Have you ever forgotten to turn your cell phone off during a broadway show?

[Kristeliz]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 10:40pm

What happened?

So embarassing. Especially when you have a backstreet boys ringtone.

[george95]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 10:46pm

When I saw the revival of Les Mis last summer, these girls in front of me were texting constantly, so I finally leaned over and read their texts until they stopped. Then, after the show, I took out my phone and realized that the ringer was on the loudest setting. If it had rung I would have looked like a big old hypocrite.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 11:26pm

I always have my phone on the loudest setting. It's the only way I'll hear it when I'm walking around outside. I always silence it, but I guess one time I forgot to check it and it actually rang. No one ever calls me, and someone finally did during a show. The one time it wasn't on silent.

And I had a Beyonce ringtone at the time.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 2/24/08 at 11:43pm

When I saw Wicked the phone of the lady sitting next to me rang. I was about ready to smack her. She said "Oh I thought I had it on silent." I wanted to say "Couldn't you have just turned the effing thin off!?"

I hat the "I thought I had it on silent" excuse. Just turn your phones OFF!!!

Updated On: 2/24/08 at 11:43 PM

[Ensemble1728039452]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 9:07am

george95 said: "When I saw the revival of Les Mis last summer, these girls in front of me were texting constantly, so I finally leaned over and read their texts until they stopped. Then, after the show, I took out my phone and realized that the ringer was on the loudest setting. If it had rung I would have looked like a big old hypocrite."

Lucky save! That could've been super embarrassing. But honestly, those girls deserved a little lesson in theater etiquette.

[jasmiinda]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 10:39am

I forgot to turn off my alarm when I saw SIX in DC on opening night because it was my first night show. SIX is so loud that no one else noticed, though.

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 10:45am

It happened to me once in high school, and it was so traumatizing I now have a ritual of keeping my phone on vibrate 24/7. I don't do ringtones anymore as a result. 

But unfortunately, the last time I was at the Met, I had an errant alarm set on my phone go off at 11 pm in the middle of the third act of TOSCA. I was able to us my watch to turn it off quickly, but good god was it embarrassing. I still don't even know how that alarm got set.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 11:08am

No.

[starlightexpress2]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 11:20am

Not really but recently at Stereophonic I was checking the time on my Apple Watch (on theatre mode) and the damn thing bugged out on me. Screen totally black. I was tapping to try to get the screen to turn on when my phone loudly exclaims "do do do doot doot doot do do"... I had accidentally tapped the "find iphone" button. Suffice it to say, I was mortified. I have now removed that button from my Apple Watch.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 11:23am

I’m not a baby boomer, so this has never happened to myself.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 11:32am

Call_me_jorge said: "I’m not a baby boomer, so this has never happened to myself."

Ah, ageism.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 11:32am

My phone never rings (it’s on permanent silence) but I get texts and notifications frequently so I always instinctively turn off my phone completely when I’m in a theatre (even a movie theatre). It’s a second nature instinct. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 11:33am

Ensemble1728039452 said: Lucky save! That could've been super embarrassing. But honestly, those girls deserved a little lesson in theater etiquette."

Thanks so much chatbox for bringing back an asinine 17 year old thread! 

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 1:31pm

I remember this thread from back in 2008.  Nice to see it being refreshed as this is always an ongoing issue when theatre goers don't turn their phone off.  Don't put it on silent, or airplane mode.  Just turn it off.  

It's never happened to me as I don't have a cell phone.  :)  

Updated On: 2/3/25 at 01:31 PM

[Mark Waltz]

Posted: 2/3/25 at 2:38pm

Only once, when I went to see "Bright Star", and an amber alert came through. I don't think my face has recovered from the redness that took over. 

I'm always been very diligent about making sure of it being off, but that one mistake has stuck with me. Back in the day when you could actually take the phone battery out, I removed it at a performance of "War Paint", a good thing because I was in the front row, and there were many moments when the stars were directly in front of me. I didn't want to be LuPone'd" (or is it "LuPhone'd" or "NoPhoned"?) 

At any rate, at one point, she was directly in front of me, and did look down in my direction, hopefully acknowledging my enthusiasm. I'm shy, so I didn't want to be mentioned on the web as having Disturbed a performance, especially since that is one of my biggest irritations. 

Updated On: 2/3/25 at 02:38 PM

[Glittergrrl]

Posted: 2/4/25 at 10:47pm

Please know that I try to be the very best audience member. I don’t eat during shows or talk. I barely adjust my position. I try to disappear.

I never forgot to turn off my phone, but I didn’t know about the theater setting on Apple Watch. Ok, so I saw “Merrily” early in its run. The man beside me asked me to turn off my watch. I didn’t realize it was lighting up. I didn’t know about the theater setting so I just took it off. I was so embarrassed. 

The lights came up at intermission and sitting beside the man was Ann Harada. They were together. I literally watched an Avenue Q  reunion concert a couple nights before. I saw Avenue Q 3 times with the original company. I wanted to tell her how much I love her, but I felt so terrible. I pissed off Ann Harada and her partner. Terrible.

i have never forgotten to change the setting on my watch since.

Updated On: 2/4/25 at 10:47 PM