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

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 1:49pm

if you're bored, why not just leave?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 1:52pm

I agree it's completely rude, and I know it's distracting for the people around them, but I would be much more distracted by a performer stopping a show to yell at said person.

I'm just saying that I think in this case her reaction was going a little overboard.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 1:54pm

"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.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 1:54pm

As an audience member, I do not rely on performers to police the audience. I do it myself.

I cannot count the times I have looked over at my neighbor, playing with his iPhone or texting, and saying, "You ARE going to shut that off and put it away for the duration of the show aren't you?"

And I have been known to put my hands over their screens when the light annoys me.

And I will call an usher if it doesn't stop.

Don't be afraid of being called out by LuPone. Be afraid of sitting next to me.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 1:57pm

"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!

[logan0215]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 1:58pm

"If its annoying audience members they can ask the person to put the phone away of get an usher"

So I need to forfeit my attention to the show to have an usher come over, incite the wrath of someone who is already bored and texting and FURTHER pull me out of the show?

That's bull****.

Does someone have a link to that Tarzan thread where the European guy went nuts for being called out by another audience member? The only thing people like worse than being called out by a performer is to be called out by common-folk.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 2:00pm

"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.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 2:04pm

Fosse76's post reminds me of the amazing house staff at the Barrymore. not only were they [at least the ushers in the mezzanine] hyper vigilant, but they had "no cellphone" pins. if anyone here works at the Barrymore, or knows someone who does 1) GREAT JOB and 2) mail Patti one of those pins. and I'm only half joking.

[FlyingMonkey1223]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 2:06pm

Her dictation is awful.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 2:08pm

Her typing is worse.

[willep]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 2:20pm

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

[NGeorgiaBwayFan]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 2:31pm

In reference to the "minimal distraction" comment, whether it was a minimal distraction to Patti or not I cannot say, but I, like many of the rest of you, find it INCREDIBLY DISTRACTING to have someone texting near you.

I think it's up to everyone to not tolerate such behavior. My rights to enjoy any show is violated by people who do all the rude things that we have all endured: arriving late, talking, texting, tweeting, whatever.... Report it to the usher. Don't put up with it.

One may not agree with Patti's technique for correcting this situation, but I certainly agree with what she said during the "Gypsy' incident. (don't remember the exact words) We have forgotten our public manners.

[rjjn]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 3:04pm

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

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:00pm

Yes it does happen all the time, but how many other artists stop the show and start having a go at them?

Not nearly enough.

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

And obviously, the Front of House was not doing their job.

If its annoying audience members they can ask the person to put the phone away of get an usher

Some do and some don't, but if it is distracting to the performer, they deserve just as much right to address it as the audience.

The audience member's texting caused such minimal distraction in this case.

Really? You were there? Please describe in detail what occurred, where they sat, and how it affected everyone personally in the audience and on stage. As for me, a cell phone light in the audience is like a lighthouse at night. I find it furiously distracting, especially when it happens repeatedly.

And this whole "if you worked in pro theatre" argument is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if it is Broadway, West End, regional, cabaret, amateur, community or schools. If it's distracting to a performer, an especially if it is an intentional distraction on the part of the audience member, then it is wrong and it should be up to the performer's discretion to address it, which I hope more performers do.

Her typing is worse.

But she can crank the hell out of a mimeograph.

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

How would you accomplish that during a solo performance? Too bad Patti didn't have their phone number so she could text them a message saying "STOP F***ING TEXTING DURING MY SHOW OR I'LL RIP THAT G****MNED PHONE OUT OF YOUR HANDS AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR A**!!"

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:02pm

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:

===

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."

[James885]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:04pm

I agree with what Patti said in her response. Cell phone use during a performance in a dark theater, whether it is texting, web surfing, or whatnot, is incredibly rude and distracting to both the performers and fellow audience members.

When I saw the Legally Blonde tour last fall some girl 2 rows down was texting throughout the first act. Not only would her phone light up every 40 seconds but it would also vibrate loudly as well. Thankfully one of the ushers approached her at intermission and told her to turn the phone off.

While phone use is a big problem, I also don't think the solution is to stop the show and subject the entire audience (the majority of whom probably were being respectful) to a rant, like what she did when she stopped Gypsy back in January. Since this recent incident happened during a concert when she wasn't in character, the audience members weren't taken out of the scene and likely weren't as inconvenienced, although I'm sure it still was probably jarring to them.

As I said in the other thread, I just hope people don't start attending her shows with the expectation that they might get to witness a 'diva rage' from Patti.

Updated On: 6/23/09 at 04:04 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:20pm

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.

[Jane2]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:27pm

Yay Will Swenson. I've always loved him but now I do even more.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:28pm

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

Ethel who?

P

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:43pm

K.

Fosse, if there was a policy explicitly stating that cell phone use would not be tolerated and would be cause for ejection, wouldn't that solve the liability problem? I'm not really all that schooled in law, so I don't really know.

Whatever the answer is, it can't be peformers constantly causing a scene while they are onstage. For those who thought Patti's outburst at Gypsy was appropriate, would it have been appropriate if someone else, say an ensemble member, did the same thing if it was going on when they were onstage?

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:51pm

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.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:54pm

They're not defending the texters.

They're attacking Patti.

That's all.

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:55pm

Patti LuPone fans are insane. No doubt about it.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 6/23/09 at 4:56pm

You're absolutely right PalJoey.

Posted: 6/23/09 at 5:01pm

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!