2008's Ten Memorable Theatre Moments You May Have Missed

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 5:40pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/2008s_Ten_Memorable_Theatre_Moments_You_May_Have_Missed_20010101

This article, by BWW columnist Michael Dale, is a particularly fascinating read. I encourage all of you to read it and think of some of your own.

He asks for us to comment on some of our own at the bottom of the article. I think it deserves its own thread.

My contribution?

Going further with DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE, the Act I finale when a symphony of paper is falling upon the kissing Mary-Louise Parker and David Aaron Baker. T. Ryder Smith, the dead man of the title, takes a quick glance, proceeds to center of the stage, opens his mouth and BLACKOUT, right as he's about to utter the first word.

A dazzlingly written monologue about life, death and lobster bisque opens the second act and, at the performance I attended, Smith didn't even blink during his delivery.

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 6:55pm

-In the Sunday in the Park With George Revival, the act one closer was chilling. I was speechless even after the house lights went up. I was almost to the point of tears; it was just a perfect moment!

Actually, the finale in act two was also like that.

-Another amazing moment this year was hearing Patti belt out "Rose's Turn" in Gypsy. I had never seen her live before, so I just was not expecting such a powerhouse performance. She literally blew me away!

-I saw The Drowsy Chaperone for the first time this year (The tour). The entire show was hilarious, and I was laughing non-stop. It was such a funny show, but at the end, I did not expect to be so moved (for lack of a better word). The characters of the show sang "As We Stumble Along" with him as he went up into the rafters on the plane. It was just a very touching moment.

[je veux te voir2]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 6:58pm

Just like above, Patti Lupone. It was my first time seeing her and it was....a transcendent performance and experience. Particularly Everything's Coming Up Roses, because my seat was so great that I could see all the pain and heartbreak on her face. Fantastic.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 7:34pm

Aw! I love that link in the article of the twenty-month-old baby singing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina."

[GIZMO2]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 9:30pm

I was actually only moments away from ordering tickets to see GLORY DAYS, the night before it opened (and closed), but then a friend talked me out of it. We saw something else instead.

I'm so pissed I missed it! To think, for the rest of my life I could have been the one at parties who says, "Oh yeah, I saw GLORY DAYS. It really sucked."

. . . Grrrr . . .

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 12/30/08 at 11:06pm

The minute-or-two-long deafening silence in A CATERED AFFAIR as Aggie watches the sun rise.

Stephanie J. Block belting out "Making Good" at THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN.

The entirety of LIZA'S AT THE PALACE. It's short-lived but anyone who misses it will be missing an extraordinary evening of theater.

Bailey Hanks' ability to give LEGALLY BLONDE a huge step up in energy. I had seen it twice before with LBB but never like the night I saw it with Bailey who has a bright future ahead of her.

Mary McCormack's wildly energetic performance in the otherwise wildly uneven BOEING-BOEING.

I know there's more but those are just off the top of my head.

[kidmanboy]

Posted: 12/31/08 at 10:02am

Here are some things that stuck with me, in no particular order:

-The choreographed portions of Black Watch - Sure, the script provided some insight, but since these boys would probably not allow themselves to get too emotional, it's the surreal choreographed sequences that allow us to see into the real humanity of these characters.

-Shrek's "Who I'd Be" - It's always been a complaint of mine that their aren't enough solo songs for men that really provide an emotional conflict. Imagine my surprise when there are three or so such songs in Shrek, of all places. This one, however, was my favorite, and yes, I WAS left humming it during intermission. When I saw the show in previews, there were some pacing issues, but, to me, it still remains this decade's most successful adaptation of an animated film. By far.

-Hair's "Let the Sunshine In" - The final moments of this show, with Claude upstage and the ensemble pleading to the audience to let the sunshine in was truly haunting. Unfortunately, the show's largest set piece, the park itself, won't be transferring to broadway, which leaves me to think I'll be one of the lucky people who gets to say I saw it when..

-Ellen Burstyn's final scene in Little Flower of East Orange - Sure, the play was a little uneven, but watching this actress tackle her final scene and then watching life slowly escape her was breathtaking.

-Audience reaction to Taking Over - When I arrived to find the audience to a matinee of this show almost completely filled with young high schoolers, I first groaned. However, when towards the end of the play, two girls in front of me started arguing about what the playwright was trying to tell them and what effect they had on gentrification, I was reminded how powerful the theater can be. I didn't love the play as a piece of literature, but my wife and I still debate the issues it brought up. I guess you can say Mr. Hoch was successful.

- Stage effects of Drunk Enough to Say I Love You - I may not have been politically savvy enough to understand every reference in this show, but the staging of this show, with just two men sitting on an ever-rising sofa, with props appearing from and disappearing into a black abyss kept me captivated and was, to me, more spectacular than any multi-million dollar set on broadway.

- Gypsy's "Everything's Coming Up Roses" - Yes, Rose's Turn was brilliant (and so was Laura Benanti), but with all of the attention on the eleven o'clock number, this song caught me by surprise. Patti's Rose was simply overcome by ambition and as the song becomes more manic, she takes over like a steam engine and Louise and Herbie cower into the background. Chilling.

- Passing Strange's "Work the Wound" - I loved the entire show and this song is a perfect example of why. Brilliant, insightful lyrics and a haunting melody, performed with genuine emotion.

- Next to Normal's "I'm Alive" - This song would NOT get out of my head and it, to me, solidified Aaron Tveit as a musical theater performer to watch.

- [title of show]'s "Way Back to Then" - Again I enjoyed this entire show. What could have been a one-joke show turned into a true exploration of the creative process. Forget the four chairs, for this song, just Heidi, the proscenium, and a keyboard was plenty worthy of broadway.

- Any moment Mary McCormack was on stage in Boeing-Boeing - A comedic tour de-force. She arrived like a Mack truck and never let up.

- The act one and two finales of Sunday in the Park - I wish the show were a little faster paced, particularly in the first act, but perhaps it's the slow build that makes these two gorgeous finales so rewarding.

- The Overture of South Pacific - Perhaps it's sad that a full sized pit orchestra is so rare, but the reveal of the musicians as the stage moves back was astonishing. The rest of the show didn't really do it for me, though.


Least memorable (maybe not the worst shows, but the ones that didn't even last the subway ride home)
-American Buffalo
-Conversations in Tusculum
-Glory Days - I know you may think I'm lucky for having seen it, but I barely remember it. I wish it were bad. Worse, it just garnered no reaction at all.