Cell phones in Broadway theaters: What are people thinking? 
 
 Now we know, sort of, thanks to a publicity-stunt press conference during which one cell phone offender — the guy who tried to charge his phone by plugging it in to an onstage outlet at play “Hand to God” — spoke out. 
 
 “I downed a few drinks, and I think that clearly impaired my judgment,” said Nick Silvestri, a 19-year-old from Long Island. “I guess I wasn’t really thinking.” 
 
 Producers of “Hand to God” held the press conference July 10 to capitalize on the flurry of attention recently given to what has been a source of long-simmering tension among theatergoers. For years, stage folks have decried the regular mid-show disruptions wrought by the advent of the mobile phone. 
 
 The issue has reached something of a tipping point recently, with Patti LuPone making headlines earlier this week for snatching away the phone of a texting audience member at the Off Broadway show in which she stars, “Shows for Days” — and doing it without ever breaking character. (The phone was returned to its owner after the show.) 
 
 Just a few days before that, Silvestri earned the ire of the theater community when, minutes before a performance of “Hand to God,” he leapt onto the stage and plugged his phone into what turned out to be a fake electrical outlet. Cast members chronicled it on Twitter. 
 
 A guy jumped on the stage and plugged his phone into the fake outlet on our set just before we started. @HandtoGodBway #fullmoon or #idiot ? — Sarah Stiles (@Lulubellestiles) July 3, 2015 
 
 Earlier this spring, Madonna attracted disapproval for reportedly texting during hot-ticket musical “Hamilton.” 
 
 The dust-ups highlight the complaints that arise with increasing frequency as texting, ringtones and phone calls intrude on what’s long been the traditional theater etiquette of a dark, quiet auditorium. It’s a regular occurrence at Broadway shows these days, thanks to the omnipresence of mobile devices, not to mention the increasing presence of tourists and young audiences — some of whom have never been to a Broadway show. 
 
 “I don’t go to plays very much, and I didn’t realize that the stage is considered off limits,” Silvestri said. 
 
 There’s something of a generational divide, too, between the traditionally older-skewing theatergoing demographic and the younger audiences who have grown up in the digital, mobile era — for whom mobile device usage is akin to a basic civil right. 
 
 The press conference with Silvestri, held in front of the Booth Theater, took advantage of the cell-phone incident (which was not a stunt, Silvestri assured people) to lend a little publicity to “Hand to God,” the Broadway comedy that earned strong reviews (and five Tony nominations) but has largely struggled to gain momentum at the box office. The event also gave Silvestri the chance to apologize. 
 
 “I’ve learned a lot about the theater in the past few days — theater people are really passionate and have been very willing to educate me,” he said. “I would like to sincerely apologize to the Broadway community.” 
 
 That might not be enough for LuPone, who’s famously tough on folks who use cell phones during her shows. During the 2008 run of “Gypsy,” she stopped the show when someone was taking pictures. 
 
 “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 after the July 8 incident at “Shows for Days.” “I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I’m putting battle gear on over my costume to marshal the audience as well as perform.” ||||| 
 
 IN PERSON (Jen Chung/Gothamist) 
 
 The Long Island lacrosse-playing college student who burst into Broadway history as the first, social media-documented idiot to barge onto a stage to charge his precious cellphone faced the press today. Nick Silvestri, 19, read a statement before a group of reporters admitting, "I don’t go to plays very much, and I didn’t realize that the stage is considered off limits. I’ve learned a lot about the theater in the past few days—theater people are really passionate and have been very willing to educate me. I can assure you that I won’t be setting foot on a stage ever again, unless I decide to become an actor." 
 
 
 
 Publicists for Hand to God, the "hilarious and disturbing" play that transferred from off-Broadway and earned numerous Tony nominations, had initially said the press conference would start at 2 p.m., but Silvestri, who attends Nassau Community College, didn't surface until 2:30. He then gamely read a statement (see text below) but he stumbled over the word "theatergoer" and was immediately bombarded with questions from the skeptical press. 
 
 
 
 
 
 For instance, were he and Hand to God producers in cahoots to draw attention for the play? Especially considering that it's struggling at the box office? Silvestri seemed confused, and insisted that he wasn't part of a viral marketing stunt, telling reporters, "Take it as it is. It's fun. It's a joke." 
 
 And even though he said in his statement that he had been drinking, reporters pointed out that he's underage. He then became vague about the drinking, denying drinking in NYC, and a publicist for the show kept Silvestri from answering our probing questions, such as "Do you have the phone?" 
 
 It seems possible that a drunken Silvestri was dared to go charge his phone onstage by a friend who then filmed him. When reports of the "Juice Jackal" surfaced the next day, his friend proceeded to post the video on YouTube. Virality was instantly achieved, and Silvestri is clearly relishing the attention: 
 
 Just wanna give a huge shoutout to all my fans and followers. This wouldn't be possible it it wasn't for u guys xoxoxox #muchlove — nick silvestri (@NickSilvestri2) July 10, 2015 
 
 If you watch the video, you'll see Silvestri's friend snickering in the background throughout the press conference. Here is the statement. ||||| Exclusive! Meet the Guy Who Tried to Charge His Phone on Stage at Hand to God 
 
 "I was the one." Meet Nick Silvestri of Seaford, Long Island. On July 2 he entered Broadway legend by doing something nearly all of us do every day: he plugged in his cell phone charger. 
 
 
 
 
 
 What made Silvestri different is that he plugged it into a prop outlet on the stage set of the Broadway comedy Hand to God. Witnesses turned to social media. Twitter lit up. When a video appeared on YouTube, it lit up further and got more than 140,000 hits. 
 
 The 19-year-old lacrosse-playing Nassau Community College student said he is not seeking publicity. He did not volunteer himself to Playbill.com. Our staff tracked him down through Twitter and he was hesitant at first about allowing his name to be used. 
 
 So, to answer your questions, he said the incident was not a dare. It was not intended as a joke. His iPhone 6 was just low on juice. 
 
 Why did he do it? What was the emergency? "Girls were calling all day. What would you do?" 
 
 Silvestri had had a busy day. He was in town with his family, his neighbors and his cousins from California. "We go to see shows maybe once a year and we heard this play was supposed to be funny." They ate beforehand at a restaurant about a half block from the Booth Theatre where Hand to God is playing. They had a few drinks, and he admits "we were a little banged up." 
 
 When he noticed his phone was down to two bars of power, he tried to plug it into the USB port on the big-screen TV in the lounge at the back of the restaurant, but "I got yelled at by the manager." 
 
 By time the meal was over he had about 5 percent left on his battery, he said. 
 
 Silvestri's group headed to the Booth Theatre, and they were seated in the orchestra section. 
 
 That's when he saw the outlet on Beowulf Boritt's church basement set. 
 
 "I saw the outlet and ran for it," he said. "That was the only outlet I saw, so I thought, 'Why not?' I was thinking that they were probably going to plug something in there on the set, and I figured it wouldn't be a big deal if my phone was up there too." 
 
 Hand to God Set Designer Tells How He Made an Electrical Outlet So Realistic, Someone Tried to Charge a Cell Phone On It 
 
 The reaction was immediate. Members of the audience shouted, and "about five security guards came running down. So I hopped off the stage. They were pretty mad. They said, 'What were you thinking?' I said, 'Hey, buddy, what's the problem?'" 
 
 Silvestri then asked the guards if he could jump back on the stage and retrieve his phone. 
 
 "They said, 'Are you crazy?,'" and one of them went up and got the phone. 
 
 Silvestri returned to his seat with his smart phone, but the drama wasn't over yet. "The head guy came down and started yelling at me in front of my family and the whole place. My mother kept saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' and they finally let us us stay and watch the play." 
 
 And what did he think of Hand to God? "We enjoyed the show. I'm not much of a play guy, but it wasn't bad." 
 
 Did he ever get to charge his phone? 
 
 "No." 
 
 Silvestri said he became aware of his growing online celebrity within a few days. "The next day my friend sent me a link to Facebook. Somebody was saying 'some kid jumped on stage.' 'Moron jumps on stage.'" 
 
 What did he think of that? 
 
 "Oh, hilarious." 
 
 In retrospect, what would he say to the cast? "Hey, I'm sorry if I delayed your show five minutes. But you got a lot of attention from this, so maybe I made your show a little better [better known]." 
 
 We've Got the Footage! Audience Member Tries to Use Stage Outlet to Charge Phone at Hand to God ||||| Art met reality this week when Patti LuPone, without breaking character, walked offstage at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater with the phone of a texting audience member in her hand. 
 
 Consider this a standing ovation. 
 
 LuPone, who plays a small-town theater diva in the comedy “Shows for Days,” was already teed up after ringtones disrupted that day’s matinee — creating, she told The New York Times, “a cacophony of noise.” 
 
 So when a woman seated at the end of the second row took to texting throughout the evening show, LuPone took matters into her own hands — literally. 
 
 The Tony-winner usually shakes hands with an audience member as the second act’s first scene ends. This time, she made off with the phone — while staying in character. 
 
 The actress told Playbill: “We work hard onstage 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. . . When a phone goes off or when a LED screen can be seen in the dark, it ruins the experience for everyone else.” 
 
 Sadly, the message still hasn’t gotten through: Despite LuPone’s personal request before Thursday’s performance, another phone rang near the musical’s climax. 
 
 Have some respect, folks. If you can’t put your (muted) phone away for the length of a show, don’t go. ||||| At a performance of her new play, Shows for Days, on Wednesday night, theater legend Patti LuPone found herself vexed by an audience member texting. According to a report from Playbill, LuPone snatched the device right out of the audience member's hands. 
 
 “I saw Patti LuPone deliver her scene exit line tonight at Lincoln Center & SNATCH A CELL PHONE OUT OF AN AUDIENCE MEMBER'S HAND,” another audience member wrote on Twitter. As news of the incident began to make the rounds on Thursday, Lupone redoubled her feelings in 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. She went on to despair, "I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore. Now I’m putting battle gear on over my costume to marshal the audience as well as perform." 
 
 This is why we can't have nice things, theater audiences. 
 
 This isn't the first time that LuPone has struck a blow for performers in their ongoing war against audience rudeness and technology. In 2009, during the run of her Tony-winning performance in Gypsy, LuPone stopped the show cold to upbraid an audience member for taking pictures. The righteous tirade—ironically captured on audio by a different outlaw audience member—quickly became the stuff of viral legend. 
 
 This week‘s adventure in cell-phone rudeness came mere days after reports of a mind-boggling incident at Hand to God, where an audience member took the stage to try and plug his phone into an on-set (fake) outlet. 
 
 This kind of audience behavior isn't new. In 2011, Frances McDormand stopped a performance of Good People in its tracks when an audience member answered their ringing phone at a crucial moment of the second act, an incident chronicled for posterity by the Village Voice's Michael Musto, thank goodness. (Coincidentally, this VF.com correspondent was also in attendance that night.) 
 
 Incidents like these, beyond being delicious anecdotes for show goers and ornamental to the legends of the performers who fight back, offer proof that, even if our movie theaters are slowly succumbing to the inevitability of omnipresent cell phones, the theater community may well choose to die on this hill. And that they've got one thing going for them their two- and even three-dimensional show business cousins don't: the ability to fight back.
– Cell phones in theaters: After two high-profile incidents on Broadway, things seem to have reached a "tipping point," observes Variety. The first occurred when 19-year-old Nick Silvestri hopped up on the stage just before the start of Hand to God and plugged his phone into an outlet, not realizing it was a prop. He tells Playbill that it wasn't a joke and that he wasn't acting on a dare. He just needed to charge his iPhone. "I saw the outlet and ran for it," he recalls. "That was the only outlet I saw, so I thought, 'Why not?' I was thinking that they were probably going to plug something in there on the set, and I figured it wouldn't be a big deal if my phone was up there too." Security guards quickly moved in. After talking to Playbill, Silvestri even participated in a press conference and read a statement in which he apologized. "I don't go to plays very much, and I didn't realize that the stage is considered off limits," he said, per Gothamist. (Variety notes that Hand to God, which has been struggling to sell tickets, was happy to capitalize by organizing that press conference.) The second incident occurred when Patti LuPone took the phone from an audience member who was texting during Show for Days. Given that she remained in character the whole time, the New York Post grants her a "standing ovation." Vanity Fair rounds up previous incidents, saying they "offer proof that, even if our movie theaters are slowly succumbing to the inevitability of omnipresent cell phones, the theater community may well choose to die on this hill." Plus, Broadway actors have a big advantage over movie actors: "the ability to fight back."