Hand to God Cell Phone Guy: "I Was Just Being Me"

In the press conference to end all press conferences, Broadway's Hand to God welcomed back Nick Silvestri, the audience member who attempted to charge his cell phone on the production's set last week. Silvestri, a 19-year-old Long Island native, stood in front of the media outside the Booth Theatre to apologize for his actions and take questions. The experience, as you will see, got a little bit heated.

Silvestri's statement, in full, is as follows:

The past few days have been really crazy, and I wanted to have the opportunity to try to explain what happened and also offer an apology.

Ultimately, before coming to see Hand to God I downed a few drinks and I think that clearly impaired my judgement. Before the show started, I noticed that my phone’s battery was low, and the only power outlet I saw was on stage. I think you all know what happened next, and I don’t have a very good answer for the question that many of you are probably wondering: What was I thinking? I guess I wasn’t really thinking. I don’t go to plays very much, and I didn’t realize that the stage is considered off limits. I’ve learned a lot about the theater in the past few days – theater people are really passionate and have been very willing to educate me. I can assure you that I won’t be setting foot on a stage ever again, unless I decide to become an actor.

I would like to sincerely apologize to the Broadway community, all the other people in the audience that night, and most importantly the cast and crew of Hand to God. I am on my college lacrosse team, and I know just how bad it feels when you are out there working your ass off, and it feels like the crowd isn’t on your side or isn’t paying attention. I feel terrible if any of the amazing actors in this show felt at all disrespected by my actions.

Going to see a Broadway show is one of the most special things you can do in New York City, and if I want to give one message to folks out there it’s that you should give your complete attention to the actors on stage. You can make phone calls and send text messages all day long, so when you’re in the theater for a couple hours, just put the phones away and enjoy the show. Once again, I’m sorry for my actions, and I hope that I can become an example of a great theatergoer in the future. Thank you so much for listening.

—- Nick Silvestri
Seaford, Long Island

For tickets to Hand to God, click here.