Sutton Foster making herself a sandwich in Vittorio Vittale’s apartment in the 2016 Off-Broadway revival of SWEET CHARITY. The entire show literally stopped as Foster hilariously held the entire audience transfixed on what seemed like 5 minutes. Sheer theatrical brilliance on every level. Speaks volumes about her magic on the live stage.
The first thing that comes to mind is definitely A Musical from Something Rotten.
But does the part in Hello Dolly! where Dolly Levi eats and the whole show stops while she does count? I guess that is the literal definition of a show stopper...
The OP is seriously comparing "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" (which stops FORUM regardless of the quality of the cast) with "Sincerely Me" (I have no axe to grind with DEH)? SMH
I'm Breaking Down from Falsettos. Especially when Stephanie J Block performs it. The night when I saw it, it actually literally stopped the show from moving, she had to take an out of character now so audience would stop clapping. It was fantastic.
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
I wouldn't call them "showstoppers," but I would think You'll Be Back from Hamilton and Sincerely, Me from DEH would count. They both get pretty major applause every night.
"I think that when a movie says it was 'based on a true story,' oh, it happened - just with uglier people." - Peanut Walker, Shucked
I saw a community theater production of Singin’ In The Rain last year, and “Make ‘Em Laugh” was pretty hilarious. Also, as another poster already mentioned, Stephanie J Block’s version of “I’m Breaking Down” was great.
I would definitely include “You Can Always Count on Me” from City of Angels” and “No Time at All” from Pippin. Both numbers pretty much we’re responsible for their actresses winning Tony Awards. And No Time at All” actually stopped the show. In both the original production and the revival, Irene Ryan and Andrew Martin got standing ovations when they finished the song.
Another is “Show Off” from Drowsy Chaperone. “”As We Stumble Along” and “I Am Adolph’s” also are great comedic songs and standout moments for those characters.
“Betrayed” from The Producers. Watching Nathan Lane do that song from the 8th row during previews right before it opened is a memory I will never forget. A solo comic showstopper that is very hard to pull off but brilliant when done well.
For me, the biggest laughter/applause break I've seen live was during "Never ever getting rid of me" from Waitress. There was a solid minute of applause before the reprise and another minute of applause after, with a lot of laughter throughout.