Imagining past shows that've played the theatre you're currently seeing a show in

[Nickira Margherita]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:00am

Sorry for the wordy subject heading. But when I recently saw Sister Act, for example, at some points in the evening I was picturing Patti Lupone onstage belting her heart out during Evita, as Evita played at the Broadway Theatre 30 years ago, where Sister Act is currently playing. I did the same during Catch Me if you Can, picturing Hairspray being performed (and missing it...I was bored to tears during Catch Me.) At Memphis I would picture the original cast of A Chorus Line lined up across the white line, and at the Gershwin when I saw Wicked I couldn't help but picture Angela and Len singing about priest pies. I also sometimes do this while entering the theatre, imagining being an audience member going into the original productions of Evita, Sweeney, West Side Story etc. and seeing all the pictures set up in the windows of the original companies. Does anyone else do this or should I visit the local shrink? It's actually kind of fun to do sometimes :)

[binau]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:35am

I do the same. It's one of my favourite things..

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:52am

I'll never be able to go back into the Beaumont without thinking of South Pacific.

[Anakela]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 2:02am

I thought about The Color Purple a lot while watching Sister Act- between every time the word 'sister' was said, to hearing 'Mister' every time Kingsley Leggs sang, etc.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 2:07am

I thought I was the only one... I do this at my touring venue too. They have had shows touring there for years. It's amazing to sit there and think of all the productions that have unfolded on that very stage.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 3:15am

Every time I'm at the Novello in the Weat End I remember Drowsy and Spring Awakening coming to life.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 6:51am

I might think about it pre-show or at intermission, but its never evaded my thoughts during a performance -- even shows that I haven't been terribly fond of. But maybe it's something TO do when I am bored!

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 8:46am

I do this all too frequently, unfortunately, because it means the play I'm watching is not holding my interest, which, nowadays, unfortunately, happens all too frequently!

I find myself always returning to the first plays I saw in that theatre, I guess because they bring back happy memories. At the Al Hirschfield, I look over where I sat at The Happiest Girl in the World and Milk and Honey, at the Neil Simon, I think about Lucy in Wildcat. Truthfully, it's better than what transpires on stage.

[singtopher]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 11:06am

I love reading the "at this theatre" section in the playbill and get disapointed when it's not included. My folks bought me the book a few years back.

I especially love how there are original Hirshfield drawings in the lobby of his namesake theatre of shows that played there. Just thinking of Chita Rivera in Bye Bye Birdie gives me the chills.

[aliceripleystheshiz]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 12:41pm

I live in the Boston area so whenever I go to the Coloinal Theatre (which I do frequently), I think of Ethel Merman standing right up on stage in GYPSY on tour, and then I imagine the out of town tryout for FOLLIES. There are press photos of HAl Prince and his showgirls on the lobby steps and it always gives me chills. That theatre was where all the big shows went while touring or doing a tryout in Boston, and its where OKLAHOMA! had its second tryout after New Haven for the oringinal production. Its one of the oldest and most treasured theatres in the country and its a thrill to walk around and read the many plaques and see the posters of the groundbreaking shows that started there.

And, haha of course, whenever Im at the Broadway I see Patti belting her eyes out in EVITA and Ethel Merman tearing them apart in GYPSY.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 1:04pm

I often think of shows I saw in that theatre 10+ years ago. Whenever I'm in the Neil Simon, I think of The King & I, my first Broadway show. The Marquis reminds me of Annie Get Your Gun. The first time I was back in the Neil Simon since The King & I was Ragtime, almost 15 years later, and I started tearing up.

[Justin D]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 2:52pm

I do it too.

What I also do, because Im mor einto the set design, I imagine how shows with heavy FOH designs like phantom and Wicked, how that set would look in what ever theatre I go to.

[sally1112]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 3:20pm

I do this too! Enjoying the history of the theater is a huge part of my enjoyment of the show that i am attending.

[dragonlp86]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 4:08pm

If I ever see a show in the Booth again, it'll be very hard not to think of Next to Normal. Mostly because that's the only show I've seen in that theatre, and the number of times I saw it. The Booth was just so connected with that show for me.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 4:36pm

I don't just do shows I've seen, but when I was at the Palace, I thought: "Someone sat in this chair and heard Judy Garland sing "Over The Rainbow". I began to tear up!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/4/11 at 4:51pm

It's a great way to connect with the traditions that mold the form, and to fondly remember the greats. However, I try to confine my nostalgia to pre-show or intermission/s when I read At This Theater. If I'm thinking too much about the ghosts of Sandy Dennis, Maurice Evans or Diana Sands during a performance, there's something wrong with that performance. Still, I think there is magic and inspiration from knowing that those ghosts are there.