Anyone witness any mishaps on stage?

I've heard of a time when Idina Menzel fell during a performance of Wicked and broke her rib. I was wondering if anyone has seen anything like this? Prop malfunction, major line flub, someone falling, anything of that ilk.

The only thing I can think of is when I saw Christmas Spectacular a long time ago and a bunny was supposed to pop out of a giant gift box but the gift box wouldn't open and everyone had to come over and pry it open. Hilarious.

Out with the old, in with the new, is what I always like to say.

ten seconds is ten seconds too long is what I always like to say.

ten seconds is ten seconds too long is what I always like to say.

And insisting people take 5 minutes to rewrite their experiences instead of taking 10 seconds to search is pretty entitled and inconsiderate is what I like to say.

ten seconds is ten seconds too long is what I always like to say.

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During Encores "No No Nanette" in a big dance number, Sandy Duncan slipped and fell. As she was dancing, she had a big smile on her face. She slipped, but kept smiling. She got up and got right back into the dance still smiling. Nothing shakes Sandy Duncan.

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I've never witnessed any mishaps on stage. Out of respect for the performers, whenever I feel a mishap coming, I jam my fingers in my ears, shut my eyes, and go "LA LA LA LA LA!" until I feel the time of the mishap has passed. I mean, if I'm paying $120 a ticket, I don't want to see the performers do anything WRONG!

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Updated On: 10/9/08 at 01:10 PM

This isn't from Broadway or even professional theatre, but it's fun.

Our college theatre group was doing "110 in the Shade" and the kid who was playing Jimmy dropped his drumstick. The fellow playing H.C. got up, said "I'll get that", picked it up, and handed it to Jimmy as if nothing unusual had happened. Great cover.

I was also at the Metropolitan Opera fora performance of "La Gioconda" that turned out to be one of its most unusual -- and famous -- performances.

My mother was a great Domingo fan -- she would hve gone to see Placido Domingo read the phone book. So wewent to the Met one night to see La Gioconda because Domingo was singing.

Well, he had a cold and after the first act, he couldn't go on anymore. They ahd anotehr tenor on the roster named Carlo Bini, who was in the audience to study the stage business because he was doing the role later in the season.

They grabbed Bini out of the audience and threw Domingo's costumes on him. Now, Domingo is a fairly big guy and Bini, well, isn't. You could see the pins holding the costume in place!

Because Bini didn't know the stage business, the soprano, Mignon Dunn, was leading him around and "spotting" him in the places he was supposed to stand.

Then the unthinkable happened. People started to boo. (You don't boo at the opera.) The blue-haired little opera ladies rolled up their programs and started to hit the booers.

Bini stopped the performance and went downstage center to talk to the conductor, who happened to be Italian like Bini. The conductor turned and in a perfect Chico Marx voice said, "You no like it, you no gotta clap. But you no boo! No boo!" Then he turned and resumed the performance, with Miss Dunn continuing to lead Mr. Bini around. This spectacle happened twice.

Not long after the second time, the most famous piece in "La Gioconda" -- "The Dance of the Hours" -- began. Now, if you're of a certain age and turn of mind, yu recognize that piece: "Hello muddah, hello faddah." This is when I fell off the chair laughing hard.

All it needed was for Harpo Marx to come flying across dropping teh wrong sets and the night would have been complete.

In the Times the next day, Mr. Bini described it as "a very funny performance." Yeah, you might say that.

Updated On: 10/9/08 at 01:29 PM

Since I have see Phantom on Broadway 27 times, I've seen a bunch of mishaps. I believe I have put them on other threads, but rather than come on this thread just to complain about it (????) might as well tell the stories again.

I have seen four Carlotta's drop the apple that they're supposed to stick in the roasted pig's mouth. Everything from the apple popping out, the apple flying off the stage, the ensemble members kicking it around....

When the managers read the letters and the Phantom voice takes over, sometimes it comes in too late, not at all, sometimes it interrupts the manager's lines, sometimes it is off by a few seconds.....

During Carlotta's "Think of me" the backdrop is supposed to fall during the second refrain, not the first. So it fell during the first refrain; no one was in place, the lights and music did not correspond, and of course the case did get smacked in the head with the backdrop. They quickly pulled it back up, and then it fell at the correct time, only this time, the actors reacted to it, instead of ignoring it, and the music and lights corresponded. I'm sure a first-timer would have been very confused.

A few months ago, when Raoul was supposed to jump into the trap door "lake", apparently the trap door wasnt working because he just walked off instead.

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Oh dear!! SERIOUSLY!!! Is taking 10 seconds to look it up that hard?

Manners are for humans like me. But you on the other hand, I don't know what you are. I'll have to look into what your kind of species has to do as a replacement for manners.

But Broadwaynerd! I thought you were a beast?

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Saw Annaleigh Ashford in "Wicked" hit herself in the head when twirling the wand. It looked pretty hard, but she just said "I'm OK, I'm OK" and kept going.

WOW! You actually witnessed the Q mishap? Wow! Did he finish the show that night? Or did they stop it completley?

Updated On: 10/9/08 at 04:40 PM