On January 10, 2009, the yell heard round the world took place in the St. James Theatre. The three-time Tony Award winner, two-time Grammy award winner, and two-time Olivier Award winner, Patti LuPone took matters into her own hands during the grand finale of the musical Gypsy, “Rose’s Turn,” where she played the iconic role of Mama Rose. Patti shouted, “STOP TAKING PICTURES RIGHT NOW. YOU’VE HARD THE ANNOUNCEMENT. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!” The viral audio would not be heard around the world if it wasn’t for another audience member sneaking in a video. Not only did one audience member not turn off their devices during a performance, but two. Who’s to say that there wasn’t more? Why is it that audience members need multiple announcements to turn off their devices and simply cannot?
I have been privileged to live less than an hour away from The Great White Way in which I have seen Broadway shows with family and friends. A night out on Broadway is not a walk in the park or a cheap date. The New York Times published the article, “The Price of a Show” explaining the astronomical prices to see art. The Times article states that “the overall average ticket price on Broadway last week was $134.96. There were nine shows selling seats for under $50, including Tony-winning productions of ‘Chicago’ and ‘Hadestown’ and ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.’
An alarm going off during the climax of any performance can absolutely ruin an experience for not only actors, but also for audience members. Theatre is sacred. In a world where everyone is staring at a screen, there is a beauty in the shared humanity of humans staring at a story as it unfold right in front of their eyes through the beauty of being in the theatre. Unfortunately, it is not easy for many audience members to be off their phones whether it’s 90 minutes with no intermission or 120 minutes with intermission.
Cell phone addiction is a real addiction that has heightened during the pandemic. In March 12, 2020, due the rapid spread of COVID-19, all 41 Broadway theatres went dark. Broadway was shut down for a long 18 months. Where there was no theatre, there were cell phones. On YouTube, you can watch 866 Broadway bootlegs, courtesy of audience members not turning off their phones. These videos are also of before and after the pandemic. Therefore, here’s why is it that audience members need multiple announcements to turn off their devices and simply cannot.
Eyewitness News in New York City analyzed cell locations in the spring of 2023 to the spring of 2019. They discovered that, “in the downtown areas, including both Midtown and Wall Street, there is about 71% of the cellphone activity compared to before the pandemic started.” There is an addiction and a need to be on our cellphones.
This addiction has been known as prevalent in the Broadway community before and after the pandemic. Before the pandemic, the Broadway show, Freestyle Love Supreme, introduced foam pouches in which ushers asked audience members to place phones in pockets. Since Broadway reopened on September 14, 2021 there is now a new note in every Broadway Playbill from the President and Chairman of Playbill Inc., Philip. S. Birsh. The second statement that Birsch expresses in the Playbill is to “turn off your cell phones. All the way off…”
Sadly, history does repeat itself. The St. James theatre must have a curse for it was once again haunted with a phone going off during the most iconic, showstopping scene in a musical. Nicole Scherzinger revealed in an interview with Seth Meyers that in the new Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard. Nicole says that this incident took place during “Most important part of the entire show.”
Will there be more actors shouting, “STOP TAKING PICTURES RIGHT NOW. YOU’VE HARD THE ANNOUNCEMENT. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!” or will audience members finally respect the theatre and silence their cell phones? Only time will tell if we can truly listen to one another’s stories.
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