New Jersey, if you do this in a theater you need to question your life choices 

I’m not one for public confrontation. I’m a self-described “coward.” To quote comedian John Mulaney, “you could spill soup in my lap and I’ll apologize to you.” But over the weekend, I was in a situation.

I couldn’t help but get involved

I went to see Moulin Rouge on Broadway. I’m a huge musical theatre fan and have always respected the cast, crew, and theatre staff, so it pisses me off when other attendees don’t show the same reverence!

About ten minutes before the show starts, ensemble actors start dancing on stage. It’s at this point that the staff tells the audience that they are not allowed to take any photos or videos until intermission.

We were all even warned with this pamphlet in our playbills.

A couple in front of me continued to take pictures of the stage.

Don’t get me wrong, the set for this show is gorgeous and worth the photo, but if you’ve already been told it’s against policy and you can do it in about an hour… be an adult and follow the rules.

They were given a warning from one of the ushers not to take any more photos and claimed to be "sorry".

I now know they were (to make it kid-friendly) full of beans.

When the show started, the woman took a photo of the cast.

While I know it was not allowed, I thought, “as someone who watched bootleg videos of Wicked on YouTube in 2006, I can’t completely blame a quick pic.”

Then she took another picture, holding up her phone, blocking the view from the people behind her.

After that, her significant other took a photo, blocking my view of Wayne Brady absolutely slaying his role as Harold Zigler.

My final straw was when the woman held up her phone again to take a seven-second video of the opening number.

For there to be this many instances in the first song of the show alone, I knew I had to say something.

I had to nip it in the bud.

First draft of what I wanted to say: “What the f*** is wrong with you?”

I knew I should tone it down: “I didn’t come here to watch your phone.”

I considered: “Do that again and I’m alerting the staff.”

Perhaps: “Oh, is this your first time in public? Turn those off.”

I finally settled on the admittedly less-than-aggressive, “Please stop using your phones.”

Despite my beta-level assertion, I received a death glare from the woman, as if I were the one being rude.

Maybe ten seconds later, an usher backed me up by giving “a reminder, no pictures are allowed.”

I don’t know if she got the same glare; all I know is the couple felt shamed enough to stop being obnoxious.

It’s 2025, and the ban on taking pictures during a show is nothing new.

This woman should thank her lucky stars that Patty LuPone wasn’t in the show, as the icon is known to stop a show to publicly shame an offender.

But seriously, is it so hard to think about other audience members?

This counts for movie theaters too, not just stage shows.

I once heard someone not only answer a phone call during a movie but also not even leave their seat to have the conversation.
It wasn’t until I turned around and asked, “Seriously?!” before they realized, “Huh, maybe I should move to the hallway for this.”

We are adults. Act as such.

If you’re going to see a performance or movie, understand that those around you also paid money to be there to see it, not to see or hear you.

Rant over, it’s time for a Xanax.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.

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