Patti LuPone does not have time for your texting.
During a performance of her play "Shows for Days" at Lincoln Center Theater on Wednesday night, LuPone took a cell phone out of an audience member's hand. According to Twitter, LuPone stopped mid-performance to take the phone as the user was texting. Lincoln Center confirmed the incident to BroadwayWorld.com and LuPone has since issued a statement.
“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," LuPone said in a statement to the Daily News Thursday morning. "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.”
In case you were wondering, the owner did get their phone back. According to Gothamist, the cell phone was returned after the show.
The incident doesn't come much as a surprise since LuPone famously stopped mid-song during a 2009 performance of "Gypsy." The actress yelled at an audience member for taking photos during the show.
But cell phone rudeness is clearly having a moment on Broadway. Last week, an audience member jumped on stage before a performance of "Hand to God" started to plug in his cell phone to an electrical outlet on stage. On Monday, a video of the incident surfaced. After LuPone's reaction though, we doubt anyone will have the audacity to bring their phones to the theater. (But for real, not cool, guys.)
For more, head to the Daily News.
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