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#26

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/2/15 at 7:55pm

I am actually surprised that entrance applause is really a big deal. I think for an actor who has shown great work in the past, the audience is excited for them to appear, and it is staged in a way that is appropriate, it is a great way to kick off a show. Recent examples:

Denzel Washington-Raisin in the Sun

Daniel Radcliffe-Cripple of Inishmaan

Alan Cumming (both times I saw it, the second time especially thunderous), Michelle Williams, Emma Stone-Cabaret

Hugh Jackman-The River

Bradley Cooper-The Elephant Man

Larry David-Fish in the Dark

Kelli O'Hara-King and I

#27

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:14pm

Vanessa Hudens in Gigi got applause as well.

#28

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/2/15 at 11:19pm

Hugh Jackman reading a phone book.

Poster Emeritus

#29

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/3/15 at 12:40am

Earlier I said on this thread that every celebrity I've seen on Broadway got entrance applause, but now that I think about it, there were several celebrities I saw this season who did NOT, which I thought was interesting:

Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Billy Nighy, Hugh Jackman, the actors in A Delicate Balance.

It's interesting to see that some of those actors got entrance applause at other performances but not the ones I went to

#30

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/3/15 at 12:57am

Saw In The Heights the first night Lin-Manuel Miranda came back to finish off the run. I've never heard longer or louder entrance applause.

#31

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/3/15 at 1:13am

It's only appropriate, in my opinion, when it's scripted in. For instance, the entrance of the Emcee in Cabaret or the entrance of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch allow for applause. The entrance of Chita in The Visit should get no applause, because it doesn't make sense. As others have said, including the actors/actresses themselves, it messes with them getting into character convincingly.

BROADWAY: The Cripple of Inishmaan, This is Our Youth, If/Then, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (x3), Cabaret (x2), The Real Thing, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Chicago, Les Miserables (x2) Disgraced, Finding Neverland, On the Twentieth Century, Wolf Hall Part I, On the Town, Fun Home; TOURING: Jekyll and Hyde, The Book of Mormon; LOCAL: The Twilight Zone, Anne Boleyn, Death and the Maiden, The Lying Kind, Chorus Line, Stupid F**king Bird

#32

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/4/15 at 11:57pm

^ I disagree. There is nothing wrong with giving entrance applause to a star. It can be a very exciting moment. How could you not clap for a legend? It just feels natural. I doubt it would deter a good actor from getting into character.

#33

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:11am

-James Monroe Iglehart. But I think it was because everyone immediately knew that was the Genie. It was the whole house, whooping and clapping

-Carly Rae & Fran Drescher (Cinderella)

-Corbin Bleu (Godspell, only 3 people clapped. Poor guy, lol)

-Sutton Foster & Joel Grey (Anything Goes, had huge response. Never forget it)

-I THINK Laura Osnes (Anything Goes)

-Idina Menzel (If/Then)

-Various animals in Lion King during Circle of Life

-The Wizard (Wicked)

-John O'Hurley (Chicago)

I don't think Elphaba had one when I saw Wicked. But, the Tin Man had a huge gasp from the audience.

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 12:11 AM

#34

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 12:21am

The Wolf Hall company all got a pretty healthy round of applause at the start of Part 2, but that show begins fairly suddenly so it could have been the audience applauding the start of the show.

Lena Hall and JCM both got entrance applause at Hedwig, which makes sense. Surprisingly, Nathan Lane didn't get any applause during Iceman Cometh, even though it's a very clear star kind of entrance.

I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.

#35

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:24am

Kelli O'Hara-King and I

As does her co star Ken Watanabe.

#36

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 6:35am

"Kelli O'Hara-King and I
As does her co star Ken Watanabe.
"

Possibly. But believe it or not, it didn't happen the show I was at.

#37

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 6:48am

Pretty much all the shows i saw a few weeks ago had people clapping at the main stars entrance, including The Spoils, which was odd since its such a small theatre. I saw 10 shows and i cant think of one that didnt have entrance clapping.

I dont really understand it myself, it just seems strange to me, but then im not used to it as we dont do it here in London.

#38

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 8:19am

Applauding highly paid movie 'stars' for showing up, is ridiculous. I go to the theatre to see a production, of which they are merely a component. If the performance warrants applause, save it for the end. I'm sure their ego's will survive.

#39

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 10:41am

When I saw the touring production of Lion King, Rafiki got a very large entrance applause just by walking onstage before Circle of Life.

#40

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 10:43am

Wicked is an interesting one to me. I have seen it twice, once with the original Chicago cast and once last July on Broadway. When I saw it in Chicago, I felt that it was Ana Gasteyer that was getting the entrance applause. It actually went on for several seconds. When I saw it last year, I felt it was the character of the witch that was getting the entrance applause. The entrance itself seems intentionally staged to set up that reaction from the audience.

I have also seen Dan Radcliffe and Raul Esparza get entrance applause.

#41

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 11:51am

Sierra Boggess got an entrance applause on her and Norm Lewis' first night in Phantom. Norm didn't get one, probably because his entrance is right in the middle of a song that can't afford to pause or be drowned out by applause. (The Title Song did begin to thunderous applause, though, so I guess that was the audience making up for it.)

Funny enough, no one applauded when Idina entered in If/Then when I saw the show. (She did get a long applause at the end of each song, though.)

"Was uns befreit, das muss stärker sein als wir es sind." -Tanz der Vampire

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 11:51 AM

#42

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:23pm

Elphaba's entrance is very grand, with her running forward, but director Joe Mantello said that he was surprised that Elphaba gets entrance applause night after night.

#43

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:39pm

Some weird entrance applause I've seen:

Kate Shindle in WONDERLAND - her entrance, granted, was made for it also, but bizarre.

Every time I saw Bonnie & Clyde I was confused by the entrance applause for Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan also during "Picture Show" .. neither had Tony nominations at the time or anything on their resumes to really warrant it IMO.

#44

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 2:49pm

I usually don't mind them, but I absolutely despise "forced" entrance applause. This tends to happen with actors known to Broadway fans, but not the general population. It happened last week at It Shoulda Been You with Sierra Boggess. A few members of the audience were cheering and clapping rapturously. Most of the audience had no idea who she was. It was awkward.

#45

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:14pm

Not an actor entrance applause, but I did experience a song applause. Hytner directed "Carousel" in 1995 the tour playing Los Angeles. When Nettie Fowler gets to the refrain of "June is Bustin' Out All Over" the audience (vast majority) started to applaud. I asked the actress playing Nettie if that had ever happened before that perf and she had said it hadn't. I guess it was a lot of elders who recognized the historic popularity of that tune. Who knows.

Nice is different than good.

#46

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:22pm

Nobody should ever get entrance applause. It's crass and breaks the illusion that the actors are trying to build.

Well, you should probably have pointed that out about a hundred years ago (at least). Entrance applause for a star actor has been such a longstanding tradition, it's been satirized countless times in film and in television.

As for it being a "Broadway" thing, it's not. I've seen entrance applause in London and on tour. It's more of a "human response" kind of thing that is largely determined by the star and/or the staging (and often choreographed in lighter comedies, both plays and musicals, with a celebrity or recent award winner in the cast). If the actor's "illusion" is so terribly fragile, then they should be removed from the credits on posters and in Playbills as well as all marketing materials and press. They shouldn't even be nominated for an award if the show is still running, for fear that the audience may know who is playing the part.

Either that, or stay home and watch a movie if the experience of live theatre is too spontaneous and unpredictable for you.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

#47

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:26pm

Ha ha! I so totally agree. I recently read an interview with a long time theatrical creator who said he hates intermission because it takes him out of the action of the play and shatters the illusion. I was all, gurl, you have a very refined sense of denial.

Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

#48

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:36pm

My theater friend told me that at the performance of THE KING AND I she saw, the theater not only applauded for O'Hara, but before that, they gasped, "OMG'd", and gave thunderous applause for the boat. She said it was "like as if Judy Garland came back from heaven to give one more performance for the world".

I'm serious when I tell you that.

#49

Entrance Applauses

Posted: 6/5/15 at 3:45pm

"My theater friend told me that at the performance of THE KING AND I she saw, the theater not only applauded for O'Hara, but before that, they gasped, "OMG'd", and gave thunderous applause for the boat. She said it was "like as if Judy Garland came back from heaven to give one more performance for the world".
I'm serious when I tell you that."

I was at The King and I Tuesday night (it's superb, by the way) and I can concur that this did indeed happen exactly the way that you described it. Kelli's entrance got a showstopping applause. There was also heavy applause during "Shall We Dance" and gasps during the whipping scene.

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