Banner-Waving Trump Supporter Interrupts 'A Bronx Tale: The Musical,' Co-Directed By Robert De Niro
Newton's Third Law says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction—but Newton never had to live through the lunacy that is 2018, when opposite reactions are often unequal and idiotic. Almost a week after Robert De Niro used his Tony Awards appearance to repeatedly say "F*** Trump!", a Trump supporter decided to attend the De Niro-directed Broadway musical, A Bronx Tale, and wave a "Keep America Great!"/"Trump 2020" banner during a performance.
An attendee shared a photo on Twitter:
The times we live in. At the end of A Bronx Tale, a man turned around and faced the audience to show us how big of a pair he has. He was escorted shortly after. It's sad that people can't enjoy a beautiful show and embrace its unifying message without politicizing it. #broadway pic.twitter.com/6tVN4Qf4d6
— Joe Del Vicario (@joedelvicario_) June 17, 2018
The theatergoer, Joe Del Vicario, said that the person was escorted out of the theater. Del Vicario later Tweeted, "Disclaimer: I’m a proud centrist who supports both conservative and liberal policies depending on their intent and projected impact."
A member of the musical's crew, Brian Strumwasser, also posted photographs of the incident on his Instagram, which he has now made private. His caption read, "Whoever the low life scum bag who thinks it's ok to post their political views at a Broadway show and disrespect everyone there who paid to watch a show that is ALL ABOUT INCLUSION was thankfully removed from the theater Saturday night. Robert Deniro is one of our directors and has started [sic] in the movie and was able to make 6000 people roar and cheer @thetonyawards for saying ";F*CK TRUMP" countless more at home watching. Don't disrespect the cast and the crew for the amazing thing we do in theater. If @realdonaldtrump wants to visit @bronxtalemusical maybe he himself will learn what racism is and how we deal with it."
Ten days after the 2016 presidential election, the cast of Hamilton addressed audience member Vice President Mike Pence, reading a prepared statement during the current call. That moment of unplanned political confrontation was arguably different from the Bronx Tale disruption, because the cast is part of the creative team delivering a message to the audience. Anyway, the Bronx Tale, which is based on the movie and Chazz Palminteri's one-man show, is about a young boy "caught between the father he loves and the mob boss he’d love to be."
An alt-right blogger was arrested after interrupting Shakespeare in the Park last summer, because the controversial production of Julius Caesar featured a grisly assassination of a Trump-like Caesar.
After De Niro's outburst, President Trump called him a "low I.Q. individual."