As a recent convert to The Pitt, I’m not deeply entrenched in the fandom yet, but every slight exposure I get to the community raving about HBO Max’s medical drama makes me think it’s a show better enjoyed without talking to another living soul about it. More often than not, fandom drama and parasocial weirdness stays sequestered in the corners of the internet, but every so often it reaches the real world, and it feels like some people lose all sense of decorum and manners when their favorite character’s actor is in the room with them and not protected by a TV screen. That’s what happened with Trinity Santos actor Isa Briones as she was performing on Broadway, and the actor put out a statement telling Pitt fans to act like they’ve been somewhere.
Briones posted an Instagram story on May 2 calling out Pitt fans who have heckled her at recent performances of the musical Just in Time on Broadway, where she’s been playing the character Connie Francis since April. She specifically points out someone who yelled “When are you going to finish your charts?” a reference to Trinity’s subplot in The Pitt’s second season in which the medical resident has an increased workload in the ER.
Once again, Broadway is not a circus. Do not yell whatever you want at the performers. Yelling “When are you going to finish your charts” before I sing “Who’s Sorry Now” is so f*cking disrespectful to the performers onstage and your fellow audience members. Y’all are pissing me off.
Love and light and please remember you are occupying shared spaces and watching art
In the years since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, many have observed that live event decorum has gone out the window, whether that be at concerts, standup shows, or Broadway plays. Heckling and crowdplay content dominates social media, especially in the standup space, and it feels like a lot of people just don’t understand that the rules of engagement for all of these vary. There’s a reason that you don’t hear crowds singing along to “Defying Gravity” at most performances of Wicked. Broadway audiences are expected to be passive observers unless otherwise told to interact. So Briones’ predicament feels like several things coalescing into some Pitt fans making asses of themselves in the hopes that they can get a reaction from an actor in their favorite show. Well, you got one, I guess.
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