Yawning theatergoer distracts actors

NEW YORK (AP) -- An audience member's ennui annoyed an off-Broadway cast so much the actors refused to take their curtain<br>calls.<br><br>The cast of "Dinner With Friends" wouldn't take a bow

Friday, February 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) -- An audience member's ennui annoyed an off-Broadway cast so much the actors refused to take their curtain
calls.

The cast of "Dinner With Friends" wouldn't take a bow following Tuesday's performance after a man sitting in the front row of the theater interrupted the final scene by letting out a loud yawn.

Producer Mitchell Maxwell described the yawn as "hippopotamus-like," and said it drew titters from the rest of the audience.

Actors Matthew Arkin and Lisa Emery finished the scene without breaking character. But Emery was shaken by the incident and, out
of sympathy, the cast didn't take curtain calls.

Maxwell said it is "inappropriate" for actors to refuse curtain calls, but "there are times when the inappropriateness of an audience member overrides that."

Last year, ringing cellular phones at New York performances of "Death of a Salesman" and "The Lion in Winter" prompted actors Brian Dennehy and Laurence Fishburne to berate audience members from the stage.