WICKED audience.... WTF???? — Page 2

Ushers have absolutely NO legal right to confiscate anything, at any time. As a matter of fact, NO ONE outside of law enforcement has such a right. That applies to every state. It is considered theft of personal property.

That said, I have seen ushers at the Neil Simon (during Hairspray, at least) confiscate cameras and phones when they saw someone take a picture.

Also, no usher on Broadway has the authority to ask someone to leave. They do, however, have the authority to ask them to leave their seat to talk to a house manager or security personnel.

Most theaters have ticket policies that serve as terms of entry, which you agree to when using your ticket to enter their property. For example, in Toronto the Mirvish policy is quite explicit: "The following items are restricted, may not be brought into the theatre and may be confiscated by theatre staff: .... and all forms of audio/video/image recording or transmitting devices." I assume that "confiscate" usually means "the usher/security will check the phone at coat check to be picked up at the end of the performance." Pretty sure theaters are absolutely allowed to dictate what you can and can't bring onto their premises. And they're not forcibly taking (aka stealing) the camera/phone, they're giving you the option to either not have it with you in the venue, or to leave.
Mirvish Ticket Policeis

I have no problem with ushers confiscating phones. They should just post signs or, as kipster mentioned, have the purchase of the ticket serve as an agreement. It's not like they're taking it forever, or even for a set amount of time. If the patron wants their phone back, they have the option to leave the show early. They just have to decide which is more important to them, seeing the show or using their phone. It can't be both.

I thought this post was gonna be about screaming teenagers..