Have you ever seen a show and cannot remember any of it?- Page 2

[sorano916]

Posted: 2/2/12 at 3:25am

THE PIRATE QUEEN

Then again, I'm pretty sure I had no clue what I saw right after I saw it either.

CURTAINS is also a bit fuzzy...

[Starcarolina]

Posted: 2/2/12 at 4:53am

Torch Song Trilogy
Same Time Next Year
Butterflies Are Free
42nd Street
Show Boat (Kennedy Center with Cloris Leachman)
Titanic (Washington,DC)
Victor/Victoria (Remember Michael Nouri's weak singing and Julie
Andrews perspiring a great deal from 3rd row)
Naked Boys Singing (December 2001 after going to the 9/11 site
that kind of preoccupied my thoughts) Annie Get Your Gun (which I was in for 8 weeks in regional theater and still can't remeber anything but being in the dressing room watching the dancers sponging themselves with Factor pancake Mud so they would look like (Red) Indians...hmmmm)

[JMPlayer6]

Posted: 2/2/12 at 11:15am

To answer your question: No.

[SamIAm2]

Posted: 2/2/12 at 11:17am

I hate to admit it. This is embarrassing ... but all I remember of Evita is one two second long snippet.

However, my first Broadway show was 1776, which I saw when I was 13, about 45 years ago. I remember much of it, especially sitting in the box directly over the stage and looking down the top of Betty Buckley's dress. Aah, memories!

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 9:35am

After more than 50 years and several thousand shows, you bet! But rewatching the Barbara Cook segment on the Kennedy Center Honors last night, I remembered the first moment I saw her onstage: the last Saturday matinee, 50 years ago this month, of THE GAY LIFE, a vastly underrated show, and hearing her sing "Magic Moment" from the upper balcony of the Shubert. I lost my heart that afternoon, and happily never got it back.

Also seeing Merman stride down the aisle in GYPSY, and her "Rose's Turn". Never to be forgotten.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 3:49pm

This is why I have never and WILL never believe anyone when they talk about every detail of a show they saw 40 years ago. And they do it constantly around here. The only reason I can remember every detail about a show I saw years ago is because I have a video of it.

I think Jordan's skepticism is both fair and wise.

But our memories of favorite shows are augmented (and also potentially corrupted) when we buy the CD and maybe even a souvenir book. Of course I remember the first Broadway shows I saw (thanks to the OBC recordings) better than I remember the first off-off-Broadway shows that I saw and never heard of again.

And most of the time we only post what we do recall. That doesn't mean we haven't also forgotten large parts of the same show. It's a rare event when someone asks a direct question ("What was the order of the bows for the original FOLLIES?") and we have occasion to answer, "Sorry, I don't remember."

(And just to be clear: I'm responding because I'm one of the posters here who has memories (however imperfect) of shows from 40 years ago. I'm not assuming Jordan's remarks were aimed at me personally.)

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 3:57pm

I can't tell you how jealous I am, jay!

And your point is well taken that some moments from shows are unforgettable. That doesn't mean we remember the entire show.

[redmustang]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 4:24pm

Can't remember much about Merlin - just that Chita was in it. Same with (even unsure of title) The Private Life of Pavlo Hummel. Remember Pacino starred. Also, Absurd Person Singular with Sandy Dennis and Geraldine Page. Even readng the plot summary didn't ring any bells.

[carolineorchange21]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 7:29pm

'Dames at Sea' at the Drury Lane in BFE, IL. 2003 - oy...I just remember the elderly folks behind me loudly filling each other in while unwrapping hard candy.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 7:32pm

Beauty and The Beast.

Saw it twice. I remember loving it. That's it.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 7:43pm

Dracula the Musical (though that could be that i fell asleep i was that bore)
Daddy Cool (think my mind has blocked it out)
Godspell - UK Tour

[My Oh My]

Posted: 2/4/12 at 8:39pm

I have a remarkably sharp memory of shows that really made an impact on me but even those I tend to forget details after so many years.

My memory of the first show I ever saw--Les Miserables in 1989--are murky in parts. I'm glad I still vividly remember many "snapshot" scenes from my point of view. Pretty good considering I was 11 and had a hard time seeing over the people in front of me, even if we were seated 8th row orchestra. I'm 5'4" now. You can only imagine how tall I was then, hehe.

I remember 2 short scenes from a production of By Jeeves I saw in 1999. I don't remember very much of a Les Mis 3rd national tour performance I saw in 2001. I only remember one scene from that--"I Dreamed a Dream." I blame it on a horrible hangover I was still recovering from thanks to partying the night before. Unfortunately, I was too restless in my 20's and that was the second time I had seen the show while tipsy. The first was in December, 1999. I had gone to a bar with friends and then had a few more at the theatre before the show. I was unable to stand after the show and...let's just forget that ever happened. Ugh.

I remember a lot of the first half of The Secret Garden in 1994. The second half is a blur but I do remember bits here and there. There isn't a single show I can't remember scenes from my point of view watching it at the time, but I agree memories do fade gradually, no matter how much you want to recall them.

I will say one thing that I've noticed personally--My most vivid and complete memories are of shows I saw up close. I find I easily forget shows I see at which I sit just far enough to feel like someone on the outside looking in. Both the impact and the impression just last longer when you feel you're a part of it.

Updated On: 2/4/12 at 08:39 PM

[Hank]

Posted: 2/5/12 at 6:17pm

I'm sure there is, but I can't remember any of it.

[voteforsaraberry]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 8:22am

Oh gosh... This has happened too many times. Mainly with Mamma Mia and The Lion King.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 9:23am

Thanks, Gaveston, I am a lucky guy.

And I do remember the order of the bows in the original FOLLIES and yes, it has probably been augmented by all the amazing video clips that exist. But being the fan that I am, and particularly of Alexis' performance after seeing the show an even dozen times, I know damn well that the "bow" music has segued into "Beautiful Girls" just as Alexis hits the stage. It is burned into my memory, particularly at the final performance on July 1, 1972.

At the other end of the spectrum, all I can remember of DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES is that I slept through most of the first act, loud as it was, and then went home.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 1:54pm

The Green Bird

Swing (just remember nodding off)

Shockheaded Peter (I wont say I don't remember "any" of it but I can't recall the music ..if there was any... or a story. It was visually stunning.

Both Wild Parties...with the exception of Eartha Kitt's entrance and a buff Taye Diggs

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 2:04pm

The only thing I remember about Waiting in the Wings is that Lauren Bacall seemed to be performing a completely different play than the rest of the cast. I really felt sorry for everyone else in that show.

Also, Boyband in London. I just remember a gay kiss that had all the tween girls squealing with delight and said tweens were performing all the choreography from their seats.

[Gaveston2]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 2:24pm

So, jay, I know this is the wrong thread, but did Smith bow after Collins? I'm assuming she did because "movie star" trumped "TV star" in those days, but I honestly don't recall.

[Liz7]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 2:30pm

Les Miserables

[quizking101]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 2:57pm

Beauty and the Beast at the Palace.
I was 4, and. The only things I remember, other than the cast ( Toni Braxton/James Barbour), was where I sat.

[tamra2]

Posted: 2/6/12 at 3:07pm

Phantom

I first saw it in the seventh grade and loved it. I used to defend it to anyone who trashed it. Then I saw it again in April when friends were in town and there were only 2 scenes that I remembered. Everything else made me think "i dont remember any of this, why in the world did i like it, please never let me see it again"

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 2/7/12 at 5:01pm

The Crucible. The only thing I remember about that was that Justine Bateman was in it. There are shows that I wish I could forget...

[justoldbill]

Posted: 2/8/12 at 10:53pm

I think most posters here who remember the original FOLLIES so well saw it multiple times (my own count is four, including 7/1/72 as well). Also, the production itself was more vivid than most. And yes, Alexis Smith and her RED outfit got the final bow. Two shows I remember nothing about are INTO THE LIGHT and DANNY GANS ON BROADWAY. Oddly enough, they both played the Alvin. Maybe it's the venue.

Updated On: 2/8/12 at 10:53 PM

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Posted: 2/9/12 at 1:07pm

TWO BY TWO, 1970...starring Danny Kaye, and introducing Madeline Kahn...maybe cause i 2nd-acted it...but i can't even remember if thats true...i can remember 2nd-acting COMPANY ten times the summer of 1970, so that made an impression...

[carnimiriel]

Posted: 2/9/12 at 2:58pm

I've even forgotten that I ever saw a show! My memories of the Chicago revival are from watching the original cast (sans Ann Reinking), but apparently I'd gone back to see it when Nana Visitor was in it. I still don't remember going although my sister insists that we did.