Climate Protesters Interrupt Broadway Play, Fail to Notice When 'Sopranos' Star Leaves Stage to Intervene
It seems the public’s already thin patience with the childish spectacle of obnoxious climate protestors disrupting people’s days has finally run out.
Even those you’d expect to show them a scrap of sympathy, like typically liberal Broadway actors, seemingly have no time for their antics anymore.
As seen in this video shared to X by climate activists with the hilariously self-important name of “Extinction Rebellion NYC,” a group of protestors tried to derail a revival of Henrik Ibsen’s play, “An Enemy of the People,” starring Jeremy Strong and former Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli.
🚨#BREAKING – Rebels disrupted #AnEnemyOfThePeople on #Broadway. #Climate activists aren’t the enemy; it’s fossil fuel criminals like Exxon & Chevron. If we don’t #EndFossilFuels now, there’ll be #NoTheatreOnADeadPlanet [THREAD] pic.twitter.com/9oFHSrzAMb
— Extinction Rebellion NYC 🌎 (@XR_NYC) March 15, 2024
The Independent fleshes out the incident with some interesting details, noting that the 1882 play actually does deal with environmental issues, specifically the issue of the contamination of the town’s public bathwater, and the interruption came during a scene at a town hall meeting.
The video began with one of these irritating blights on society descending the stairs between the blocks of seats, with the protester declaring, in the middle of the scene, “I object to the silencing of scientists.”
The actors turned to look at this protester, bewildered, as he continued, saying “I am very, very sorry to interrupt your night, and this amazing performance. I am a theater artist, I work in this theater professionally.”
Alas for his diatribe, the actors then cut him off, with Imperioli telling him bluntly that “you need to leave.”
For a good ten to twenty seconds, the room descended into a cacophony of overlapping voices, before the hero of the hour, Imperioli, went up to this self-righteous protester, and, with the help of a few other actors and ushers, pushed him back up the stairs, saying “You do not have the floor.”
Even as Imperioli and his fellow actors were pushing this overgrown child back up the stairs, the protester kept yelling “we’re doing nothing wrong,” and “Broadway cannot survive on a dead planet!”
As entertainment publication Deadline notes, there were another three or four protestors in the audience, also shouting slogans like “no theater on a dead planet,” to which one of the actors, David Patrick Kelly, responded shortly “Write your own play.”
As you can see in the video, clearly neither the audience nor the actors wanted the protesters there, and didn’t hesitate to make their displeasure known.
Even more impressive, Imperioli stayed in character the entire time he was reprimanding the protester, physically pushing him back up the stairs.
If anything, the clip ends up being a testament to Imperioli’s impressive professionalism, rather than the grand statement the protesters surely thought it was.
Which then begs the question — what did these protesters think was going to happen?
You annoy people long enough, eventually people are going to snap, as did Imperioli and his fellow actors.
The reality is that, at bottom, these climate protesters and their ilk are nothing more than children in adult bodies.
How does interrupting a play, a play that was clearly a pioneering voice for environmental activism, make anyone want to listen to your message?
It’s obnoxious, it’s rude, and more than anything, it turns any potential supporters against you.
But, as we all already know, the point was never to make a cogent argument.
The point is to get attention.
And seeing as these infantile activists believe their cause is noble and just, and must be inserted into absolutely everything, regardless of consequences, their actions make a lot more sense.
However, what they fail to realize is that they are not brave rebels fighting against the establishment.
They’re just annoying.
And the more they try annoying people who are just trying to go about their day, the more hostile receptions they will receive from ordinary people just trying to enjoy a play.
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