Showstoppers - Witnessed Accounts of Show-Stopping Moments- Page 4

[TheatreWhore75]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 12:45pm

Early in the run of "Annie Get Your Gun" Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat stopped the show singing "Old Fashioned Wedding". The audience went so wild that they repeated the song twice.

Patti LuPone and George Hearn during "Sweeney Todd" with "A Little Priest". I saw them at the Ravinia Festival - it was amazing.

[wildcat]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 12:56pm

"OLD FASHIONED WEDDING" is a classic 11 o'clocker! I saw a production where the number got so many encores and the singers were so exhausted, the performer playing Annie did the final reprise lying flat on the floor. Naturally that drove the audience even wilder.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:05pm

There were 5 (count 'em, Baby) show stopping moments on the Opening Night of Carol Channing's last revival of DOLLY:

1) when she stepped off the trolley in the first act

2) when she finished the "Parade" number at the end of the first act

3) when she appeared at the top of the staircase in the second act

4) when she finished the "Hello, Dolly!" number

5) at the Grande Finale

Sandy Duncan also stopped the show cold singing "Neverland" in her last performance in PETER PAN on Broadway. She broke down in tears.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:24pm

hmm My moment was a moment in Kiss Me kate. Marin Mazzie(who doesn't get as much credit as she deserves) sings "But don't forget tis he who'll have the fun and thee the baby OOOOOOOOOOHHHH I hate men". During the line she simulates giving birth on a table. She ended the verse (which is in the middle of the song) with her legs spread eagle panting, lying on the table. She stopped the show with applause for about a minute or so before moving on.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 1:29pm

Going to Wicked was pretty awesome. The response after Defying Gravity and Wizard And I...I got chills. And hearing everyone applaud so loudly for Kristin and Idina was pretty cool.

After 'Only in New York' in 1st Nat'l Tour of TMM.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 2/20/05 at 11:29pm

Washington August 2002. Final performance of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG. Raoul Esparza performed the tongue-twisting "Franklin Shephard Inc." flawlessly, roaming around the stage in an office chair. He reached the final notes and the applause started. Then just when it started to die down the opposite happened and it swelled up again and went on ...and on...and on. Now that song is not normally a show-stopper, but his performance was indeed electifying!

We have so few true "show-stoppers" these days. Not like we read about when Ethel Merman sang "You're Just in Love" and the audience kept applauding until she and Russell Nype had sung it 2 or 3 more times. But the we don't have stars like Ethel Merman any more. Something has been lost.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 1:59am

actually Franklin Shepard Inc is quite the show stopper. I did that role and it always stops the show. Not to take anything away from Raul and not to say that I'm so great but Sondheim wrote it soo well. It's patter at it's best. People are just generally so thrilled that you did all of that for 6 mins and got through it without a hitch. The song ends on such an emotional high that people can't help but to be taken up by that. What people don't know is, it's surprisingly easy to memorize something like that. Once you know it, it's muscle memory. So yes Franklin Shepard Inc. is def a showstopper, just like Sunday in the Park with George and Not Getting Married.

[Sant]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 6:57am

In Hal Prince's SHOW BOAT in London the actress playing Julie received standing ovation after she had sung "BILL" (= in the middle of ACT II). Her performance was just unbelievable, I have never seen or heard anything like it! So emotional and touching that there were no dry eyes in the house. Sadly I can't remember her name.

[PleaseChangeMe]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 11:16am

I have a few:

Tonya Pinkins, Lot's Wife (Caroline, or Change). I saw it in LA just this past December. Oh wow. Even my mother, who fell asleep in Act I stood up and screamed. Tonya let out a little smile after about three minutes then the orchestra started Salty Teardrops and went on.

Entire Cast, A Chorus Line. I just saw it on the 19th, and the final kickline with everyone was just so emotional. Everyone cheered and stood and some even kicked with the cast. It was wonderful.

Paul. A Chorus Line. Again, Paul's monologue. Oh wow, and he just broke down and it hurt so much even though I was ready for it.

[Jamie Hat]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 11:28am

Lot's Wife was amazing when I saw it too.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 12:29pm

These are gonna sound kinda stupid, but what the heck!

1. Frenchie Davis singing "And I Am Telling You" this past summer at Pittsburgh CLO (NOTHING compared to the response Margo talked about with Jennifer Holliday, she did stop the show.)

2. James Brennan, Sutton Foster, and the cast of CLO's "Me and My Girl" doing "The Lambeth Walk" this past summer. Got some extended applause. (GOOD season for CLO, i must say)

3. This one is the ultimate in stupidity, but it sticks out in my memory simply because a high school stopped the show. A local high school's production of "Crazy For You" got about a minute of additional applause after "I Got Rhythm". I personally thought it was better even than the PBS performance, so, yeah, go ahead, make fun of me.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 3:20pm

No one will know or care about this person, but in Seattle there's a group called Acting Out Against AIDS that raises money for BC/EFA, and they do benefit concerts every year. Their first concert was Falsettos, and the production was amazing. But the woman playing Trina (Anna Lauris) literally STOPPED the show singing her rendition of "I'm Breaking Down." It was phenominal. In Seattle, shows don't stop for applause. That never happens. This show was the last thing she did before she went to New York. I've seen her in a lot, and have been in a show with her, and she's one of the best actresses I've seen.

[TGIF]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 3:43pm

I ended up with Wicked tickets for the first performance after the Tony's. There was a huge ovation for Idina's entrance. The show didn't stop but you didn't hear any of "Dear old Shiz."

There were atleast 10 show stopping moments when I saw the final performance of Aida. The moment the overture started, when everyone made their entrances, and after each big song. One moment I remember clear as day was after Dance of the Robes. It was SO good. I thought Deborah Cox was good, not great but that afternoon she was out of this world. She got a well deserved Standing O.

[TonyaFanatic]

Posted: 2/21/05 at 3:50pm

Once again like bjivie, I have someone no one knows, but there is this girl who is gonna be so famous one day named Amanda Mischon. She was Oolie in City of Angels at my college. now it was a big skeptical thing because number 1 she is a black girl. which wasnt the biggest issue but it was an issue, and number 2 she had like a real down in the delta, beautiful, but still had a raw quality type of voice. Kinda like a Deborah Cox voice. Well she came out for "You Can Always Count on Me" and at the end of the song there was this split second silence, then a ROAR of applause. there was screaming, and i looked over and this evil tramp named Shante (who has no soul by the way) was in tears. if youve heard the song, youre probably wondering, "what the hell are they crying for, she's just talking about being a door mat?"i have never heard that song performed the way Amanda did it. she gave it something extra. yea it's a funny song, she's just complaining, but she made it something human. it was incredible.

[EdnaSings]

Posted: 2/24/05 at 2:33pm

Well these are from the West-End so apologies...

1. Alison Jiear's "I just wanna ****ing dance" from Jerry Springer The Opera. People went crazy, some were cheering (I vaguely remember someone waving a sign that said "Just F*CKing dance cause we love you!", everyone loved it, at the end for the curtain call people were screaming for her.

2. Ryan Molloy's entrance in Jerry Springer the Opera, as Tremont the transexual, singing "I'm a man/Talk to the hand" again people went crazy as he ran around in his stilletos and sang to incredible heights. Actually any scene from Jerry Springer The Opera was shocking and incredible, simply for it's shock/entertainment value. But Tremont and Dwight's gay kiss was deffinately a show stopper....

3. The Witches of Eastwick, the Prince of Wales Theatre cast (Clarke Peters, Joanna Riding, Jossefina Gabriella and Rebecca Thornhill (?) ) During "I wish I may" where the witches fly, people gave a standing ovation and went crazy, it was deffinately a magical moment. Also Jane Smart's (Joanna Riding) "Waiting for the music" got a standing ovation.

4. My Fair Lady, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Joanna Riding's "I Could have danced all night" got a standing ovation as did her entrance for the ball. Beautiful. Some people were crying next to me during I could have danced all night, but then so was I...

[billygoatgirl300]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 10:00pm

Thought that this thread should be brought backed. Here are mine:

Follies this past summer at Barrington Stage Company:
Broadway Baby
I'm Still Here
One More Kiss( Marni Nixon sang this and when she came out you could hear a pin drop but when she finished everyone went wild. I thought I was going to cry because it was so beautiful.)

La Cage Aux Folles:
All the Cagelles songs but " La Cage Aux Folles stoped the show for a few good minutes.

Spelling Bee:
Not a song but the introduction of one of the non- cast members. Here it is " Dr. So and So is afriad to go near watermellons because he is tired of being mistaken for Galager(sp?)" Everyone just died because they were laughing so hard and when the laughter slowed down it stated again.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels:
Drity Rotten Number The look on Norbert and John's faces were priceless.

Gypsy with Bernadette:
Roses Turn got a Standing O

[peggyandvelma]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 10:53pm

I've never seen a Broadway show...but here goes:

In 2003, I saw a production of RENT, which was probably the tour. Anyways, after Collins sang the reprise to "I'll Cover You", the audience went crazy. The actor just stood there while people stood and cheered. The people around me were crying--so was I! "Seasons of Love" was also a big hit with the audience.

This one might not count, but I don't live in NY so...But I cried when I saw the performance of "Defying Gravity" on the Tony Awards. I felt like a geek. I also cried the year before when Brian Stokes Mitchell performed "Impossible Dream."

[theatreguy]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 11:15pm

Doesn't seem like anyone's mentioned actually being part of a number that has stopped a show so . . .

I did a production of CRAZY FOR YOU in July of 2004 and during one Saturday evening performance, we did Slap That Bass which always got a great reaction cause it's a wonderufl song, but this night the audience kept applauding and wouldn't stop. The guy who played Bobby tried several times to re-start the scene but he kept beign drowned out by the applause. Finally a few people started standing and it kept going for well over a minute (our stage manager pulled out her stop watch and timed it). It's really quite an amazing feeling to get that kind of reaction.

[greenegirl87]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 11:18pm

At the Katrina Benefit this September, Ben Vereen sang "Memories", and even though I am not much of a Cats fan it was amazing... the audience just sat there and the room had so much energy in it... he had this insane amount of passion behind it. I got chills from it!

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 11:22pm

This was not due to amazingness on STAGE so much as amazingness in general. Not too long ago, I was at a performance of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels were one of the members of the audience was a crazy laugher. You know the type, the one that you can ALWAYS pick out among everyone else. Of course, this guy also laughed when no one else did. During the scene where Freddy is trying to explain his problem to Christine, this guy just lost it. He was in very close vicinty to the stage, and Norbert could not help but start to crack up because of this laugh. He pretended to be sobbing to fit the story, but he was laughing so hard he couldn't sit up straight. Soon, everyone in the audience caught on to what was happening. Sherie also started laughing and the two had to literally stop the scene for a few moment to regain composure, while the audience whooped and applauded. Craziness!

As for amazing AT shows, I'd have to say after John Lloyd Young sang "Can't Take My Eyes Of You" at Jersey Boys, causing Frankie Valli, followed by the majority of the rest of the audience, to stand in the middle of the second act.

Posted: 10/24/05 at 11:26pm

Two words: Lot's Wife. Tonya Pinkins was kind of strained vocally the day that I saw the show (pretty close to its closing) but this was her number--this IS her number. I almost cried, she was so amazing. Her transition from angry to meek was just so...perfect. When she and Emmie embrace right before Salty Teardrops, I actually cried.

[Jesus]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 12:24am

In 1994 there was a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, with Carl Anderson and Ted Neeley in the lead roles. EVERY PERFORMANCE, Carl would get a standing ovation for his Heaven on Their Minds, and his Superstar. EVERY NIGHT. But whats better, and in my opinion a true show stopping moment was the consistent reaction to both Judas' Death, and Neeley's Gethsemane. After both numbers there was total silence, except for the sound of people crying. The tension in the theatre after these numbers, especially gethsemane, was beyond what words can describe. The audience didn't know how to respond, the piece was so emotional and intense. Often times there would be well over two or three minutes of total silence. The orchastra wouldn't start until Ted started, and Ted wouldn't start until he knew it was the right time. It was the most intense, real, moments in my experience with musical theatre. The song itself is written as a show stopper and can easily get a standing ovation, but this was beyond even that.

Also, Colm's Bring Him Home at the tenth aniversary concert, was in my opinion, quite the showstopper.

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 12:48am

When I saw Channing in Hello, Dolly! she stopped the show with the title number at least 3 times. One before she even began the song. Just standing on the staircase drew a standing ovation.

[stage_door76]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 2:14am

ok, first of all I LOVE THIS THREAD! it is so compelling and moving to read everyone's tales...


for me it was actually seeing the australian production of URINETOWN. during RUN, FREEDOM, RUN i was watching the audience's reaction and the infectious music and the hilarity of the performances in conjunction with the tight choreography was putting everyone in the theater inreasingly on edge. there were several moments of sporadic applause throughout the song, particularly during the a capella section and by the conclusion of the song and bobby's perfectly sustained high A, the audience absolutely lost it. the entire theater rose as one, shouting and cheering on their feet, yelling and clapping. the joy on their faces was unparallelled.

the performers onstage held their positions for the first two minutes or so of the ovation and then gave up; lowering their arms and smiling politely to us and to each other. after a total of about 5 minutes the audicence sat down and the show continued. brilliant.

my first DEFYING GRAVITY experience sent shock waves over the gershwin. lea salonga's ON MY OWN sent the audience into emotional applause mid song. and also, during one particularly tight performance of PHANTOM at the conclusion to PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN, the audience went nuts.

but definitely URINETOWN sticks out - the joy, enthusiasm, talent and energy of the cast was infectious.

i look forward to reading more responses. xx

[anthonypisano]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 4:05am

1. Carol Channing in Hello Dolly. As she finished the hello dolly number the whole audience at the orange county performing arts center gave her a standing ovation. Very rare for an orange county audience.

2. Hugh Jackman in The Boy From Oz. He got a standing ovation after singing once before i go.

3. Bernadette Peters in Gypsy. I was lucky enough to be at one of the first previews and she got a standing ovation after roses turn.

All these moments were amazing for me.