Most Awkward Moment You've Ever Witnessed Onstage?- Page 3

Posted: 11/12/05 at 12:56pm

We performed Into The Woods at my High School about 6 years back - my good friend Chris was cast as the Baker's Wife. Yes, the Baker's Wife. It started as a joke when he ended up reading her part at callbacks because the director had already sent the girls home, but he is hilarious and pulled it off so well the the director did an unconventional casting. So, CHris is a tall, big sort of guy - wearing a dress stuffed with soccer balls and a bonnet. Needless to say, everytime he came on stage, there were giggles. But he played it well and managed to add a bit more humor to the show. One performance though, when he was supposed to go get Rupunzel's hair, he tugged on the braid and the ENTIRE braid came out of the tower and landed at his feet. He tried to pick it up, but it unravelled pretty badly - so instead of taking a piece of hair and leaving, he looked around, shrugged, and stuffed the whole braid into his soccer ball bosom. Yarn was sticking out everywhere - ans he wouldn't take it out until they had to feed it to the cow, so he walked around for awhile with what looked like a blonde animal living on his "chest." I don't think I've laughed that much ever.

I was also in a production of Crazy For You - the scene where Everett is fighting with the vacuum, and Tess and Patsy (me) come running on to tell him to get to the town meeting had an interesting run one closing night. Usually, JD, the kid who played Everett, and who has an excellent sense of comedy, would fight with the vacuum and throw a little fit to get the audience giggling. Well, on closing night, he dropped the vacuum while attempting to carry it to the plug to plug it in. And, the bag fell off. He looked at it, and kicked it. The bottom of the vacuum fell off. He was having a really hard time staying in character at this point, because the audience was laughing and he was trying to figure out how he wwas going to plug it in and actually VACUUM with it. So he picked it up, and the last remaning part of it broke into 2 pieces. We were on the side of the stage, wondering how we were going to improv it because there was no way in hell that the stupid thing was going to turn on, right? Wrong. He plugged it in, and the 4 pieces of vacuum TURNED ON. The audience died, and he just looked at it helplessly, trying not to laugh. It was awkward, but hysterical.

[gypsy71]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 1:02pm

Also at Bucks County Playhouse...Joyce Dewitt (Janet fronm Threes Company) as Mama Rose in Gypsy...although we met her afterward and she is very sweet! Who did she take over for? Bonnie Franklin (who dropped out at the last minute)

[roquat]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 2:30pm

A production of FANTASTICKS which began with a bare stage. As the overture started, Luisa and one of the fathers each drove an all-terrain vehicle onto the stage, made a wide circle, then drove offstage. A moment later, they drove back onstage side by side, with the set platforms chained to the backs of the ATVs. They pulled them into place, stopped, left the ATVs at one side of the stage, and started putting up the poles, curtains, etc. on the set.

On the second night, Luisa drove her ATV into the audience.

No one was seriously injured, but how many people expect a TRAFFIC ACCIDENT in a theatre? Well, I guess these days it's not so uncommon; there must have been ample mishaps with the PHANTOM chandelier, the SUNSET BOULEVARD set and the CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG car.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 3:30pm

I saw a tour of "They're Playing Our Song" way back when and remember cringing in the seats listening to Lorna Luft as Sonya trying to hit notes NOT in her range at that time.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 3:55pm

I know what you mean about Lorna.

I kinda feel it was as if she owned this great car (aka, her voice), but couldn't find the owner's manual.

She eventually got there, but it took her a while to figure out how to "drive that thing."

[renthead1223]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 4:46pm

A friend of mine played Jojo in her high school's production of Seussical last year. There's one part where she is supposed to be on the side of the stage with the mayor of Whoville and his wife. Well, for some reason she wasn't there, and when it was her line and she was still offstage, she realized she wasn't where she was supposed to be and yelled, "SH*T!" Well, her mike was still on. The entire audience heard and cracked up. It was hilarious.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 4:56pm

greenifyed already posted about mine, but Jennifer Laura Thompson standing in front of the scrim after Idina fell as "Call 911!" is being called out from behind the curtain. It was over a minute before she finally walked backstage and they closed the curtain. Same with Shoshana just standing there, then melting into the background. I felt so bad for her, why'd they even make her come out?


And I was at Chitty the second time it broke down. They were up in the air during the part when they were being chased by the boat and then the car got stuck. They just killed the lights onstage and there was a definite delay before they moved the sets in for the next scene, so we were just kind of sat there staring at the car in the dark.


I have such a bad track record with things going horribly wrong at shows I'm in the audience of.

Updated On: 11/12/05 at 04:56 PM

[cut_loose]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 5:03pm

i played miss willie in the curious savage a few months ago, and when mrs savage and i were talking alone for the first time, we were standing in front of the window in the set, which didnt actually have any glass, and when mrs savage moved her head the hat fell out the window, into backstage.
i was freaking out, because later in the scene i was supposed to ask her a question about the hat and we were supposed to have this whole conversation about it, so i ended up skipping half the scene, and then at the very end i brought the hat in to her and we had the conversation then. but it was awkward.

[superwoman108]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 7:42pm

Naked Boys Singing! .......use your imagination.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 7:54pm

How is Naked Boys Singing!, anyway? I'm kinda curious about it...

[Liz_Bennet]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 8:32pm

There is no better recipe for disaster than a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof and a choreographer who insists on real glass bottles at the end of Act I. One night, someone stumbled a little bit as she (yes, all our Bottle Dancers were female) kneeled for the final section and shattered the bottle everywhere. A technie found a huge broom, passed it to Tevye, and he swept up. But it was bad.

Actually, our Birdie where Conrad has to belch on cue didn't always work out perfectly either. Once or twice he would open his mouth and no sound would come out.

Updated On: 11/12/05 at 08:32 PM

[gumbo2]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 9:18pm

I was in Guys and Dolls at my high school, and one night sky missed his cue to come in during the scene in the mission, right after they have threatened to close it. There is a huge awkward silence, finally sarah tries desperately to ad lib...then finally sky is seen running behing the mission and bursts thru the door, and delivers the line "i couldn't help overhearing..." pretty hilarious.

[LuvBroadwayHugs]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 9:54pm

Way back in middle school, we did a production of The King And I (if that doesn't just scream disaster, I'm not sure what does)and the whole set for the uncle tom's cabin scene fell down, nearly knocking the king off the stage. I was standing off stage left, waiting for my entrance and it was like watching a slow motion train wreck. It was horrible... but broadway wise, I saw someone mentioned contact from Rent before. One of the last times I went, Cary got tangled in the sheet at the end of the number and tripped. Everyone on stage just kind of watched him fall and roll about a foot into another table. It was kind of comical, I must say.

[EganFan2]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 11:06pm

The Wizard of Oz: the guy playing the Tin Man just thought he could wing it and not learn his lines. So naturally, he was improvising before his song, and the sound people needed a cue to start. Since he didn't give it, there was a loooong pause after he was done talking about whatever. He was saying through clenched teeth, "Start the song! Start the song!"

[Feathah]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 11:20pm

At Lennon during previews - the projections failed for most of Act 2 and during some very heart felt moments the Windows logo flashed and the general start up screens for a computer kept appearing and disappearing.

DEFINITELY Prymate when Heather Tom, er, manually satisfies Andre DeShields who plays a monkey. Yikes.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 11:32pm

Lennon didn't use a Mac? I'm disappointed.

[SignoraDiva]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 11:42pm

Once at a college production of West Dide Story, Tony missed his last entrance where he is shot by Chino. After a few minutes Maria walked out, Chino shot *her* and the curtain closed. Gave the show a different meaning thats for sure.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 11/12/05 at 11:57pm

When I was in Sweeney Todd, there was a costume change between act II Johanna and By the Sea. Our set was based on the original turn table, two stories. I made my costume change inside the set piece, but this night, however, something went wrong. As I was changing pants the turn table began to spin, I fell over and we knocked off the flashlight. Now the lady helping to change my costume and I are stuck in the dark with my pants around my ankles. Luckily their, was a mattress for me to fall on. On the out side I hear Mrs. Lovett searching for me. When I finally get my pants on, I walk out the door right as Mrs. Lovett walks off stage. I sit down and say the weirdest improved line ever “for something that was only supposed to take a few seconds, that wasn’t a few seconds,” and we continued on with the scene.

[jimmirae]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:07am

best12bars, Absolutely!! Lorna learned to use her voice, But the early days were frightening! It was a "Judy's Other Daughter" for a LONG time on that one. A lot of people try to dog Lucie Arnaz on the same thing, But Lucie was NEVER in the Lorna category, although Lucie's range & voice have also grown well with age, She stopped the show in "Witches of Eastwick" with her second act song & dance "Another night at Daryl's". I wish they would bring it here already!

[roquat]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:14am

WEST SIDE STORY does seem to have its share of these, doesn't it? I guess because everyone does it in high school or college. My contribution--I played a Jet and one night, in the final scene, Maria said (and I quote)

"How do you fire this gun, Chino? Just by pulling this little bullet?"

The house slowly erupted in giggles as this reading sank in. Everyone was biting their lips and tongues frantically, trying to get back into "tragedy mode." We never did. I'm surprised we even got through to the end.

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 12:24am

I was in Alice in Wonderland this summer.

I was backstage helping to put Tweedle Dum's costume on real fast. ***In the very beginning, this girl was pissed that she only got 2 parts. The teacher gave her a lecture but gave in and sorta let her pick her other part she wanted.**- She had other issues too that I won't even get into.*** Anyway- she picked to be a flower since the guy didn't exactly want that part. Of couse, this led to chaos in which we all got screamed at by her. Tweedle Dee was helping her to get dressed since she was already dressed. Anyway- she had everything on and the white pawn went to zipper her dress and....the zipper wouldn't go up. There was no time left so we pushed her onstage hoping it would stay up for that scene. Thankfully it did but, it did not end there. She had to do another quick change. I was on stage at that point and I heard people arguing backstage. Then 4 people came out to do our dance and the one who played Tweedle Dum never came out. It was very difficult to do what we had to in the dance with her missing. When we were finished sort of improving the dance, we went backstage and the zipper was stuck and couldn't be pulled up or down. We got a knife and literally cut the dress as she was flipping out.
Thankfully she didn't need that one anymore except for the fianle which wasn't a big deal.

Uhh- some people!! Needless to say, she has tried out for 2 other plays and hasn't gotten a part. It seems to me that the teachers have been talking about her.

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 11/13/05 at 3:59am

In Teahouse of the August Moon (the production I'm currently in), in the scene in the teahouse where Fisby and Mclean are singing She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes with the villagers, we have the guy playing Fisby get the little boy in the cast up on his back and dance around with him for a bit before noticing the Colenel standing at the entrance and he's supposed to come skidding to a halt and let Marcus (the boy) of his back. Well first off, Marcus never came on (he's only 5 and was sick so it wasn't really a problem) and so he got Rachel, a 9 year old girl, on his back and the added weight plus the slippery straw mat he skids to a stop on threw him off balance because he skidded, the mat bunched up and caught his feet and he went flying off balance in a none-too-subtle way and almost sent Rachel flying as well. It sort of worked though seeing as how he's supposed to be caught in an akward moment and it was freaking hilarious but a bit akward as he only wears a bathrobe and undershirt for the scene and the robe went flying open as he fell.

Also another falling story due to that damn straw mat, the woman who usually helps Marcus off Sean's (Fisby) back wasn't their that night due to another show she was in and so the woman sitting next to me tried to jump up and reach out to grab him as Sean let him down but she kind of slipped on her pillow and the straw mat so shse pretty much ended up tackling Marcus and slid a few inches on her front on the mat. Again, it worked for the scene and was hilarious but we where afraid she'd crushed Marcus for a second.