The ensemble men of Hello, Dolly! have started a #NoTextTuesday and we love this idea!
Robert Hartwell participates in a program called GATHERED NYC which is a workshop that has Broadway professionals (directors, choreographers, performers, etc) delivering musical theater education to the next generation of young artists.
Justin Bowen was intrigued by an experiment that they tried in the workshop. “At the start, Robert took the kids cell phones and returned them at the end of the weekend to promote conversation. I thought it would be fun to try it in the dressing room for the night and we had a blast! We don’t have a lot of offstage time, but when we did we played mad libs and other games and chatted. It was nice to not be tied to our phones for a minute.”
The cast plans to do this every Tuesday, and Justin would love for other Broadway shows to participate in #NoTextTuesday.
It’s nice that Broadway actors are taking a break from their phones, but we think it would be great for the audiences to adopt a no phone policy as well. Perhaps the theaters can institute a mandatory phone check. Theater-goers will be able to leave their phone at a charging station while enjoying a show with no distractions or interruptions. This way everybody wins! The cast, the audience and your dying phone battery.
Do you have a better solution for the cell phone crisis in theaters? Tweet @thebroadwaywiz with your idea and use the hashtag #NoPhonesBroadway