Broadway theatergoer tries to charge phone onstage

There's loud talking, snoring and, of course, phones ringing. But theater etiquette might have taken a turn for the bizarre on Broadway last week with a dead cellphone.

A patron at the Tony Award-nominated play "Hand to God" on July 2 climbed onstage just before the show began to try to recharge his phone in what looked like an outlet. Ushers at the Booth Theatre quickly converged, and the young man was pulled off the stage.

A public announcement was made warning patrons to avoid any similar acts, and ushers were stationed near the offender in case anything else untoward occurred. He apparently got the message.

Actress Sarah Stiles tweeted about the incident: "A guy jumped on the stage and plugged his phone into the fake outlet on our set just before we started."

The attempt to recharge was, in the end, pointless: The onstage outlet was just a prop, created by Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt, whose set is a realistic depiction of a basement of a church in Texas.

A production spokesman confirmed the incident Tuesday.

The act was at least in keeping with the anarchic nature of the show. Playwright Robert Askins' bracing comedy mixes violence, swearing, brutal honesty, parental failure, church hypocrisy and plenty of sex - of both human and puppet varieties.

Witness the hilarity below but beware the brief bit of strong language.

In:
• Broadway
• iPhone