Entrance Applause- Page 3

[IAMmyownMUSICAL]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 5:55pm

I disgaree with the poster who said Fantasia in Color Purple. Her entrance does not warrant a massive round of applause. NOT because she doesn't deserve it, but because the first time we see her she doesnt want on stage. She is just playing the hand game with Nettie and most people, I know at least, had no idea until about 20 minutes in that it was even Fantasia on the stage yet. She got her big applause though, none bigger then after "I'm Here"...but entrance applause? No.

RENT comes to mind when the cast initially takes their places across the stage before the show starts. No matter who was in the cast every time I saw it they were all met with an uprorious welcome, which always made me feel good as an audience member- I always felt like I was about to be a part of something really special.

My favorite however would have to be Ebersole at the top of Act 2 in Grey Gardens. Sheer Perfection!

[SNAFU]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 7:36pm

In the Ebersole case, were we applauding her or Little Edie?

[Huss417]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 7:55pm

I think the funniest is Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park. She comes out to loud applause and she says "I didn't do nothing yet" That sums it up for me. :)

[allofmylife]

Posted: 1/8/12 at 8:16pm

Merman in "Gypsy."

[justoldbill]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 1:53am

Pearl Bailey's entrance into the Harmonia Gardens. Some nights just the ENTRANCE got a standing ovation! Not to mention the end of the number, which she usually did twice. But let's face it, her first act had gotten the audience primed for it.

[Will42]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 11:01am

Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit. I felt like I'm on a rock concert.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 11:14am

My friend tells a story that always makes me sad and a little angry, of going to see WICKED just after Joel Grey and KChen left. Idina Menzel got entrance applause, of course, and Jennifer Laura Thompson did, too, but George Hearn... nothing. I'm not a fan of entrance applause in any case, but if you're going to do it, at least have a little sense of history, please.

[homeimp]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 7:10pm

I cringe every time I hear entrance applause. It is totally unnecessary and disruptive of the mood the actors and director are trying to create. I think most stage actors would prefer applause at the end of the show, if asked. This is mainly a US phenomenon. It didn't happen for Christopher Plummer in King Lear or The Tempest, but perhaps he is not a big enough star. I give credit to the directors for staging the entrances in such a way that applause was discouraged.

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/9/12 at 7:14pm

Idina Menzel got entrance applause, of course, and Jennifer Laura Thompson did, too, but George Hearn... nothing.

That's amazing, since I've seen understudies get entrance applause in that role. The entrance is tailor-made for it.

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 3:33pm

In Hair the Aquarius Tribes last before they left for London. That entrance applause right when the music started was insane and lasted about maybe 5 minutes.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 3:45pm

When Kristen Chenoweth made her entrance at the first preview of PROMISES, PROMISES, the show stopped for about 5 minutes.

I was there and have a recording of that performance and though her stage entrance DID create an insane furor, it was hardly 5 minutes. It clocks in at about 28 seconds.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 4:29pm

In the same token, I found it rather silly how Audra McDonald and David Alan Grier received massive entrance applause in PORGY & BESS, but Porgy himself (Norm) received none.

Well, Audra and David are more recognizable due to their other work while Norm is less so. So, it makes sense that they would get entrance applause and Norm might not. You and I might applaud him but Jill from Kalamazoo might not.

I recall seeing Hairspray and Jerry Mathers received entrance applause but Darlene Love got none. IMO Darlene is much more deserving of the two. But, the audience made up for it after "I Know Where I've Been" which was fabulous.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 4:52pm

Lin-Manuel Miranda when he returned for the closing of In the Heights.

[Overkill]

Posted: 1/10/12 at 5:19pm

I know I always post about him and everything - but when I saw Nathan Lane in Butley and The Odd Couple, both times he got a huge reaction when he walked on. Especially at The Odd Couple. It seemed to go on forever, and I was definitely a key contributor. lol

Other great ones I can recall:
Norbert Leo Butz in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Harvey Fierstein in Fiddler on the Roof
Donny Osmond in Beauty and the Beast (He broke the fourth wall and motioned for more applause when it died down, but really...how can you not love it?)


Not bragging or anything just speaking from an actor's stand point: I've received exit applause a few times, and it's always an amazing feeling. I can only imagine the adrenaline an actor must feel when they step on stage and the audience applauds. All of that being said, it's just not right for some shows. Big musicals or comedies are usually more suited for it.

Updated On: 1/10/12 at 05:19 PM