Shia LaBeouf‘s recent arrest notwithstanding, most of the time in the theater world, the drama is contained to the stage!
But every once in a while, someone puts that drama mask on in the real world!
Between injuries and abuse, cheating and fighting, on and off-Broadway, there have been some pretty intense moments that happened during LIVE shows.
Here are eight of our faves!
Helen Mirren was performing in the West End’s 2013 production of The Audience when a group of protesters began drumming on the street outside.
That’s when the Dame stepped outside and yelled at them to “shut the f**k up,” reportedly dropping a dozen more f-bombs along the way!
The best part? She was in full costume as Queen Elizabeth at the time!
When the elevator under a trap door wasn’t there to catch Idina Menzel during her final performance of Wicked in 2005, she suffered a terrible fall!
The future Frozen star cracked a rib, and her understudy had to finish the performance.
Paul Rudd and an all-star cast of 2012’s Grace knew the show must go on even when a violently ill man vomited off the balcony!
Despite the stench, the cast kept the show going as the mess was cleaned. Paul later joked about how great their performance must have been to move the audience to hurl.
Homeland‘s Mandy Patinkin went way method while playing an abusive clown in 2000’s The Wild Party, ad-libbing his own insults, slaps, and even kisses!
During one performance, costar Toni Collette had enough and shoved him back. After the show, Mandy reportedly walked out on the show- until producers threatened him with a million-dollar lawsuit!
Veteran actor John Lacy couldn’t stay professional while playing Big Daddy in a 2014 production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. When a heckler yelled homophobic slurs at the young man playing Brick, Lacy lost it.
He ran out into the audience and knocked the drunk man to the floor, where another audience member hauled him out of the theater.
No charges were filed, but Lacy was fired from the play. The entire production was cancelled shortly thereafter.
Fans of House Of Cards are used to Kevin Spacey speaking directly to them, but it’s not as much fun live!
The actor is famous for his hatred of cell phones and has on multiple occasions stopped his stage shows to scold audience members for their ringing phones, the most recent of which was in June of 2014!
Kevin isn’t alone! Patti Lupone also famously stopped a 2009 performance of Gypsy to BLAST an audience member, yelling:
“STOP TAKING PICTURES RIGHT NOW! YOU HEARD THE ANNOUNCEMENT! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? HOW DARE YOU?”
BTW, gurl is NOT sorry about it! (And you won’t be either! You can hear the audio of it HERE!)
When it comes to the disrespect of audiences and cell phones, even theater critics get the blues. During a 2013 production of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, the National Review‘s Kevin Williamson confronted a woman next to him about her non-stop phone use.
When the woman rudely told him to mind his business, he took her phone out of her hands and threw it against a wall. Security escorted Williamson out, but the unapologetic critic said he would be happy to face the woman in court if she wanted to press charges.
[Images via Pacific Coast News, Facebook.]
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