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CHITTY BROKE DOWN! (This can't be a sale booster)

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#1

CHITTY BROKE DOWN! (This can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 12:35am

From zippyjen (who's having BWW problems)- who was at the show....

"wow tonight was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!

first off i walked into the box office to get tickets to chitty and guess who is in the lobby? none other than mark kudisch the lovely baron! i was to shy to say anything though.

so now the show.

we had a one in a kind experience! right before intermission when the car is about to fly- technical problems occur. the car breaks down!

so for about 45 minutes some of the cast is onstage trying to keep everyone happy! it was so fun and great!

raul was answering questions from the children- one little boy said "you ddin't say please that is why the car won't work!" how cute is that?

robert sella charmed everyone with his cher impression.

people screamed out to call AAA! the audience participated in a three way round of row row row your boat while stage hads took a prop boat and ran around the stage!

another stage hand took the baron's bear and ran across the stage!

chip zien led the audience and orchestra in happy birthday to some little kid.

raul sang part of the time warp!

robert sella also said "don't woorry we won't starve i have m&m's! take one and pass to your left!" it was so entertaining!

unfortunatlly they said jan and mark were supposed to come out and entertain but because they weren't properlly introduced in the show yet they didn't. oh well.

so oh the show was so great!

jan and mark of course were on! not many laughs until their bit. jan kept making fun of the situation as well. oh so great! sorry for the fan girlishness of the post.

i am kind of tired and that was a one in a kind experince!"
Mama Korey

The Beauty Is: Kelli O'Hara Online

Updated On: 8/31/05 at 12:35 AM

#2

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 12:37am

agh, I'm laughing so hard. And he sang Time Warp?!?! I'd have dropped dead on the spot. Sounds like it was fun, despite the problems!

Raúl Esparza, my love for you grows every day.

And poor Chitty. I hope she is feeling well again soon!
A work of art is an invitation to love.

Updated On: 8/31/05 at 12:37 AM

#3

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 12:42am

I have not planned on seeing the show again, but if somehow I knew I could see that- I would definitley have gone! How cool!
"That Sondheim kid has a big future."-Nathan Lane
#13

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 1:04am

If only the car broke down and all of that stuff happened when I went to see it, then maybe I would have enjoyed it.
"Smart! And into all those exotic mystiques -- The Kama Sutra and Chinese techniques. I hear she knows more than seventy-five. Call me tomorrow if you're still alive!"

Updated On: 8/31/05 at 01:04 AM

#14

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 2:02am

hah!! I was working there tonight! I was in the dress circle prepping for intermission when it happened and all I will say is: tonight was one of the most interesting non-performance things I've ever seen in a theatre. I've witnessed quite a few tech stalls in my day, but never longer than 20 minutes without the show at least being cancelled.

this stall clocked in at just under 50 minutes, but due to the great work of a few cast members (and some amazing, handsome ushers) we only lost a handful of audience members. those who stayed were so utterly entertained by the antics of the guys onstage, and so charmed by the whole ordeal, that by the time it started up again, they were going crazy for everything the car did. I've never seen the cast or car get a bigger ovation during curtain call than it did tonight. the real saviors of the evening were Raul Esparza and Robert Sella, who were just so damn entertaining! also it gave the genius Jan Maxwell free reign to ad-lib brilliance as she so pleased- to great effect.

at one point there were cast members in full makeup and costume hanging out in the back of the orchestra (along with the ushers, bar, and merchandise people) watching the courageous work of Esparza, Zien, Sella, Henry Hodges, and Ellen Marlow keeping everyone at bay wonderfully. I honestly forgot that this was a bad situation, as the action onstage was just so honest and unpretentious and quite beautiful in its way. all in all a very unifying, unique night in my experience. it was stressful and scary, but exciting too- especially to those of us who haven't performed in over 2 years and enjoyed the rush! my favorite parts were:

-the Row Row Row Your Boat sing-along

-Chip conducting the orchestra and leading everyone in singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to someone in the front row

-Sella's Cher impression

-when they asked for song requests, someone yelled "FALSETTOS!" (my favorite show) and Chip started to sing "Four Jews In a Room Bitching" before wisely stopping himself (lots of kids in the audience)

-Raul's a cappella TIME WARP sounded amazing, and he followed it up with a comment that his understudy would be finishing out the night now that he'd blown out his voice!

and Julie Tolivar must've had quite a fun night, going on as TRULY for only her 2nd or 3rd time

one English lady commented to me that she had watched the show several times in London and seen something similar happen once or twice, but never to this extent. they would do the same thing and send out Michael Ball or whoever to entertain the troops. sort of like that TITANIC debacle. sort of like when Harvey went up and killed time at LA CAGE when Daniel Davis got sick and his unrehearsed understudy needed time to learn the dances!

all in all this was an amazing, rare thing to witness that made me love my job and appreciate the wonder that is live theatre! the audience couldn't have been more sweet and sympathetic regarding the whole thing, and we received several compliments about the way in which we and the performers handled the unfortunate stoppage. I just shutter to think what would happen if it had been one of our sold-out matinees full of school and camp groups!


"The last train out of any station will not be full of nice guys." - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

"I wash my face, then drink beer, then I weep. Say a prayer and induce insincere self-abuse, till I'm fast asleep"- In Trousers

Updated On: 8/31/05 at 02:02 AM

#16

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 3:18am

I had a feeling the incident would wind up on this message board and have been eager to hear what it was like, from an audience perspective, to watch the whole thing progress. it was pretty surreal and fascinating to watch it unfold and to see the way people reacted to it. part of me thought it was the kind of thing that should have been documented for posterity, but we do forget that things like this happen somewhat regularly in even the most professional of theatres- it's more a matter of degree and the extent of the disruption.

"The last train out of any station will not be full of nice guys." - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

"I wash my face, then drink beer, then I weep. Say a prayer and induce insincere self-abuse, till I'm fast asleep"- In Trousers

Updated On: 8/31/05 at 03:18 AM

#17

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 8:55am

Does Chitty have an understudy? Maybe she'll go on tonight if Chitty still isn't feeling better.


Seriously though, this sounds like a lot of fun. I wish I was there. And I can't imagine the fun Jan Maxwell had in Act II with this...if anyone remembers some of her ad-libs, I'd love to hear them.
#18

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 9:05am

Sounds like quite an evening!


"Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. . ."

Updated On: 8/31/05 at 09:05 AM

#22

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 11:27am

Oh wow... I would have loved to see that...
"I wouldn't let Esparza's Bobby take my kids to the zoo...I'd be afraid he'd steal their ice cream and laugh."- YankeeFan
"People who like Sondheim enjoy cruelty."-LuvtheEmcee
#23

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 4:26pm

This thread needs to be bumped.

I'm even more in love with the cast after hearing about this; brilliant people, they are.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
#24

re: CHITTY broke down (this can't be a sale booster)

Posted: 8/31/05 at 4:41pm

Aww, I wish Chitty had technical malfunctions on Saturday night. That would've been so much fun to see!

musicmath: Me too!
"I'm the STAR!"--Daniel Reichard during Glory Daze sound check

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