make it through an evening away from mother, you've got a problem. Stay home and fix it.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 10:46pm

Has anyone read the reader comments below the article? they're SCATHING.

....not to say i agree with Ms. Brantley.....

[James2]

Posted: 2/13/10 at 11:27pm

Ben has just posted a response to the comments on Broadway Abridged. Here's part of it:

"Many of you thought this meant that I, the most powerful man in NY Theater, was condoning cell phone use. So I thought I should set the record straight.

It's only okay if they're my friends, and they didn't have to pay a single dime for their ticket."

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 12:47am

Direct link: http://www.broadwayabridged.com/2010/02/special-guest-post-from-ben-brantley.html