Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it? — Page 2

#26

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 10:48am

Can I count two moments? Because I would say pretty much all of Zoser's (sp?) songs in Aida.

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Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#27

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 10:54am

Hmm... I found Zoser's songs to be some of the better ones.

Also, it's a brilliant moment in the play, but the gay-questioning scene in Company has ruined many, many interpretations of the play.

#28

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 10:57am

THE END OF RENT!!!

Where Mimi comes back to life. Corniest ending ever.

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Stephen: "Could you grab me a coffee?" Me: "Would you like that with all the colors of the wind?"

#29

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 10:58am

Spring Awakening, when 90% of the cast couldn't stay on pitch for 2 hours.

Sweeney Todd in it's entirety is a metaphor for the government overpowering it's people and what happens when the public gets desperate. The original set was built so it made the people on stage look small. All of Sondheim's shows are a metaphor for something.

#30

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 11:04am

But that metaphor was part of Hal Prince's concept, not Sondheim's.

#31

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 11:04am

For me, it's not a moment, but I hate the fact that In The Heights telegraphs Abuela's death. I think it would have been far more effective if her death had come as more of a shock.

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"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson

#32

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 11:11am

madbrian, you may want to "Spoiler Alert" that post.

#33

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 2:00pm

When Timoune turns into a tree in Once on this Island.


Touche Reginald. Which is why I think the movie was so bad. Tim Burton did his same old shtick so the movie felt like it had no purpose.

Updated On: 7/7/09 at 02:00 PM

#34

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 2:12pm

I loved most of Distracted, but the ending was just absurd.

#35

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 2:14pm

Drowsey Chaperone- the spit take

The Frogs-Act 2

Happiness-Ken Pages song

#36

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 4:25pm

I agree about RENT. So the power of song and love CURED her AIDS. Stop the presses, we have a cure.

It would have been better if she was dying and he sang the song and it cut to a couple of months later and with the help of medicine she is doing better (ala ANGELS IN AMERICA) and they go to Angels grave for his birthday or something and THEN sing "No Day But Today" as a tribute to Angel and life

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"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

Updated On: 7/7/09 at 04:25 PM

#37

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 4:46pm

A song that's less than three minutes, may I add.

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Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

#38

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 4:50pm

In The Heights - when the audience started hootin' and hollerin' when Benny and Nina come out onto the balcony at the top of Act Two. THIS AIN'T A SITCOM, PEOPLE!!!!

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Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you. --Cartman: South Park ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."

#39

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 9:06pm

For me it's the last 5 minutes of "Pippin".

YES! I first fell in love with the PIPPIN cast album when it came out and with no synopsis had no idea how the show played. The finale on the album hinted at something wonderful. Not long after it opened my parents were in New York and while my Dad went to an opera, my Mom opted for PIPPIN. She HATED it. She told me there was no story and she would have left at intermission except there wasn't one! Years late I saw the show on TV and realized she is right: an empty bag of tricks, but the songs are good.

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Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

#40

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 9:38pm

First, I actually loved the spit take bit in Drowsy.
Second, for a moment, I thought someone said Tim Burton made a Once on This Island movie, but then I realized what it referred to.
Third, I chose to block out the dancing dresses in Billy.
Fourth, everytime those two bongs were onstage at The Little Mermaid, I couldn't help but cringe.

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"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."-Stephen Sondheim

#41

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 11:23pm

It didn't go as far as ruining the show for me, but I just don't see why the Gettin' Ready Rag is necessary in Ragtime. Couldn't they have explained the backstory of Coalhouse and Sarah in a better way?

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"Rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love." -Neil Patrick Harris

#42

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/7/09 at 11:37pm

The reprise of "The Word of My Body" in Spring Awakening.

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A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.

#43

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 12:29am

When I saw this thread, the first thing I thought of was the last 10 seconds of The Vertical Hour. The play wasn't great, but it was decent...until the last 10 seconds when Julianne Moore uttered what is perhaps the worst closing line to a play ever.

#44

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 12:30am

Les Miserables... maybe it's just me but Drink with Me always bores me

Phantom of the Opera... Prima Donna... too much going on. i don't mind when two or three people are singing different lyrics at a time but good jeebus... six or seven! when i took my mom she had no clue what was happening and i was bored!

Miss Saigon... not so much now, but when i first got into the show, Morning of the Dragon i usually would just let my mind wander

Aida... the Zoser songs... well probably not so much the songs but the choreography was just freaking HORRIBLE! i could barely watch it!

Rent... for some reason the ending kinda bugs me in the theater, but the movie, not so much... odd

#45

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 12:43am

What was the last line in "The Vertical Hour"?

I think one of the worst moments is when the "dead kids" from Spring Awakening come out of the floor. It just ruined the whole concept to me, like the whole concept of the set design and what not. It seemed almost overly technical for such a simple show.

Next to Normal: all of the staging, and "So Anyway." Stupid.

#46

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 12:54am

^ "I'm going back to Iraq."

#47

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 1:05am

Drink With Me IS boring!!! And I totally agree about Prima Donna-I don't get what they hype people make the song out to be.

When I first saw Rent, I just didn't like Mimi's character. When she came back to life, I was like "God, they kill off Angel, the coolest one, but they keep this moron alive?"

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#48

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 1:54am

every single time i've gone this happens, i loathe this scene for that reason alone, which is sad because i love Mandy Gonzalez and Chris Jackson

#49

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 11:00am

The opening number of Billy Elliot. I knew I was in for 2 and a half plus hours of buttnumbing fun when I heard the first number of this incredibly bland, disjointed, and uninspired score. It was hard to believe it could get even worse--then came the cavalcade of one-dimensional stereotypical performances from each of the principal cast members.

Not to mention the dancing dresses and Peter Pan flying scenes. Even if I had been enjoying it those would have effectively drove the final nail into the coffin.

#50

re: Moments in a play or musical that almost ruin it?

Posted: 7/8/09 at 5:26pm

In Mary Poppins when they bring out the Evil Anit-Mary Nanny, who sings "Brimstone and Treacle" Then Mary Poppins uses her magic to destroy her.