LuPone Issues Response To Showstopping Vegas 'Texting' Incident — Page 3

if you're bored, why not just leave?

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"if you're bored, why not just leave? "

Because the poor sod probably thought if they tried to stand up Patti would pull out an Uzi 9mm and shoot them down.

And im not saying that because it happens everyday in every theatre that its acceptable, there is a dept that deal with that kind of thing and thats Front Of House, last i checked Patti is not Front Of House staff

If its annoying audience members they can ask the person to put the phone away of get an usher....im pretty sure an audience member wont get up and start screaming at that person.

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"The audience member's texting caused such minimal distraction in this case. Patti's reaction was entirely inappropriate in this occasion. She should have been reprimanded on the spot!"

Yeah, THAT wouldn't have been distracting!

"Indeed, I think it's the venue's problem. Whether it's pushing through a way to block signals"

Federal law prohibits this. It will never happen. a) in an emergency every second counts. An ambulance/fire truck/police officer can be on their way in the time it takes the usher to run out to the house manager to call for help; b) those devices can block radio transmissions of emergency personnel, and although they can be turned off to resume those transmissions, in an emergency that can often be the last thing you are thinking about; c) the range can affect people NOT in the theater. While it would be nice to be able to block rude peoples' phones, it's just not feasible. Yes, back when there were no phones people had to run out to a pay phone...but at what cost we will never know. As I said, in an emergency EVERY second counts. 10 seconds can make all the difference in the world.

"or making people check phones at the door"

Also not really feasible...there is no real room in most theaters to set up an area for that, plus people are going to demand exeptions. Not to mention that the theater owners don't even like to pay their ushers overtime (which often doesn't total the full cost of a ticket, the staff usually have to fight to get paid), so they aren't going to want to pay for additional staffing.

"or - AND this IS feasible - having the ushers be more conscientious, making them be on the lookout for this sort of things"

Most already do (some are more diligent than others). The problem is often it is more disruptive for the usher to do something than to just let it go.

"and IMMEDIATELY removing the offenders"

Removing ANYONE from a business is legally tricky, and is left for extreme cases. Security (which is usually an off-duty police officer) makes that call. If a person refuses and needs to be physically removed, the theaters open themselves up to liability issues. They aren't going to open themselves up to that for something as minor as a ringing cell phone.

Perhaps as the ushers seat people they can demand to see that the cell phone has been turned off, even during seating and intermission. And then periodically look for cellphone use during seating to make sure no one has on turned on.

Her dictation is awful.

Anybody else notice that is says Gypsy is "currently playing at the St. James Theatre"

Seems like something that should be addressed separately, though, as to not ruin the experience of others watching the performance.

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Seems like something that should be addressed separately, though, as to not ruin the experience of others watching the performance.

According to the article in the Las Vegas Sun, it seems to have enhanced the performance, not detracted from it:

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The crowd applauded with loud approval, and the bond between performer and audience seemed even stronger as LuPone picked up the "Evita" number again from the beginning, working through a bravura suite of songs from "Anything Goes," "Oliver!" and her recent revival of "Gypsy."

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I'm sure few people here will recall the incident in which I was involved at "Caine Mutiny." Sitting close to the stage with my cell phone on my lap the jacket I was wearing had a hole in the pocket) and, after the show, I was escorted backstage by security and was confronted by David Schwimmer (who had no idea what was going on) and Zeljko Ivanek, who thought I was recording the show on my cell phone. He turned a variety of shades of red when he found out that there was no actual video or audio or photographic recordings on my mobile telephone.

And this is why Patti Lupone is the Queen of Everything, most especially Broadway and the Performing Arts in America.

Ethel who?

P

Yes, absolutely.

I'm not saying Patti is within her right to do this just because she's a performer I love. I believe any performer, whether main character, ensemble member, whoever, should call the offender out.

It just baffles me that anyone would defend someone texting in a theater? Especially since I'm certain we've all experienced (see: been annoyed) by it.

Patti LuPone fans are insane. No doubt about it.

Oooh maybe PalJoey will peer into the alternate universe only he can see and tell us what would have happened if Hillary Clinton were president!