"C U 2nite @ Wckd!" - Texting In Broadway Theatres- Page 2

[SNAFU]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 2:57pm

I confronted a middle aged woman sitting next to me at Grey Gardens. She spent the entire first act texting and contorting her body to try to hide the light. It didn't help but made the matter worse. I waited until intermission and then politely asked her to cease. She went ballistic on me and said her son was gravely ill and needed to know what was happening to him. I replied, "Sorry to hear about your son. If your son is that Gravely ill, WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING AT THE THEATRE?"
She retuned after intermission and the cell phone never made another appearance. Guess her son got better.

Updated On: 7/9/08 at 02:57 PM

[Okayfine]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 3:17pm

Snafu - that is priceless. I've gotten similar lines of BS as well. The only answer I have is, "Then you'd better leave NOW & go deal with it."

I say again, and thanks to those who understood when I posted it earlier, that ushers simply cannot see every person and certainly cannot find every texter or ringing phone. So, let's not be too quick to lambast them unless it's obvious that they see & ignore (as happened to me at The Seafarer & Mary Poopins). Those kinds of ushers exist as well.

But, also let's not be too quick to praise them for any decision-making. If the HOUSE MANAGER is strict, the ushers will be strict. They are simply doing what they are instructed to do. That is why I always encourage people to (1) get an usher; & then (2) get the manager if the usher is unresponsive. Still, I would rather deal with it myself (as I did at The Seafarer & Mary Poppins) than be miserable, if that's the fastest thing to do.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 3:21pm

I agree that people using cell phones in theater or any performance or other place is annoying. I think it is funny how years ago when cell phones were obscure, we were all fine, but now that they are mainstream, we are not. Well, I'm definitely a different case because I have mine for emergencies and business, so people can get directly in touch with me. But, I do turn it off in places where I know using it is inappropriate. The only time I have even bothered to text someone was at a movie theater, where I was the only person there. And I only did it to tell someone how funny it was to be there all alone.

[Luckydave14]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 3:37pm

I saw Jersey Boys last year and Dr. Phil and his wife sat right in front of me. Pretty much the whole show, Dr. Phil was reading emails and sending them. At one point he even got out of his seat and walked to the back, I'm guessing to make a call, and came back a few minutes later.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 3:41pm

He was probably checking to see if his career was over yet.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 3:41pm

I do not own a cell phone and really don't want one. However I think that will have to change the next time I go to NYC as you can't find a working pay phone anymore and I will need it to contact friends after the theater. I am dreading getting one. I will most likely get a pay as you go since I won't use it here in Denver. My thought is that if you are not with me at the theater, bar, movies or in the car, I really have no need to talk to you or text you from those places and if you know I am at the movies or the theater, etc, there is no need for you to call or text me.

Updated On: 7/9/08 at 03:41 PM

[Tom1071]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 3:43pm

A word of caution, uncageg. Prepaid is a rip off. Those minutes expire if you don't use them all within a certain time frame. Better to get a minimal plan.

Now back to the topic at hand...


Updated On: 7/9/08 at 03:43 PM

[bwaylover86]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 3:59pm

I have a friend (and if she sees this she will probably be pissed but whatever) who is an avid theatre goer- mostly to Legally Blonde and Rent, which she sees at least once a week each. I get really mad at her because as much of a theater goer as she is, she texts during the shows!
And to make it worse- some of the CAST is usually the ones texting her, from back stage!! Why they would endorse such awful behavior is beyond me. She swears you can't see her texting because she hides it under her coat or whatever and that the cast has even said that they don't see her doing it, but I just think the principle is wrong. (Plus the one time I went with her recently I could see it since I was next to her and I was a bit annoyed and told her to stop)

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 4:11pm

Just a response to Tom1071. I am aware of that. Have been checking around for a few months. I don't have a cell but am aware of the plans and rates. Think I am going to do Crickett and pay for the minutes I need in NYC. Cricket does not have coverage in Manhattan, but I can buy it. 8 cents a minute, but it will be worth it. And it is cheap enough that I can keep my land line.

Ok...back on topic.

[Patash]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 4:23pm

Prepaid is not necessarily a rip off. I am NOT a cell phone user, but for a long trip ended up getting a prepaid plan -- $69 total for 300 minutes I could put on an older cell phone I had. It was good for three months. At the end of the three months it expired with 187 minutes unused. Yes, I lost them. Do you know of any company that gives you a contract price for three months for a grand total of $ 69 or less? I don't. Even plans that say $29.99 will cost about a third more than that with the taxes and fees, so we're already up to nearly double what I paid for three months. And who allows a contract for only 3 months? Mine was over a year ago, and I have not had a desire to have a cell phone since, so I'll stand by my decision that $69 was the best I could do for my needs.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 4:27pm

A word of caution, uncageg. Prepaid is a rip off. Those minutes expire if you don't use them all within a certain time frame. Better to get a minimal plan.

It depends on the usage. Many pay-as-you-go plans only require about $20 every 90 days or so. For years, I couldn't even use up all those minutes. Switching to a "minimal plan" (which never includes all the hidden taxes and fees, even if you dont use a single minute) costs about 5 times as much or more. If you rarely ever use the phone, do you want to pay $7/month or $40/month?

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 4:34pm

Mister Matt, just read your signature. So true!!

I figure I will get the lower plan for 30 bucks a month. That way I will have a phone to use here in Denver and it has unlimited minutes.

[Tom1071]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 4:52pm

Uncageg, guess i should have just PM'd you. LOL.
Updated On: 7/9/08 at 04:52 PM

[Marianne2]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 4:56pm

bwaylover86-I can't believe any cast members would do that. Unless they really had no idea that your friend was in the audience. But yeah, it's cool if they are texting people who are not at the theater, but definitely they should know better.

Also, I don't know if anyone was aware of this. But cell phones ringing during shows is annoying, but I know of another reason why people are asked to turn off their cell phones. It may not be as big a deal for live theater, but sometimes cell phones interfere with some of the equipment. It is especially a problem in live television broadcasts.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 4:57pm

I know Tom! I feel like I threadjacked! Sorry all!!

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:00pm

Marianne, or anybody, correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't there a thread a while back about a new mic system one or a few theaters were going to start using that would scramble signals to cell phones in the theaters? (Or something to that effect?)

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:22pm

uncageg, I do remember there was an article way back on that topic.

There has to been some kind of signal blockers that can be purchased for theaters. They may be expensive but if this is going to keep happening (and possibly get worse), it is probably worth the investment. After all, people may stop going to the theater if there are so many distractions from cell phone use.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:29pm

"Theaters should probably invest in signal blockers for cell phones, if they even exist."

They can't...it is currently illegal to block a cell phone signal. And it CAN be traced. And for ushers and house staff, it is many time more disruptive for them to attemt to stop a texter than it is to just let them be. The closer to the center of the row they are, the more difficult it will be to get the offender's attention. Also, they don't see everything, so just because it annoys you for an entire act doesn't mean anyone on the house staff can see it.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:39pm

I wish I could remember where that article was or the thread name. If I remember correctly, the new system was partly because of interference due to cell phones in the theater and installing it would not be illegal but would scramble or change the signal that the phones use inside the theater. So, again if I remember correctly, they could get away with using it legally. I just think it is horrible that it is against the law to stop people from using their cell phones in the theater by jamming the signal inside the theater.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:43pm

"I just think it is horrible that it is against the law to stop people from using their cell phones in the theater by jamming the signal inside the theater."

So what happens when someone has a heart attack and no one can call 9-1-1 because the phones in the theater are jammed? Or if some other emergency arises? The FCC has made jamming cell phones by non-government entities illegal...and to actual own a cell phone jammer is illegal and subject to an $11,000 fine.

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:46pm

They can call 911 on a house phone or a pay phone if there is one. Problem solved. How do you think it was done before cell phones?

[CrazyMutha29]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:46pm

Not to mention a signal blocker would only block the signal. It won't stop the idiot from incessantly opening his phone to try to get that text message sent.

[StarUsher]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:46pm

You do have a point Fosse but I'm sure in an emergency the theater would have a landline to use.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:49pm

"They can call 911 on a house phone or a pay phone if there is one. Problem solved. How do you think it was done before cell phones?"

Ridiculous. In the amount of time it takes to alert the house staff of a problem, an emergency vehicle can be en route to the theatre, minimizing any injuries/damages/deaths. And what about upon arrival if the emergency crews need to use their cell phones or any other means of communications that could potentially be blocked by a jammer?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/9/08 at 5:51pm

Wow.