Posted: 7/10/15 at 3:30pm
"From what I know the Front of The House is doing about everything they can without creating even more of a scene."
BRAVO! Someone who knows what he/she's talking about.
Posted: 7/10/15 at 4:44pm
Assuming the press cycle on this doesn't drift away without any action (and after all, if that can happen when people are killed in schools and churches, it can happen with regard to cell phones), I think we will see some solutions tried and hopefully one of them will work. One solution would be to prohibit having a cell phone in your hand within the theatre at any point. (Ushers could certainly monitor this before shows without creating the "scene" that I agree would happen during a show if every cell phone precipitates an ejection.) Another would be to have ushers or house staff more aggressively question people about if their phone is off, and even offer to check the phone if the person seems confused (and in my experience, a majority of the cell phones that ring belong to people who are not that up on the fine art of silencing their phones. Today, typically, all that ushers do is say "please turn off your phone" as people are seated. The one thing that;s clear is that these changes will require more staff, and staff costs money. So we have to see if theatre owners and operators are ready to take this seriously or not.
Posted: 7/10/15 at 4:48pm
"I'm amazed at how this story and the HAND TO GOD thing has taken off in the mainstream media."
It's called "distraction from real issues." It was on our local news last night, and I live in Los Angeles.
Posted: 7/10/15 at 4:52pm
But Diva, It is a real issue to me. 
Posted: 7/10/15 at 4:54pm
It's not like news stations are bumping stories about the removal of the Confederate flag for this.
Posted: 7/10/15 at 4:57pm
wrong thread
Updated On: 7/10/15 at 04:57 PM
Posted: 7/10/15 at 5:12pm
Enjoy this Patti Lupone parody i made! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMbNqq5my1o
Posted: 7/11/15 at 11:25am
Very hilarious parody, Ceci242! You've got her nasal voice down cold. I like the subtitles--Lupone should have them in all of her shows. Lol.
A plea to all audience members. Please try to get over your shyness and say something to cell phone offenders. I find a quiet "Sir/Madam, that's very distracting" usually does the trick. The ushers really do their best, it seems to me, but they can't see everybody, and they can't get to the middle of an aisle, and are well aware that at some point their vigilance becomes more distracting to the audience than the cell phones.
Posted: 7/11/15 at 11:47am
Good for her! People now act as if they are in their own living room or office and could care less about others. Or it seems there are some serious addiction issues--the need to remain constantly keep checking messages, their social media connections, and so on. There really should be some 12 step programs set up to help people with these addictions so they can get through a flipping night at the theatre.
I went to see a show last night (not on Broadway--in another city, in fact) and I couldn't believe the number of people who kept checking their phones, texted, and talked. The author of the play (who is well known) was in attendance and at one point had his phone out too! I shook my head with disbelief.
It seems the only impact Madonna has on pop culture nowadays is letting people know that they can text all they want during shows. Spoiled little brats.
Posted: 7/11/15 at 12:04pm
BWW linked to this earlier, but I think the locking bag idea is quite awesome:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/theater/theaters-struggle-with-patrons-phone-use-during-shows.html
Posted: 7/11/15 at 3:21pm
I think the educating the public idea is, at this point, a waste of time and money.
Posted: 7/11/15 at 5:03pm
Opening up your sippy cup and spilling your drink on them also works.
Posted: 7/11/15 at 9:45pm
PalJoey, I loved the whole "You will be tasered" idea that I had to post it as my Facebook status! :)
Posted: 7/11/15 at 9:59pm
I was at Jersey boys 2 weeks ago and some entitled little princess putted out her phone in the second act. Started taking pics and texting. I had the little slips of paper with the understudies on them. balled them up and just started throwing them at her one at a time. after about the third one she got the idea. BTW I was in the mezz and there was almost no one up there. they had all moved down to better seats. At the end of the show she shot me a dirty look and started to say say something. I cut her off and said that if she wanted an argument we could go see the house manager about the pics she took during the show. She shut up and left.
Posted: 7/11/15 at 10:06pm
Jersey Boys is the only place where I've had pushback from anyone if I shushed them or asked them to put their phone away. Well, there was the super drunk girl at Mormon, but she was an exception.
Posted: 7/11/15 at 10:11pm
The first time I was at JB this woman behind me kept singing. I nicely asked her to stop. She sang even louder, at which point I turned around and said I paid to hear them not you and she got even louder. I was near the end of the row and there was no one next to us so I got up found the house manager and told them the problem. 2 ushers came down and told her to shut up or get out. didn't hear a peep the rest of the show. but I got some evil looks at intermission.
Posted: 7/11/15 at 11:50pm
I love her.
I also love this: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Wh6DAFpW4
Posted: 7/12/15 at 9:39am
Selling alcohol in sippy cups for people to bring back to their seats is a stupid way to make money. It breeds bad, boorish behavior.
I hate it and I wish there was a way to make the theater owners stop.
But they're addicted to squeezing every penny out of us, the same way they have reduced the size and legroom of the seats as bad as the airlines have.
Jujamcyn is better than the Shuberts and Nederlanders on this. The Shuberts and the Nederlanders are sadistic in their lack of comfortable leg room.
Updated On: 7/13/15 at 09:39 AM
Posted: 7/12/15 at 10:05am
But they're addicted to squeezing every penny out of us, the same way they have reduced the size and legroom of the seats as bad as the airlines have.
Yes, it's called the "free market." If the demand is there and the people are still paying, the theater owners will continue to push the limits -- reducing leg room, selling alcoholic beverages at your seat, etc. -- in the hopes of increasing their profit margin. You can try to take a stand against capitalism, if you'd like, but people will keep paying the ticket price to see a Broadway show. That's how commercialism works.
Posted: 7/12/15 at 5:24pm
They really should have Patti record a prerecorded message about cell phone usage that is really funny and play it in all of the theatres. Perhaps I have just thought of a way for Patti to make some extra cash.
Posted: 7/12/15 at 5:27pm
Except it's not really funny.
Posted: 7/12/15 at 5:40pm
I like the way Kinky Boots does it. I have seen it around 5 times and never heard or saw a phone.
Posted: 7/13/15 at 9:54am
I hate to sound skeptical, but is there a chance these interruptions are pre-planned by the theater to generate publicity? In this world of fake reality shows, it's something that crosses my mind.
Posted: 7/13/15 at 9:56am
It's been discussed, at least in the context of Hand to God.
Posted: 7/13/15 at 10:19am
I'll never forget my first experience with the sippy cup cocktails. At a matinee of PORGY AND BESS. Seated in what would be premium seats, though released late to my great joy. This was Tony voting season. During one of the most intense sections, when Ms. MacDonald was working at the top of her game, the cretinish idiot next to me began to drain the last drops from his big plastic cup, holding it atop his head, pounding, slurping, literally like a toddler at a Chuck E Cheese birthday party. I barked, "Put that down, now; I don't want to hear it." And he did. And didn't touch it again. Three people behind me later thanked me profusely; he had damn near ruined the performance for them. It's important that we simply state our truth. Shame those who must be shamed. It works more often than one would imagine.
Updated On: 7/13/15 at 10:19 AM
