Patti LuPone, international star and Broadway icon, is a hero to everyone who values art, theater and common human decency. LuPone has been in the news during the past few days because she confiscated a cell phone from a rude and obnoxious audience member who tried to ruin a play in which LuPone was starring. The incident occurred on July 8 at Lincoln Center in New York. LuPone seized the moment-and the audience member’s cell phone-when she utilized an interactive spot in the show. The person who lost their phone to LuPone’s heroism had been texting during the performance.
Cell phone usage during live theater, film or any other audience-based event is becoming an unwelcome and indeed disastrous epidemic in today’s society. When someone turns on their vile contraption during a show, lecture, debate, movie or other presentation, they not only rob themselves of the experience they paid for; they also ruin it for everyone around them. Worst of all, though, is that they display extreme disrespect for the actors, musicians, or other players by failing to pay attention to the action on stage.
A person who uses a digital doohickey out of turn is one of the lowest, most degenerate specimens to inhabit the planet. Are they so ignorant that they do not realize that the light from their gadget blinds and distracts everyone behind and around them, or do they just not care that they are destroying the theater-going adventure for the entire rest of the audience?
Patti LuPone’s actions during her work in Shows for Days should certainly be the norm for stage professionals of all kinds. Venues of every type across the nation and globally should immediately implement a policy that dictates anyone caught using an unsuitable electronic device during a program should be kicked out on the spot, and then legally banned from any further theater or film-going activities for all eternity unless they complete a technology addiction treatment program.
The tragic part of this tale is that the abhorrent decisions of trashy, low-class audience members are beginning to cause actors like LuPone to question their own future careers. According to Playbill, LuPone is now uncertain if she should continue acting because of the rampant vulgarity exhibited with non-stop cell phone usage by ignorant patrons. LuPone says:
We work hard on stage to create a world that is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their phones. They cannot put them down. When a phone goes off or when a LED screen can be seen in the dark it ruins the experience for everyone else – the majority of the audience at that performance and the actors on stage. I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I’m putting battle gear on over my costume to marshall the audience as well as perform.
It is outrageous that true lovers of artistic craftsmanship may be stripped of the right to enjoy the brilliance of a hero such as Patti LuPone because of device addiction. Performance halls must take a stand in this regard by banning all cell phone use during shows and implementing strict punishments for those who disobey. And to those who have ever pulled out and turned on their gadget when they know full well it is inappropriate to do so: you are a debased individual who does not deserve to attend any more entertainment venues, ever. Seek help for your terrible addiction. There are in-patient and out-patient treatment centers available for your nasty problem. Please do not come back to the theater until you can stop being the rudest person who ever lived.