Pesky texters peeve Patti Lupone off

  • 10/07/2015
Patti Lupone (Reuters)
Patti Lupone (Reuters)

Actress/singer Patti Lupone is considering her Broadway future because she's sick of having to compete with ignorant tech-savvy theatre-goers who insist on texting during shows.

The 66-year-old star has released a statement after confiscating an audience member's cell phone after she caught him texting during her Broadway play Shows for Days, and in it, she reveals the incident has made her think about future stage roles.

She 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."

But, for the time being, she is challenging anyone who refuses to leave technology outside the theatre during her productions: "Now I'm putting battle gear on over my costume to marshall the audience as well as perform."

Theatre fans should know better - in 2009, LuPone halted a performance of her Tony Award-winning show Gypsy and lashed out at an audience member who took a phone call.

WENN.com