costume/scenery reveals

[sondheim94]

Posted: 2/18/22 at 5:28pm

I just watched the video of I Am Changing from the original run of Dreamgirls and I was flabbergasted by that secret costume change.

 

On the key change, there's a pinspot on Effie's face, and as she sings the keychange it widens to reveal her frumpy dress is now a sequin gown, and there are "audience members" on stage watching her nightclub act. All done in the dark.

 

Any other big reveals like this that you can think of? 

[binau]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 3:33am

I guess not exactly the same but I was shocked in Fun Home at the Young Vic London when they reveal the full house, which went so far deep and was so lavish and full. Suddenly it clicked that Helen really was kind of emotionally trapped in this massive house and the whole atmosphere became eerie and chilling. I guess they couldn’t quite do the same thing on Broadway in the round. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 7:53am

The reveal of Robin Wagner’s luxury Parisian hotel in the 1995 Broadway production of VICTOR/VICTORIA.  The exterior of the hotel slowly glides downstage as it slowly opens up and reveals the 2-level interior with the hotel suites and staircases, etc.  Simply breathtaking. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 9:00am

The laser show from the Chromolume in the original Sunday in the Park with George was such a shock if you weren’t familiar with the show. The barricades unfolding and coming together in Act 2 of the original Les Miserables was thrilling. I can still hear the wood creaking and yawning as if it were coming to life. The house opening up like a doll house in the 94 revival of An Inspector Calls. Everything about that production was exciting and gorgeous. In the original London production of Passion, the entire bedroom set flew up and out (including the bed) at the end of the first scene. The main playing area of the stage in The Rocky Horror Show at Circle in the Square transformed from the movie theater interior to a blank playing area by rotating 180 degrees making it look like the stage turned inside out.

[greensgreens]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 11:05am

The reveal of Norma’s mansion in the original Sunset Blvd. is still one of the few times I remember an audience giving scenery a star entrance with applause. 

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 12:26pm

"Loveland".

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 1:43pm

The last time I gasped was during the recent Angels revival when the entire floor deck pulled back at the Neil Simon to reveal an entirely new floor deck for the second half. Just so much production value. 

[bwaylvsong1]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 3:29pm

“Enchanted April” on Broadway- as soon as the show started, I thought I was seeing a play without a set.  Then the lights went up after intermission to reveal a beautiful interior set of a mansion.

”The Merry Widow” at the Met- there was an amazing transition into the Chez Maxime set that involved can-can dancers being lowered from the ceiling.

 

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 4:47pm

I loved the first reveal of the house set in Beetlejuice - when the sky backdrop flies out as Beetlejuice starts to talk about the Maitlands. It's such a huge piece.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 9:14pm

Would love to see pics/vids of any or all of these if you have them? 

To Fun Home's point. At the Circle, the house was revealed by the two entering from the audience as the entire house floated to stage level. It was gorgeous. 

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 11:10pm

David Cromer's astonishing production of Our Town. The first two hours were done in modern dress with the house lights up the entire time and asked the audience to use their imaginations, just as the text and any other production of Our Town would. But then, in the third act when Emily chooses a day of her life to revisit, this curtain at the back of the theatre moved aside to reveal a fully realized period kitchen with light coming through the window, and Emily's mother at the stove frying bacon, which, famously, you could smell the moment the curtain fell. And then Emily has her monologue about all the things she never noticed before that are so beautiful. One of the most incredible moments of theatre I've ever witnessed, and since then it's hard to see other productions of Our Town and not be a little let down if they don't copy that incredibly revealing choice.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 11:12pm

Definitely David Rockwell’s She Loves Me jewel box set, particularly when it opens up for the first time at the top of “Sounds While Selling”!

This one’s great too because you can watch it’s proshot on-demand and listen to the audience applaud that first changeover. Deservedly so, it’s stunning.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/19/22 at 11:50pm

Therese Raquin also at Studio 54 was really gorgeous. The house set coming down from the rafters. Then the reveal of the pool. Really a stunning production. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/20/22 at 9:21am

RippedMan said: "Therese Raquin also at Studio 54 was really gorgeous. The house set coming down from the rafters. Then the reveal of the pool. Really a stunning production."

Agreed! That production was one of the most beautifully designed things I have ever seen on Broadway. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 2/20/22 at 12:21pm

DiscoCrows said: "Definitely David Rockwell’s She Loves Me jewel box set, particularly when it opens up for the first time at the top of “Sounds While Selling”!

This one’s great too because you can watch it’s proshot on-demand and listen to the audience applaud that first changeover. Deservedly so, it’s stunning."

Was that the 2016 revival? Because when awards season came around, that was the only specific award that I needed to go to a certain production. It was gorgeous!! 

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 2/21/22 at 3:23pm

The mirror in the most recent revival of Three Tall Women deserves a mention, a fantastic way to denote what’s happening in the second half as well as being just plain surreal. For those who missed it, the first act (with the three “real” women) took place in a lavish bedroom that occupied the front half of the stage. For the second act (where the women become the old woman at different stages of life), the wall at the back of the room flew up, revealing an exact mirror copy of the set facing upstage, and behind that was an actual huge mirror, reflecting both the mirrored set and the downstage set, which is where the action continues to take place. On top of that, in the bed in the mirrored set was an actress playing the (dying, I think) old lady, who mostly laid comatose but would move now and then.

It was so simple but so perfect.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/21/22 at 3:37pm

 I still stand by Paramore. That ending set of the skyline of NYC that traveled downstage. Was just like dang where did they store that? I loved how "Big" of a production that was. 

I also love any moment where something comes from the floor.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/21/22 at 4:11pm

The two remaining Franco Zeffirelli productions at the Met:

LA BOHEME: After Act One, there is a brief pause before the curtain rises to reveal the three level Act Two set of Montmatre on Christmas Eve. The stage is populated by about 100 extras all dressed in period costumes and there's a dancing bear in their midst. It elicits an audible grasp from the audience.

TURANDOT: The second act begins with the characters of Ping, Pang, and Pong in front of their homes. When they finish their trio,  the houses slowly rise to reveal the stunning palace of Princess Turnadot. It's mostly gold and seems to float on a lake with lily pads. There are about 80 extras onstage and when Turandot appears, she's dressed in aqua which really stands out against the gold on the palace walls and stairways. It, too, causes the audience to gasp.

[morosco]

Posted: 2/21/22 at 9:12pm

I agree about the set for Three Tall Women. I found it fascinating.

[morosco]

Posted: 2/22/22 at 1:36pm

The original production of NINE when all the women (except Louisa) came out wearing all white duplicates of their all black fashions.

Updated On: 2/22/22 at 01:36 PM

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/23/22 at 8:11am

In 1984 at the Hudson, the transformation from Winston and Julia's little trysting room to the Ministry of Love was jaw dropping and terrifying.

[lachri5]

Posted: 2/23/22 at 10:53am

The set reveal that opens the second act in Hand to God. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time! I miss that play.

Updated On: 2/23/22 at 10:53 AM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/23/22 at 8:20pm

Dolly appearing at the top of the staircase in HELLO, DOLLY!

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 2/23/22 at 9:35pm

Say what you want about the production, but the transition between Eva, Beware of the City and Buenos Aires in the Evita revival also struck me as beautiful. 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/24/22 at 12:28am

The reveal of the drawbridge in Dance of the Vampires