Favourite Scene Transitions? — Page 2

As for brilliant changes, I agree with the poster above about Baby June and Louise turning into their young adult selves under a strobe light. Gave me chills every time.

And speaking of Robbins, I would add the transition to the gym in WEST SIDE STORY. Though I was watching from the stage manager's desk in the wings (during the 1980s), the falling streamers still took my breath away!

As far as I know, Jerome Robbins more than anyone was responsible for inventing stage equivalents to movie cuts, cross-fades and the like. It was as if his early training were not in ballet but with Cecil B. DeMille.

Updated On: 5/2/16 at 08:24 PM

I've always liked the end of I Hope I Get It from A Chorus Line when the lights go off, then immediately back on and there they are with head shots in front of their faces....then they slowly lower the picture to reveal their face and slowly get in to their characters pose on the Line. I feel the image, of the entire line, is an iconic piece of Broadway. And watching how they form the line and then watching personalities develop with their stance on the line.

TFMH18 said: "A (very) recent one: In Bright Star when we see Alice Murphy the editor transition to her younger self, and we watch her transform on stage before our very eyes. It's one of the most beautiful moments I've witnessed in the theatre.



"

I wanted to mention this but felt like all my posts have practically been about Bright Star since I saw it so I refrained. :) But I totally agree. In large part due to Carmen Cusack's performance. It's amazing how she seems to drop 20 years of heartache in those few moments and transform to a carefree teenager.

I thought American Psycho had some really beautiful transitions. When the entire set flies up to reveal The Hamptons set is pretty gorgeous.

And the same for Therese Raquin when the Paris set flies in.

I still remember being wowed by the scene changes in the original RAGTIME...they were so cinematic. You just don't see physical productions like that anymore...

RentBoy86 said: "I thought American Psycho had some really beautiful transitions. When the entire set flies up to reveal The Hamptons set is pretty gorgeous.






"

Yes! Also the first time when it happens during Killing Time. I think that and the Hamptons are my favorite sequences in the show. Especially when Killing Time transitions to In the Air Tonight which transitions to the homeless man scene which is then ironically transitioned into the Hardbody workout scene. Holly James is fantastic as the trainer.



On a separate note, really any of the scene changes in the current She Loves Me but especially when it changes from the perfume shop to the cafe. When I saw the show that set change got applause. It's really quite stunning how smooth and effortless it looks.

"In large part due to Carmen Cusack's performance. It's amazing how she seems to drop 20 years of heartache in those few moments and transform to a carefree teenager."

Yes! And, to once again praise Carmen's performance, I honestly think that it's necessary for the audience to watch her actually transition from her older to younger self, as she is so convincing as both 16 and 38 that you wouldn't necessarily believe it was the same actress, had you not actually seen her go from one age to another.

anything from Hal Prince's version of Showboat, where the workers of the era change the scene hoisting and pulling ropes....genius.

I've had a fascination with scene transitions ever since I was a kid watching my mother perform in The Nutcracker, which is a very fluid show, and I'm always sort of disappointed when there's no care put into transitions. I still haven't seen many shows live, sadly, but here's a couple I'm at least aware of:

-The transition from the Polo Lounge fight scene in the original staging of Merrily. Frank storms off and, distraught, Mary and Charley hug with a kind of fierce desperation. Instantly, the chorus bursts out of the wings as the turntable carries them away, and the first time I saw it, it was like a punch in the gut.

-The transition in A Chorus Line where (I think this happened a few times) a song or sequence begins and suddenly the entire line, except for whoever's about to perform, backs away en masse into the darkness. I know for sure it happens at the beginning of At The Ballet, and the way they move with one, smooth motion takes my breath away.

-Loveland. I mean, duh.

GavestonPS said: "And speaking of Robbins, I would add the transition to the gym in WEST SIDE STORY. Though I was watching from the stage manager's desk in the wings (during the 1980s), the falling streamers still took my breath away!"

Ohh, I'd love to know what happened here, could you describe it?

Thank you for your thoughts!



Compared to films, when very fluid and memorable transition scenes happen on stage one appreciates even more fully why the stage is a remarkable performing medium.

City of Angels: a dead body on a gurney rolls over and is now the producer getting a massage.

Wicked has some of the finest and graceful scene transitions. I love the transition that happens during the I'm Not That Girl (reprise) with the Wizard's head gliding back upstage as the vines and ropes slowly fly in and the back wall of gears closes to create the forest setting for As Long As Your'e Mine.

It won't surprise anyone that mine is in "Dolly". It is the transition from "Sunday Clothes" into the hatshop. Minnie Fay has a monologue on the street which is underscored by a staccato-like version of "Call on Dolly". Ensemble members cross behind Minnie bobbing their heads to the music. I've always looked forward to that moment in the show.