Can I Get An Amen: Patti LuPone v iPhones

In the interests of being completely transparent: I love Patti LuPone. I love her singing, I love her acting, I love her sense of humor … I love her diva-liciousness.

As part of a Random Musing from last week — it’s HERE — I told a story of LuPone stopping a Broadway show cold because someone in the audience was on their cell phone during the performance. And right after posting that story, I read that it happened again and that Patti went diva again!

During a recent performance of Shows for Days at Lincoln Center in New York, Patti saw a woman in the audience using her phone during the shoe and this time she didn’t stop the show and demand that the offensive monster be removed, she took control of the situation in her own hands … by snatching the phone out of the audience member's hand.

And lest anyone think this might be a myth from the Great white Way or even some Urban Legend, let’s have Patti explain:

"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."

Do not, repeat, do not cross La LuPone.

Gosh, I love her!

photo source