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| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 09:50 am EST 12/26/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 09:45 am EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - Guillaume 04:33 am EST 12/26/21 | |
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| The incident occurred on Sat., June 21, 2008. I posted about it in full detail here on ATC at some point after it happened, possibly in response to someone who had started a thread about problematic experiences in rush lines. I guess you didn't read my post back then. Here's the full story. I got to the Broadhurst at 6:00 AM and was the first to arrive. By 6:30 there were about 4 of us in line. Around 7:00 AM, a large vehicle (either a station wagon or a van) pulled up to the curb in front of the theater. A lady got out, opened up the rear, took out a hammock, and set it up on the sidewalk in what was the 5th spot in line. She then proceeded to carry her sleeping male child (who looked to be about 8 or 9) out of the car and deposit him in the hammock with a boom box, some candy bars, and a couple of cans of pop. Without saying a word to any of us, she got back in her car and drove off. We were all dumbfounded and couldn't believe what we had just seen. The kid continued to sleep and more people began joining the line. As you can imagine, there was considerable discussion among a lot of us about the situation. At some point (maybe around 8:00 or so), the kid either wet or soiled his pants and began crying and then screaming. It was apparent he was special needs or possibly autistic. The guy who was next to me in line was from New York City and was an experienced rush liner. He called someone -- I assume it was 911 or perhaps he knew a cop in the area. Anyway a police SUV showed up within minutes. The cops began talking to the kid, calmed him down, and got the mother's cellphone number from him. They called the mother and told her in no uncertain terms to get back to the Broadhurst Theatre ASAP. When the lady arrived, a heated confrontation took place. She was a very big woman. She resisted arrest, kicked, and punched the cops, but finally was subdued. They eventually had to slam her down on the sidewalk and handcuff her behind her back. The lady, the kid, and the hammock were driven away. One of the cops stayed for awhile and questioned us about the whole incident. I was there. I saw it. It happened. When I posted about this years ago, no one challenged my story. My original post in this thread was in response to another poster. I made a reference to the incident but did not think it necessary to go into detail about it. Back on 6/21/2008 I got to the Broadhurst around 7:15 for an 8:00 show. Some of the people from the morning's rush line were there also. We had quite a conversation. BTW the price for my standing room ticket was $26.50 -- times have certainly changed. |
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| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: Guillaume 01:15 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - BroadwayTonyJ 09:45 am EST 12/26/21 | |
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| Quite an incident! But it's what I suggested it was - she was arrested for child neglect or similar charge, not for standing in a ticket line (which she wasn't doing anyway). This had nothing to do with standing in line, it had to do with mistreatment of a child, no? | |
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| Completely agreed, this is NOT about rush violators | |
| Posted by: skier74 06:18 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - Guillaume 01:15 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
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| There are many reasons someone might abandon (even temporarily) a child, and even if flipping a rush ticket was the motivation, that's totally besides the point. I can't even believe there needed to be any discussion over calling 911. They should have been called the second the mother was observed leaving a 9-year old child alone on the streets. | |
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| Really? | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 04:09 am EST 12/27/21 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 04:05 am EST 12/27/21 | |
| In reply to: Completely agreed, this is NOT about rush violators - skier74 06:18 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
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| The woman was well dressed and was driving a fairly luxurious SUV. It appeared that she deposited her sleeping child in the line so that she would not have to stand there herself for 3 hours. I was first in line and was a tourist from Chicago. In 2008 I would not have been carrying a cellphone around with me. If the kid had not woke up, soiled himself, and begun to cry, I doubt if any of us would have done anything. The lady most likely would have returned shortly before 10:00 AM to purchase the tickets. A 9-year old child in a rush line holding a spot for an adult is an obvious violation of any sane box office policy. |
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| re: Rush Violators on Broadway | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:08 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
| In reply to: re: Rush Violators on Broadway - Guillaume 01:15 pm EST 12/26/21 | |
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| The lady was a grifter. She put her special needs child in a rush line to score 2 inexpensive tickets to a hot play and then resell them. It was reprehensible behavior. It was a very unusual, extreme case. I wasn't the one who made the call, but all of us who were in line agreed that the authorities had to be notified. What else could we do? Years ago there were a whole group of ATC-ers who were frequent rush line attendees. I was friends with them and some of them would post on the board. I met a few of them at the annual Tony parties that Ann organized. We would occasionally swap stories about some of the crazy things we experienced while standing in rush lines. Over the years I heard some pretty wild tales. |
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