The March 14 performance of Broadway's An Enemy of the People was disrupted by three members of climate change activism group Extinction Rebellion NYC. The production is currently performing at Circle in the Square Theatre and is headed for a March 18 opening night.
Press representatives working on the revival declined to comment.
The incident occurred near the halfway point of the performance during a town hall scene. House lights are on for the scene, and selected audience members are invited on stage to fill in as the meeting's attendees, leading some audience members to initially think the stunt was part of the performance. It does not appear that the activists were in any way affiliated with or sanctioned by the production.
According to Playbill staffers in attendance, the disruption began after star Jeremy Strong delivered a line asking the crowd for objections. Each of the three activists made individual, successive disruptions, standing up and shouting about the need for action around climate change, after which each was ejected from the performance by security. The performance continued as planned following the incident.
A social media post from actor Michael Imperioli indicates that he physically confronted one of the protesters while still in character, despite supporting the group's cause. "Tonight was wild," Imperioli writes in the Instagram post. "No hard feelings, Extinction Rebellion crew. Michael is on your side but Mayor Stockmann is not. Much love."
Time Magazine journalist Moises Mendez II shared footage of the brouhaha on social media.
Climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion disrupted tonight’s #AnEnemyOfThePeople show in NYC three separate times and the cast joined in to getting them out. Jeremy Strong stayed in character because dramaturgically it made sense. pic.twitter.com/3Keg4fIDQg
— Moises Mendez II (@MoisesFenty) March 15, 2024
Similar incidents have disrupted performances at The Metropolitan Opera, and at least one West End performance of Les Misérables. The latter was the work of a different activist group, Just Stop Oil.
The revival of the Ibsen classic features a new adaptation from 2023 Tony nominee Amy Herzog, with Tony winner Sam Gold directing. Strong (Succession) leads the cast as Doctor Thomas Stockmann, alongside Emmy winner Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos) as Peter Stockmann and Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House) as Petra Stockmann.
Set in a small Norwegian spa town, An Enemy of the People follows the principled Doctor Thomas Stockmann as he attempts to alert the public that the spa’s water is poisoned. The resulting backlash to his revelation, borne out of society's desperation for financial preservation, examines the morality of public outcry and the struggles shouldered by whistleblowers across time.
The cast also includes David Patrick Kelly (Once) as Morten Kiil, Katie Broad as Randine, Bill Buell (Ink), Caleb Eberhardt (Choir Boy) as Hovstad, Matthew August Jeffers as Billing, David Mattar Merten, Max Roll (Good Night, Oscar), Thomas Jay Ryan as Aslaksen, and Alan Trong as Captain Horster.
READ: See The Cast of Broadway's An Enemy of the People Meet The Press
The production also features scenic design by dots, costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Isabella Byrd, sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman, hair and wig design by Campbell Young Associates, production stage management by Rachel Bauder, technical supervision by Juniper Street Productions, fight direction by Thomas Schall, and casting by Taylor Williams Casting. 101 Productions serves as general manager.