Patti LuPone (penny-dreadful.wikia.com)

Sir, Put Down the Phone…: Patti LuPone left the stage during a performance of “Shows for Days” at the Lincoln Center and actually took a phone out of an audience member’s texting hands. Having received widespread support for her actions, LuPone released a statement, arguing, “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,” and saying that she is even, “so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore.” We all need to remember the respect hard-working artists and performers deserve from their audience members! Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident…

Sir, Put Down the Phone…Charger…: During a performance of the Broadway show “Hand to God” about a week ago, a rather brazen audience member left his seat and climbed on stage in an attempt to plug his cell phone into a visible socket. Unfortunately for the theater patron, the socket–as part of the set–was indeed fake. Luckily, the unorthodox interruption only delayed the performance for five minutes. After being escorted off the stage, the man reportedly asked the usher, “Well, where can I charge it? At home, sir. At home.

From Politics to the Piano: For the Fourth of July weekend, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Grammy-nominated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker released a stunning rendition of the Christian classic “Amazing Grace.” Rice provides beautiful piano accompaniment for the instrumental adaptation. She wrote on Facebook: “It seemed only appropriate to release the video in conjunction with the 4th…as we recognize the blessings we have in this country and the sacrifices of our servicemen and women for our freedom.” Though Independence Day is now behind us for this year, may we all take a page from Rice’s book and continue to be grateful for our freedom and thankful to those who defend it.

Man and (Music) Machine: The Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland was host to a very unique act last week: jazz pianist Al Blatter and…the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The LHC is the world’s largest and most powerful particle collider and is located deep underground near Geneva, Switzerland. For the show, a team of scientists converted live data from an experiment with the LHC into music, as Blatter improvised simultaneously. The result is certainly interesting, though perhaps an acquired taste. Regardless, this performance shows how the boundaries of what we consider “music” are continually being tested and pushed by innovative ideas and strategies.