Hugh Jackman to the rescue as A Steady Rain stalled by cell phone

September 30, 4:20 PMNY Theater Producer ExaminerMeredith Lucio

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A-Listers Daniel Craig (star of the James Bond franchise) and Hugh
Jackman (X-Men's "Wolverine") star in Broadway's A Steady Rain
AP Photo/The Hartman Group, Greg Williams

Hugh Jackman stood up for theatre-goers everywhere in an early previews performance of Broadway's "A Steady Rain" last week. In the middle of his and co-star Daniel Craig's gripping performance a cell phone could be heard from a seat in the orchestra. Jackman broke the fourth wall (but not character) and spoke directly to the offending ticket-holder "You wanna get that?"

As seen in the video feed posted by The Huffington Post, unbelievably, the recipient of the call either didn't immediately silence the call or did silence the immediate call but later received another one. Jackman, now completely out of the scene, continued to address the theatre patron until the ringing ceased...a full minute after it had begun. The video is an intriguing glimpse of how uber-professionals with the cache of superstars handle a tragically common mishap in the theatre. The audience applauded at multiple intervals both in support of the actors grappling with a delicate balance between character and actor, and in appreciation for saying what many of them must have been thinking.

Breaking the fourth wall to admonish poor theatre etiquette is not new for celebrities and Broadway veterans. No one can ever forget the next-to-the-last performance of Patti Lupone in Gypsy where she completely crushes an amateur photographer who ignores the rules and photographs her mid-perfromance. If you're interested enough to take those pictures, you should know better. You are NEVER alllowed to take photos in a performance. (Ironically, you aren't allowed to take audio samples either but that didn't stop the audience members who immortalized Patti Lupone's outrage on YouTube.) 

Harry Connick Jr., recently acclaimed for his performance in a revival of The Pajama Game, weighed in at a taping of The View on Jackman's actions saying, "I wouldn't have done that...It happens, but for me, you just have to roll with it...What are you going to do?...Stop and break character?" I tend to agree more with Hugh and Patti then Harry.

As an actor, you are taught that breaking character is the ultimate taboo. The world could crumble around you and as a quality actor you should be able to continue the scene in character and at your most real. So in theory Harry's right. You go with the flow and you do your best to stay in the moment thereby bringing the audience with you instead of the annoying ringing. But what of the audience member seething in their seat at having to drown out that incessant noise?

As an audience member (of which I am frequently) it ires me no end that another audience member can be so lax, so irresponsible, and so uncaring as to think their need to get their messages is more important than my need to enjoy what I spent my own good money to enjoy. It's the height of selfishness and it doesn't just affect live theatre. According to the website The Numbers, movie ticket sales are on target to decrease this year at an alarming rate. With home theaters all the rage and the ability to watch a movie in vivid, large screen detail in the comfort of one's own home, this producer is not surprised. Seeing a movie in the theater without having someone else rudely interrupt it with a cell phone or texting is the anomaly these days instead of the norm. And live theatre has become much the same way.

As a producer I get even more upset. One person's lack of consideration affects an entire audience's enjoyment of a show they paid me to enjoy. One person's lack of consideration affects the chances the rest of the audience have of enjoying the show and thereby my chances of having them tell their friends about how good the show is and how they must spend their own hard-earned money to see it. 

As producers of live theater we are competing not just with other live theater but with concerts, sports events movies, television, and a myriad of other entertainment choices. In many case we aren't merely competing with those things, we are also asking the patron to spend 10 times (or more) by choosing our product rather than the others. That's alot to ask of a patron and then give them a story guaranteed to be interrupted by someone else's rude behavior.

Sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes you think you've turned off your phone and you haven't. Sometimes you think you didn't bring your phone and you did. In my nine years of going to theatre in New York, seeing dozens of shows on Broadway and Off, that has happened to me once. I was mortified and felt like I should have personally apologized to everyone in the room.  Sometimes accidents do happen, even to producers. If the actors of that play had stopped the show you can bet I'd turn off my phone the first time. In fact I did turn it off and immediately. The memory serves as a reminder at the beginning of every show I have seen since.

The sad fact is the frequency with which cell phones ring in the theatre despite the very clear and very specific request to turn off electronics at the beginning of the show indicate that this behavior isn't always accidental. There has to be accountability for such rude behavior because asking nicely or cleverly at the top of the show just isn't working.

While I realize Hugh Jackman most likely stepped out of character due to his own frustration at what has become an epidemic of rudeness in the theatre, I'd like to think a small part of his motive was to take up for the silent theatre-goer next to the cell-phone offender. In deed, Hugh was pleading that entire audience's case for the right to get what they paid for- professionals telling a story on stage without interruption from the real world. Just knowing that Hugh has taken such a stand makes me that much more likely to buy a ticket to see his story...because of all the shows on Broadway, his is the least likely to be interrupted by a cell phone now.

For More info: 

A Steady Rain on Broadway

by Keith Huff

starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman

now playing through December 6th, 2009