Cellphones in the Theater

Watch this result in a lawsuit. He deliberately damaged another person's property and caused him public shame.

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"Watch this result in a lawsuit. He deliberately damaged another person's property and caused him public shame"...Dollypop, you sound like a lawyer! =I

But I do agree wholeheartedly with Mamie: "He could have stopped the show and insisted on the owner being escorted out if he was that upset by it. Reacting the way he did was all wrong."

IMO, cell phones should be turned off at ANY venue where performances are being conducted (this includes church, BTW, although there, hopefully, it is not a performance going on). If only out of common courtesy to the performers.

If you believe it.

That's hilarious. I wish I was there.

Phew! I was afraid to look in this thread in fear that it was going to be a Patti story....

Quite simple: when your cellphone goes off, you deserve what you get. After having the final monologue of STREAMERS almost ruined last night by a moron with a cellphone, I have every sympathy with Mr. Naughton.

I seem to remember that using cellphones is illegal in theatres anyway. Wouldn't the cellphone being on constitute use of the cellphone?

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I have never heard of cellphones being illegal, I know that cameras/taking pictures is. Although it laws might be different here in Chicago.

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I absolutely hate when actors use extreme behavior to make a point like this. Much as people may applaud an actor for taking action, I personally think it is a far more rude gesture for the actor to have what amounts to a temper tantrum in the middle of a performance than it is for that cell phone to go off.

I sincerely hope that if this story is true that Mr. Naughton is brought up on disciplinary charges with Equity. It's one thing to stop the show until the disruption is over, it's an entirely other matter to act like a spoiled child and destroy somebody's property, no matter how much of a nuisance they might have been.

brdwybabe2, I wholeheartedly concur with your statement that we should automatically turn our cellphones off in certain places as an act of courtesy: especially in church.

Now, I normally turn off my phone as I'm walking from my car to the church, but a few Sundays ago I didn't. I don't remember why. I was also serving as Lector that day and was standing at the ambo (pulpit) in front of the congregation with the microphone on when my phone went off. What's my ringtone? The theme from "Will and Grace". Now I'm open about my sexual orientation in my parish, so that element didn't bother me. The time and the place DID. However, our pastor was sitting there as cool as a cucumber and said (on mic) "Go ahead, take the call. I'm anxious to see whether it's Will or Grace". The congregation roared!

It was a wrong number.

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what extreme and childish behaviour from Mr. Naughton.

I believe the time Mr.Naugton took in smashing the phone to bits and making rude hand gestures disrupted the show more than the ringing cellphone.

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And we don't see members of the audience going onstage to bash his head in with his script or making rude gestures at his lack of professionalism

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Unless I hear otherwise I suspect this post is a hoax.