L-R: Sam Troughton, Neil Stuke, Adam James, and Eleanor Matsuura in Bull, part of Brits Off Broadway at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg

I would like to give Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 the rave review I am sure it deserves, but I did not see the entirety of the second act and would not feel quite right about reviewing a show I had not seen to completion. By now, many of you will have heard that I became, in a way, a part of the show after a confrontation with a particularly obnoxious cellphone addict whose little glowing screen was lighting up the darkened theater in my vicinity. The short version: I asked her to cease and desist, she responded with obdurate rudeness, and I then snatched the phone out of her hand and sent it flying toward the side rear exit. Exit, pursued by theater security. Perhaps not the best expression of the cool critical attitude, but enough is enough.

The story made the papers in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and London. One producer offered me a lifetime of free tickets to his shows, a well-regarded Broadway playwright offered a “Bravo!,” and the New York Post suggested that I run for mayor. A very heartening response, though I do not see elected office in my future. Two thoughts: First, a two-and-a-half-hour opera based on War and Peaceis probably not the best place for somebody with a limited attention