Did this really happen at Spring Awakening

[michaelhale]

Posted: 9/14/18 at 8:54pm

I feel I already know the answer - but what an absurd lie!

My boyfriend and I were joking around about what would happen if you jumped onstage at a Broadway show and did something like steal a prop, and so I was looking up to see if it had ever happened and came across this site - here - which had this wild story on it:

"In 2008 during a performance of the original production of Spring Awakening Broadway? at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, a drunk middle aged man caused a scene and bad disturbance behavior during half of the first act. The man was running late to the show and had a seat in the show’s onstage audience seating. As the preshow announcement was happening, he blew-past 4 ushers and ran onto the stage to make it to his seat. He noticed he was on the wrong side and began to sit in the stairs right in the middle of the stage seats. He then noticed an empty chair (which was his seat) and began to run to it as the lights were dimming and as Alexandra Socha? (who was playing Wendla) began to sing the opening song MAMA WHO BORE ME. Next, the drunk man took his shoes off with everyone giving him a “WTF” look. He just whispered to the audience “I have blisters” and then fell asleep. During THE B**** OF LIVING, he woke up and everytime there was a “sexual reference” in the song or the following scenes, he began to poke and harass these 16 year old girls sitting next to him. Finally right after TOUCH ME, a security guard came to the rescue to take the drunk guy off. The security guard told him “You need to come with me!”. The drunk guy refused and began to fight with him screaming “You are ruining the show. Stop it you f****** c***sucker! Don’t touch me you motherf*****!” As the fight continues, the show has stopped and everyone (the cast, band, and audience) are all watching watching the drama in horror. Finally the security guard stopped the fight by hanging the drunk guy by his own tie. He escorted him off and the whole audience began to clap. In addition, the company manager brought everyone who was sitting on stage backstage to cry and share their thoughts on the drama. The Drunk man did get arrested. THAT DUDE WAS SURELY TOTALLY F*****!!"

I feel there's no way this actually happened but I can't help bust ask if this is - like - a popular legend or something? Or DID it actually happen?? t's a funny read anyway, in a dark comedy sense lol

[quizking101]

Posted: 9/14/18 at 9:16pm

While I can’t confirm this story, onstage antics do occur.

There was an incident at the play HAND TO GOD years ago where someone jumped on stage preshow to plug a phone into and outlet on the set...which was fake.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 9/14/18 at 9:16pm

Not sure if this happened, but I remember a story about someone sitting on stage and masturbating, unless I’m remembering it wrong.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/14/18 at 10:01pm

n2nbaby said: "Not sure if this happened, but I remember a story about someone sitting on stage and masturbating, unless I’m remembering it wrong."

Never heard anything about the drunk story before....and I was a big fan, so I feel o would have.  

Yes, I remember something about the masturbation incident. Once when I was there, there was a couple in onstage seats.  Almost right from the start you could tell something was off and they were quite handy with each pther....which turned into complete making out. They were removed.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/14/18 at 11:15pm

There was a time when we were giving a performance of STAR SPANGLED GIRL ( a dreadful play if there was ever one!) at the South Oaks Psychiatric Center here on Long Island. It's a 3 character play set in an attic apartment.

While I was alone on stage sitting at a typewriter, one of the patients walked up on stage and tried to use the phone. I just stopped typing and held my head in my hands. Eventually some staff members came up and removed the patient.

At that point I put down my hands as though I was just awakening and blurted out: "Inspiration!" And went back to typing.

I think the incident greatly improved one of Neil Simon's worst plays.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/14/18 at 11:39pm

I remember the masturbation incident happening, but don’t remember the specifics. It was definitely discussed here, though. I’m sure if you’re feeling ambitious enough you could probably dig up the thread.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 12:16am

The incident passed on by the OP sounds like the product of the telephone game. Some elements could certainly have happened but it feels like an embellishment of an embellishment. Had the entire thing transpired, some cast member would have related it at some point. Not to mention that the show would have been stopped. 

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 1:08am

I remember this happening and being discussed on The Guilty Ones when it happened including the girls who he harassed discussing what happened.

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 4:54am

Alexandra Socha is somewhat active on Twitter. Maybe tweet to ask her to confirm or deny?

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 5:01am

quizking101 said: "While I can’t confirm this story, onstage antics do occur.

There was an incident at the play HAND TO GOD years ago where someone jumped on stage preshow to plug a phone into and outlet on the set...which was fake."

If memory serves, the outlet incident happened during a performance of Sylvia, not Hand to God.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 6:14am

While I cant speak to it happening at Sylvia, it most definitely did happen at Hand to God.

Here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hand-god-phone-charger-show-807067

Sorry it's not clickable, on my ohone.

[suicidalmickeymouse]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 9:37am

I can attest that it is real because I was there. It was in early November, and I was also in onstage seats with my father. I personally didn’t notice the man until the c*cksuckers started. I was 13 so the exact details are fuzzy, but right after Touch Me Melchior was waiting with his book when the screaming began. I don’t remember anything about shoes (it sounds vaguely correct though) but I do remember his fly being undone. At the stagedoor after I heard the incident was only because he was touching himself (unclear if penis was exposed) and trying to grope the teen girls around him. Was he drunk? Very possibly but I couldn’t immediately tell. So many obscenities, c*cksucker and m*therf*cker we’re definitely his favorites though. Crowd was dead quiet, Melchior stayed stage frozen but then walked off. I only remember one very large security guard fighting him off the stage. Once crowd realized it wasn’t part of the show and he was gone they cheered. Show resumed shortly afterwards. It was absolutely nuts. Sorry I don’t have a more crystal clear memory of it but I was young and it was 10 years ago, but everything I posted is what I do remember perfectly! Edit:forgot we were evacuated backstage that was pretty cool even though I’m sure it was horrible for those sitting near them 

Updated On: 9/15/18 at 09:37 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 10:05am

Um...wow.

[lilitalybabe09]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 5:23pm

Yes this for sure happened. My roommate and her friends were the girls he was harassing. He kept leaning towards them as the show went on and finally security came in and took the man away and the cast like called to my roommate and her friends and they ran backstage and cried. The cast was very nice to them and they were given tickets to come back on another day. She tells this story all the time.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/15/18 at 6:09pm

Dancingthrulife2 said: "quizking101 said: "While I can’t confirm this story, onstage antics do occur.

There was an incident at the play HAND TO GOD years ago where someone jumped on stage preshow to plug a phone into and outlet on the set...which was fake."

If memory serves, the outlet incident happened during a performance of Sylvia, not Hand to God."

The plugging in of the phone definitely happened at Hand to God, not Sylvia.

 

[atuomala]

Posted: 9/16/18 at 10:15am

Dancingthrulife2 said: "quizking101 said: "While I can’t confirm this story, onstage antics do occur.

There was an incident at the play HAND TO GOD years ago where someone jumped on stage preshow to plug a phone into and outlet on the set...which was fake."

If memory serves, the outlet incident happened during a performance of Sylvia, not Hand to God."

 

No, it happened at Hand to God. The video of the audience member jumping up onto the stage is still on YouTube.