Whoopi Goldberg was honored last night at the Casting Society of America’s Artios Awards, and Tony-winning In the Heights writer and star actor Lin-Manuel Miranda told us about his first-ever encounter with her. “I met her on the fateful night my life changed at the Tonys, she was the host that year,” he told us. “So I have only memories of hugging her and screaming with her; like, very heightened memories,” he laughed.
But now that cell phone service is coming to subway stations, the Washington Heights native fears for his career. “I think it’s a disastrous idea, because I write on the subway,” Miranda explained. “It’s the only place where I cannot check e-mail and cannot tweet incessantly, and it’s my last safe haven,” he added with a rueful laugh. “So it’s great for the world, and terrible for me. You will not see another musical from me because of cell phone service.”