Three Penny Opera - Lauper stops show to correct audience member

[HughE2030]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:39pm

A friend of mine went to Saturday's evening show and he wrote:
three penny was great again,
but the big news was during the show when cyndi lauper stopped the show and told an audience member in the front row to stop taking pics.

then at the stage door, the teenage girls that were taking pics in the front row were there and cyndi read them for filth. telling them that they disrupted the show and made her forget her lines. she really went after them. The rest of the crowd clapped for Cyndi telling them off.

[kate2]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:42pm

That's pretty rude of those girls. Good for Cyndi!

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:44pm

If more stars began to stand up and dio things like that, the rate if incidents like that would drop dramtically.

Good for her!

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:47pm

I doubt the rate of incidents like that would drop off dramatically because most of the audiences in a given show are first timers and those who may be going for the second or third or even fourth time would, hopefully, have enough sense not to do something like that. The ushers should have been alerted.

[dirty rotten guy]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:51pm

There was a few camera snaps yesterday. I HATE when people take pictures. The last time I saw Kathy Griffin this dumb bitch infront of me took about 20 pictures of Kathy. People can be very rude...

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 12:54pm

Go Cyndi. YEEHAW to Broadway's rockin' women who aren't afraid to put disrespectful people in their places.

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:18pm

I can so see Cyndi doing it too!

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:22pm

Don't mess with this chick.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:23pm

I believe there was a performance of "Sunset Blvd." where, when coming down the staircase, Glenn was showered with flashbulbs from the audience. She lowered her sunglasses, and in character, said "We can have a press conference, or we can have a performance, but we can not have both." The cameras stopped, the audience went wild, and the performance continued.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:26pm

its a shame she didn't stop the show a month or so earlier, and just never restarted it.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:27pm

And in the front row- of all places!! They has to be just plain stupid.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:28pm

I'm glad Cyndi did that as well, but it sucks for all the audience members. Moments like that really break the cathartic arch of a theatre going experience.

Prince, I heard that about Glenn as well. What an awesome moment.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:53pm

"I'm glad Cyndi did that as well, but it sucks for all the audience members. Moments like that really break the cathartic arch of a theatre going experience."

Actually the cameras do that already. As long as the moment's been spolied, the actor should take advantage of the break to try address the audience so it doesn't happen again.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 1:59pm

"I'm glad Cyndi did that as well, but it sucks for all the audience members. Moments like that really break the cathartic arch of a theatre going experience."

Then again, this IS Brecht.

[WickedRentEder]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:14pm

The question is why the hell would you take pictures of Kathy Griffin???

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:17pm

haha
i'd HATE to be one of those people who were taking pictures...

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:21pm

I wish I coulda seen that happen.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:23pm

Am I the only person who thinks that these actors shouldn't break character for things like this? It's the ushers jobs to get people to stop taking picutres.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:32pm

She really should have had them thrown out.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:42pm

Am I the only person who thinks that these actors shouldn't break character for things like this? It's the ushers jobs to get people to stop taking picutres.

No, because I feel like if it's that out of control, actors should put audience members in their places. This way they're made a spectacle of so everyone can see it. Hopefully those people will be embarassed and never try it again and the rest of the audience can tell their friends what happened so that less people will attempt it.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 2:54pm

Not to mention, as BSO said, this IS Brecht. He was renowned for his use of the "alienation effect" in this work and others -- in which actors address the audience directly, break into songs and signs are used to announce scenes in order to always remind the audience that they are watching actors on stage performing a play, thereby preventing an audience from getting so caught up in the story and characters that they stop thinking critically.

I'm sure Brecht himself would have thoroughly approved of Lauper or any one else on that stage directly confronting rude and unengaged audience members who were treating the show like some fangirl photo-op, rather than respecting, ruminating on and thinking about the themes and messages that this show is attempting to impart.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 3:03pm

Good for her!

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 3:36pm

How can you people sit here and applaud a performer for doing this. Yes, it is wrong for an audience member to being doing it. BUT it is the management's job to up hold the "laws" of the theatre. If anyone should have been yelled at it should be Lauper for not doing her job.

It is not her job to teach theatre etiquette. I am sick of hearing these stories. The actors jobs are to perform. As a performer you must sometimes work in a ****ty condition but you have to keep going you don't stop the show and then make excuses and yell at someone.

Really what good did it do? The girls continued to see the show. NOTHING WAS ACCOMPLISHED.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 3:41pm

Yes, but in THIS case, BWAYBABY, you are missing the fact that what Cyndi did worked for the show even more!

As Margo explained....Cyndi knows her verfremdungseffekt.

[LionessInWinter]

Posted: 6/26/06 at 3:45pm

Plus, hopefully those girls (and other audience members) will think twice about doing something like that again....during a perhaps less appropriate show.