Audience Member Has Seizure During Once On This Island Performance

Im hearing things online about what happened at the Friday night performance of Once On This Island online and just want to know if anyone was there/has any more information.

From what I’ve heard, during the song “Ti Moune” cast member Tamyra Gray called out to stop the show when she noticed an audience member who appeared to be choking. After about a minute of repeatedly ask to stop the show an announcement was made they were experiencing “technical difficulties.” Tamyra asked if there was any doctors in the audience and luckily there was. They took the audience member backstage. She later revealed the woman had a siezure. That’s all I know so far. Hope the woman is doing okay!

Hopefully someone that works at the theater also has basic first aid training.

All venues that deal with the public require having employees trained in CPR, etc.

dramamama611 said: "It happens more than you realize. We're more aware of it now because of social media.


You're not wrong. I was at the first preview of The Bodyguard in Glasgow earlier this week and a woman slipped off her seat during the Academy Awards scene. Her companion started panicking and there was a bit of commotion before she was taken away.

Miles2Go2 said: "How scary for all involved. Good for Tamyra for noticing what was going on. My mom is epileptic and for those not accustomed to seeing someone having a seizure, it can be quite scary. Mom’s seizures can be triggered by visual causes such a strobe lights, but I don’t recall any in OOTI. Most often though, it was because she had forgotten to take her seizure meds."

10 minutes before this happened, there was some light flickers during Pray. The lights strobe for about 2 seconds max and happen 3 times during the song

"It happens more than you realize. We're more aware of it now because of social media."

Exactly right. It's always happened, you just never heard about it. During the original run of Angels In America, before we had better drugs to handle HIV + and AIDS patients, the show often had to be stopped because of sadly all-too-frequent deaths. In Coast of Utopia, an actor had a heart attack onstage. A stagehand gave him CPR until the paramedics got there. I forget the actor's name, but he's still around.

Same thing goes for technical problems. Wicked had one this week. My Fair Lady had one recently (though I think both of those were reported here). I'd be willing to bet, on any given night, there's some medical emergency or technical problem somewhere on Broadway. Sometimes it's managed without the audience knowing, sometimes the show has to be stopped, depending on the degree of emergency. I remember that War Horse had an issue with its turntable, and the audience never had a clue.

Like Dramamama said, you likely won't hear more about this. It isn't really news.

Updated On: 12/8/18 at 07:01 PM

Richard Easton. Ethan Hawke talked about it in a Graham Norton interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--lUePGteaI

Updated On: 12/9/18 at 06:24 AM

Dollypop said: "I was at the New York Philharmonic a few years ago when an audience member died in his seat.

I was also at the Metropolitan Opera when an audience member committed suicide by jumping from the second tier during intermission."

Was this it?

https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/24/nyregion/opera-patron-dies-in-plunge-from-a-balcony-at-the-met.html

Miles2Go2 said: "Note to self: do not attend orchestral or opera performances where Dollypop is in attendance. It is not good for one’s life expectancy. Broadway shows especially Hello, Dolly!, however are okay."

A relative had a heart attack and died during the overture to a local college production of "Hello, Dolly!". He would have thought it was hilarious, so I think of him fondly when I listen to the score. His wife also went back to see the show later in its run.

I ended up hearing about his death from someone in the cast years later--it totally spooked them and many actors did not want to go on.

codywlong2 said: "Miles2Go2 said: "Note to self: do not attend orchestral or opera performances where Dollypop is in attendance. It is not good for one’s life expectancy. Broadway shows especially Hello, Dolly!, however are okay."

A relative had a heart attack and died during the overture to a local college production of "Hello, Dolly!". He would have thought it was hilarious, so I think of him fondly when I listento the score. His wife also went back to see the show later in its run.

I ended up hearing about his death from someone in the cast years later--it totally spooked them and many actors did not want to go on."

During previews of Bette Midler's DOLLY!, cast member Justin Bowan posted that someone in the audience had a seizure in the first act but refused to be taken to the hospital because he didn't want to miss the 2nd act.

Dollypop said: "During previews of Bette Midler's DOLLY!, cast member Justin Bowan posted that someone in the audience had a seizure in the first act but refused to be taken to the hospital because he didn't want to miss the 2nd act."

There were quite a few instances during Bette Midler's run in Hello, Dolly in which audience members, who needed it, refused medical attention. While not common, medical emergencies in a theater are not rare.