
The show must go on, with one exception. Patti LuPone will bring a production to a screeching halt if rude or inconsiderate theatergoers are in attendance. In 2009, the "Gypsy" star literally stopped the show before the big ending of her song, "Rose's Turn," when she spotted someone in the audience snapping photos. "Stop taking pictures, RIGHT NOW!," she shouted at the photographer. "How dare you? Who do you think you are? Get them out!"
In 2015, during a performance of "Shows for Days" at Lincoln Center, LuPone grabbed a cell phone right out of the hands of an audience member who was texting, per CNN. In a statement to Playbill, the actor wrote, "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." And in 2022, LuPone, who tested positive for COVID-19 that February, blasted another theater patron, this time for not wearing a face covering, per The New York Post.
After a performance of "Company," she went into a foul-mouth rant scolding the maskless woman. "Put your mask over your nose — that's why you're in the theater," she said. "That is the rule. If you don't want to follow the rule, get the f**k out!" The patron, however, didn't appreciate the public rebuke, yelling at the Tony winner, "I pay your salary!" LuPone fired back, "Bulls**t! [Lead producer] Chris Harper pays my salary!"
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