Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Jay94
Featured Actor Joined: 4/10/11
#1Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:35pm
Not necessarily in person but what show has gotten the loudest, most thunderous response (particularly during the curtain call).
Having listened to and seen some recordings of Dreamgirls, I don't think there's been a show with a more roof shaking, thunderous response from the audience. The Elphaba/Glinda reveal always registers screams. The recording of Spamalot that's floating around on the Internet has such a euphoric response that you can hardly believe it's real.
#2Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:39pmI don't know that I would call it thunderous, but when I saw the revival of The Normal Heart in 2011 the audience rose to its feet as one the second the lights came up for the curtain call. No cheering or whooping, just long, loud applause amid the tears for probably about a full minute before the house lights came up. I've never experienced anything else like it, before or since.
#2Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:43pm
The most emotional I've heard was the last performance of Solomon and Marion during the World Stages Tour at the Kennedy Center. I probably made up the atmosphere, but it was one of those long applauses like perfectlymarvelous just described. Just genuine applause and wonderment and gratitude for a beautiful story told on stage.
When I saw Kinky Boots with the original cast, the whole place stood up and danced and clapped at the end and it was absolutely electric. We left on a high.
#3Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:45pmI'll never forget the closing night of NEXT TO NORMAL on Broadway. It was amazing. And the audience was so into it.
#4Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:45pm
Ones I've been to that come to mind:
* Closing night of the Benny tour of Rent
* The second fan day of The Book of Mormon
* The first time I saw Take Me Out -- it was on tour in San Francisco. Small house, but so, so appreciative. Silent and thunderous at all the right times.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#5Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:48pmThe first thing that came to my mind was Kristin Chenoweth's final performance in Wicked.
#6Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:53pmFifth preview of HAIRSPRAY is one of my all-time favorite experiences. The crowd was veeeeeeeery excited to be there and it was a simply wonderful experience.
jo
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#7Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 1:56pm
Closing show of THE BOY FROM OZ, which prompted this article by John Helpern of The New York Observer --
http://observer.com/2004/09/farewell-hugh-and-caroline-closingnight-hysteria-and-tears/
ggersten
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#9Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 3:10pm
The first preview of the Miss Saigon revival in London last May. From the opening note to the end, the audience was so into it.
From the internets, Clay Aiken's alleged first performance as Sir Robin singing "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" looks like an overenthusiastic audience.
#10Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 3:11pm
I have been at a few ethusiastic audiences but the one that always sticks out to me is when I went to see "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and BJ Crosby sang the reprise to "Fools Fall in Love" -- the audience went mad for it. Gave her a standing ovations right then and there... And the buzz to the end was electrifying.
Also... I saw an amazing production of "Chess" at the Sacramento Light Opera Association (Music Circus) that starred Judy McLane as Florence. At the end... when Florence was re-united with her father--- the audience literally stood and just wept and cheered. It was one of the most goose-pimply moments I have had.
And finally, Ragtime (saw it the day after the nominations) and the static in the theater was just shockingly incredible. The audience literally cheered each time. Stunning.
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
#11Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 3:15pmPatti Lupone's final performance of Sunset Boulevard and Gypsy.
#12Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 3:17pmThe audience on the Broadway closing night DVD of RENT was absolutely insane.
"Was uns befreit, das muss stärker sein als wir es sind." -Tanz der Vampire
RENT_is_Wicked2
Stand-by Joined: 4/4/11
#13Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 3:56pm
When I saw Priscilla on tour, the audience rose to their feet during the finale as the three leads stepped out from their final costume change. It was such an incredible moment. People were singing along and cheering the whole time.
Also, the audience during the closing night performance of Tommy was quite amazing. Once the ensemble stepped onto the stage for the finale, the audience rose to their feet cheering and clapping.
#14Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 4:03pmI wasn't there, but I simply ADORE the rapturous applause as all the women come out during Beautiful Girls on the Follies in Concert album and documentary.
FutureDirector
Stand-by Joined: 11/8/13
#15Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 4:05pm
Closing night of RENT (Watch the DVD)
10th Anniversary of performance of Wicked. I was invited by a friend to go, half the audience was painted green, the whole creative team and most of the original cast was there and the audience cheered at everything!
Pippin Revival the day after the Tony's. I know the show is famous for active audiences and a mid show standing ovation after "No Time At All", but I've seen this production a few times over its run, and honestly this night was a rock concert.
First Preview of Heathers at New World Stages, all the fanatics of the film showed up and the audience screamed and cheered at everything!
#16Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 4:07pm
The first preview of Pippin in LA. People were thrilled to bits just to be there, and I've never seen anything like Andrea Martin's mid-song standing ovation.
Also, Patti's end of first act standing O in Gypsy.
The first national tour of Les Miz in Boston was the most thrilling night of theater in my life.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#17Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 4:33pmI too was at a HAIRSPRAY preview, a few nights before it opened. I've never been in such an electrified audience. When Harvey was rolled in with the laundry in front of his face, the place went nuts. When he finally dropped it down and revealed the Edna visage, I thought the roof might levitate off the building.
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#18Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 4:38pmThe final performance of Grey Gardens. When Ebersole came out at the top of act 2 the place went NUTS! You could feel your innards vibrating!
Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!
peacelovemagic1
Stand-by Joined: 11/18/12
#19Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 4:44pmNewsies the 23rd and 24th. On the 24th the room was filled with friends, family, former cast, and fans, and the pure love in the room was INSANE. I don't think I will ever be in an audience filled with as much love as that show was. The best part was at the end of Seize the day, when the standing ovation just kept going on, and you could see just how emotional the cast was.
Sutton Ross
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
#20Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 4:55pm
The last performance of Memphis. Insane applause throughout the entire thing, including two standing ovations in the middle of "Colored Women" and "Big Love". Beautiful energy.
The closing of Bridges was very sad, but the rapturous applause throughout the show was pretty great.
Updated On: 12/12/14 at 04:55 PM
#21Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 5:15pmClosing weekend of Newsies was amazing! I saw it on Sat. Greatest crowd I have ever been a part of
ethan231h
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/5/11
#22Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 5:27pmPippin on July 16th and March 23 2013 their first preview. I would assume their closing performance would also be pretty enthusiastic.
#23Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 5:55pm
HAIRSPRAY...SEPT, 2003...with all the original stars...HARVEY et al...every song and dance moment was cheered by the audience and by the finale, YOU CAN'T STOP THE BEAT, we were standing and clapping in unison till the very last curtain call...it was thrilling to witness
Updated On: 12/12/14 at 05:55 PM
#24Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 7:12pmSavion Glover in Noise/Funk. I've never seen anything like it. People leaping to their feet in the middle of the show, cheering, shouting. People were so moved by his performance, they couldn't contain it. That's what I love about live theatre. I found it all very inspiring.
#25Most enthusiastic audience you have experienced?
Posted: 12/12/14 at 7:14pmMy favorite though was when John Cameron Mitchell came back for a weekend to play Hediwg, I think he was working on the film version at the time, The Jane was full of Hed Heads. Everyone was a fan. We were all there to see him, it was electric. It was more like a performance of Rocky Horror. It was super interactive. He kept prompting the crowd to shout out the lines, it was so much fun.
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