Broadway Mistakes
Broadway Mistakes
#0Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:45am
What was the most obvious and embarrasing mistakes you saw in a broadway show. How did they recover?
I've never seen one, but i would like to know what you guys saw.
Anyone see any mistake in Phantom?
Thanks guys
Mr Roxy
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/17/03
#1re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:47amWhen we saw Sunset Blvd, during the scene where Norma is at Paramount, part of the set was left open & you could see stagehands quite visibly
Poster Emeritus
livelife
Stand-by Joined: 2/13/06
#2re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:51am
no not really, except that howard mcgillin didn't hold his line at the end of "music of the night" and kept stopping, but thats not a stage mistake
iv never seen an obvious mistake in a show before though, like to with the set or props
tell me more, tell me more...how much dough did he spend?
Parsley
Featured Actor Joined: 1/7/06
#3re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:52amIt was during Phantom the first time I saw a show on Broadway at the very end when he sits on his throne and pulls the cape around him. When Meg came up to the chair and pulled it off he was still there but motionless as if asleep/dead and the mask was on his lap for her to take. She certainly looked shocked but put the cape back over him and did the last bit with the mask to the audience.
livelife
Stand-by Joined: 2/13/06
#4re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:54amhaha....that would have been funny to watch!
tell me more, tell me more...how much dough did he spend?
Parsley
Featured Actor Joined: 1/7/06
#5re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 8:58amIt was hilarious although the couple beside us had never seen it before so thought nothing of it. Also with the same show in London, at the overture when the cloths are pulled away from the sides and top of the stage to reveal the cherubs etc, it got caught and they were only removed fully after Carlotta's entrance. The actor playing Mr Firmin (or Andre) adlibbed something along the lines of "and my first task as manager is to get someone to remove those..[pointing at them]". That really brought the house down.
wexy
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/19/05
#7re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:04am
Not really a mistake but during '1776' there's a little dance thing between Ben Franklin (Pat Hingle) and Martha Jefferson (who I checked and was played by Lauren Ward.)
But Hingle's foot was plantly on Ward's dress and she was stuck.
She turned to him and said "You're standing on my dress" He stepped off and a wardrobe malfunction was averted.
'Take me out tonight where's there's music and there's people and they're young and alive.'
livelife
Stand-by Joined: 2/13/06
#8re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 9:07amwexy, off topic a bit, but did you see "The Real Thing"?
tell me more, tell me more...how much dough did he spend?
#9re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 11:30amwhen i went to see DRS, John Lithgow's understudy was in it and during Dirty Rotten Number, he didn;t sing the first 40 seconds of the song. He had completely forgotten it and just stared at the audience. the conductor tried to help him but he didn't get it. and norbert was just there, not knowing what to do. the understudy finally got to a line that he remembered and picked it up from there. but it was terrible, especailly since it was my fourth time seeing it.
<--- the set of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I was assistant stage manager for during the 2007 season at the STNJ outdoor stage.
-Dre- You must remember all the same that at the crux of every game is knowing when it's time to leave the table... And it's important to be artful in your exit. No turning back, you must accept the con is done... It was a ball, it was a blast. And it's a shame it couldn't last. But every chapter has to end, you must agree.
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
There's a special kind of people known as show people. We live in a world full of dreams. Sometimes we're not too certain what's false and what's real. But we're seldom in doubt about what we feel.
~Curtains~
It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever known.
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
~Curtains~
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
ShbrtAlley44
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/1/03
#10re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 11:51amThe other day I saw Pajama Game, and during "Seven and a Half Cents," Kelli O'Hara is supposed to catch the pencil someone throws to her and do complicated math on a pad of paper. She missed it when he tossed it, said "I don't need it" in between singing phrases of the song, then proceeded to "do the math in her head," wiggling her fingers as if she were counting, and came up with the answer :)
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#11re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 12:13pm
I saw what could be the worst performance of Jekyll & Hyde.
It was a matinee and the guy playing Jekyll started sounding worse and worse throughout the show, his voice was getting pretty bad.
Just before "This is the Moment", they announced the understudy would take over the role. The change took SO long that the orchestra started playing the "Little Spanish Flea"..it was so funny and sad at the same time.
The understudy comes in and...he stops the show again. He says he's not feeling well. More Spanish Flea. The second understudy had a great voice, but was really overweight...well, at least it wasn't Hasselhoff
Listen, I don't take my clothes off for anyone, even if it is "artistic". - JANICE
#12re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 12:19pmSorry to threadjack but I ADORE your avatar Dre2387!!!!
colleen_lee
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/16/05
#13re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 12:19pm
It wasn't a mistake persay, more a break of character:
DRS, it was Pryce's second show, during "All About Ruprecht" Norbert was really molesting him, then he reached up and licked Pryce's entire face. Both Pryce and Norbert started laughing and could barely sing through their laughter..
"You just can't win. Ever. Look at the bright side, at least you are not stuck in First Wives Club: The Musical. That would really suck. "
--Sueleen Gay
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#14re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 12:19pmThe Blonde In The Thunderbird
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
wexy
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/19/05
#16re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 12:54pmI saw "The Show Off" at Roundabout which takes place in the 20' and one of the charachters was reading a newspaper right in front of the stage and it that day's New York Post.
'Take me out tonight where's there's music and there's people and they're young and alive.'
#17re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 1:04pm
Well, these are very minor but when my sister and I went to see Wicked there were a couple. First, during "Popular" when Glinda said, "Just wear the frock, its pretty!" and threw her wand the wand bounced off of something and kind of flew back at her (Megan Hilty) so she picked it up and threw it again with a little more entusiasm.
Then, during "One Short Day" when they pick up the sunglasses both Megan and Eden picked up the same pair and had a very quick tug-of-war before both letting go and laughing.
Like I said, really small things but still funny!
"I wrote a book: "How to Be Popular". Now I've put together a top ten list of how to help you:
-Elphie, everyday... shower. I mean, who knows? Maybe some of that green is gonna come off!
-Deodorant Elphie. No body likes a stinky witch!
-I think we've covered the hair, we'll get to that.
-Clean underclothes. That's all I'm gonna say.
-Look at your posture. That's no way to be popular!
-Bed made, room straightened. We've done that.
-Colors blended. Oookay.
-But the most important thing to have, to make yourself popular, is to keep your beautiful smile."
~Kristin Chenoweth in her last performance of the song "Popular"
#18re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 2:01pm
I saw Phantom on a day when the boat crashed, didn't turn on cue (nearly ran Hugh Panaron down), the mask was dropped causing him to trip and fall, the curtains weren't raised on time for one scene...
It was a pretty rough performance, esp. since he'd been hit by a car on the way to work, too.
I've heard at least one other story about the throne malfunctioning and Jeff Keller handing the mask out from under the cape. I rather like the playing-dead way of covering, though.
There's a site with tons of Phantom mishaps...
http://www.freewebs.com/lamentablemess/main.htm
londonbaby
Understudy Joined: 2/13/06
#19re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 2:34pmhaha! thanks for the link gingersnap!
both reached for the gun!
#20re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 2:44pm
When I saw wicked Idina and JLT got their hair tangled at the start of 'One short day' and took a long time to pull themselves apart then even longer to compose themselves!
In 'the foreigner' matthew broderick managed to crack up most of the cast and himself at one point, then sat down for a few seconds shaking his head until they all pulled themselves together
Hunter Foster flubbed the 'Mr Marks' line at the end of the producers by calling him 'Mr Bialystock' and then continued 'No, wait you're not Mr Bialystock you're the other guy- mr Marks yes that's your name.' During the same show when Bialystock threw Bloom's coat at the begining it got stuck on the windows and he added 'You like my new curtains?' to the 'do the books' bit
And my favorite is when mark's glasses went flying across the stage in Rent during 'Rent' then about 10 seconds later he knocked his camera off the table
'It was six hours! I don't even like to have sex or eat bacon for six hours!'
'You are faboulous creatures each and every one'
#21re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 2:55pmWhen I saw POTO on Bway in 97, a curtain got caught on a set piece. A stagehand walked onstage casually and unhooked it. He wasn't even wearing blacks. Very classy.
#22re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 3:00pm
I never actually saw this, but the story has been going around for years. In JCS, in a performance when Manoel Felciano was playing Judas, he fell into the orchestra pit during his opening number. He talked about it on Seth's Chatterbox,(and even provided a reenaction with actual audio from that show) which was fantastic, cause I'd always wanted to hear more about that performance.
One I did witness was during Hairspray. It was John Pinette's first week on Broadway as Edna Turnblatt. During "You're Timeless To Me", John went "I can hear the bells!" Pause "Oh, wait that's the ice cream truck" The actor playing Mr Turnblatt cracked up, and John said: "Get me sooooome!" in the most hilarious whiny way. They BOTH lost it after that, and had to wait a few minutes before they got their act together, and finished the song.
#23re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 3:03pmNot so much a mistake (and not on broadway) but a show i saw had the an understudy who actually brought the script out to read. very off-putting
#24re: Broadway Mistakes
Posted: 2/19/06 at 3:11pmI just saw Hairspray last weekend for like the 6th time and Shannon Durig(Tracy) forgot her lyrics right at the beginning of the show in Good Morning Baltimore. She was like " Oh Oh Oh I don't know da da doo da doo, when i hear the beat....it was funny to say the least!
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