By David T. Valentin
Just yesterday a video went viral of Broadway Legend Patti Lupone reprimanding an audience member to put their mask on properly during a cast talkback with the audience after Lupone had already nicely asked two other audience members to pull their masks above their noses.
When the audience member refused, Tony- and Grammy-award-winner Lupone got angry, screaming across the theatre, “Who the hell do you think you are?”
One user on Twitter wrote, “imagine trying to win an argument against Patti Lupone in theatre. This woman sued Andrew Lloyd Webber and then named a pool after him with the money she won. You cannot beat the beast.”
It’s worth noting that Lupone did try to ask nicely after blowing up on the patron, but it’s not known whether they put their mask on correctly or not.
Another user wrote, “If Patti Lupone told me to ‘get the fuck out’ I would exit whatever establishment we are in, walk to the nearest river, jump in, and never be seen again.”
And another hilariously wrote, “Fun fact: an obscure NYC law states that Patti Lupone is allowed to kill one person a year with her bare hands.”
While mask mandates have been lifted in mostly all establishments in New York City, it is common courtesy in crowded indoor places to leave masks on for disabled and immune-compromised people. Broadway still holds its mask mandates and even goes so far as to check vaccination records and I.D. before entering theatres.
Despite Broadway’s rules, I’ve seen quite a few theatre goers in multiple Broadway show, drop their masks below their nose or remove their masks entirely during the performance while then putting their masks back on during intermission.
You may not like the rules, but it is to protect the most vulnerable of our communites. And, as Lupone said, If you don’t like it, you can simply “Get the fuck out.”
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