Most impressive special effect

Well, there are effects and there are effects. Some effects have an emotional context and are not very expensive to create and then others are very costly.

I agree with the appearance of Mufasa's face as a very good emotional effect. I don't think that it was something that was very expensive to create bit it worked really well. Outside of the opening of the show it was thing that worked best for me in "The Lion King".

Of course there are the gimmick type effects and among them I count the chandelier and the helicopter.

I was most impressed with "An Inspector Calls" which had a terrific set of an old Victorian house that opened up like a doll house.

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I loved all the special effects in the lion king. They were all so inventive and fun to look at. Beauty and the Beast has great effects to, with the castle, the beast transforming, the prince changing into the beast, chip, and others.

The ending of LSOH when Audrey II comes from the stage out into the audience was pretty cool too.

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Updated On: 12/25/04 at 04:43 PM

On tour before going to Broadway, during the "Confrontation" in the second act of Jekyll & Hyde, Jekyll confronted Hyde in a huge mirror. The effect was really cool and actually got a great round of applause. It was removed from the show due to a dispute with the person who created the effect. My understanding is that he owned the rights to it and would not let them use it when the show got to New York. Glad I saw it here in Denver. Did not like what they did with that part of the show in New York!

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I'm not sure what I think the most impressive special effect is, but I wanted to comment on Mufasa's face appearing in the Lion King. While I do think that it looked very cool, it was very...well, it was quite easy to guess what they were doing. I was thinking, "What are those big...oh. It's Mufasa's face." It kind of ruined the element of surprise (which they tried to increase with the "stars" projected over the entire stage, to make everything sort of invisible). Eh. *shrugs* Most of The Lion King disappointed me, actually. I love, love, love the movie, and I went in expecting to love the musical just as much. I think it tried too hard to surpass the movie and it couldn't.

WOW THREADJACK. Now I will make up for that by thinking of a cool special effect. The Phantom disappearing (and appearing at the beginning) is quite cool. And I never saw it in person, but I've heard a lot about the projection of the real knight behind Don Quixote in the revival. That sounds very cool.

carla's exit in the nine revival

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The curtain falling at the end of THOU SHALT NOT. What a relief!

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Updated On: 12/26/04 at 10:12 PM

The chandelier, Elphaba flying/Wickeds projections, The entire production of the Lion King, the beasts transformation in Beauty and the Beast

I love in Les Mis when the runaway cart is coming and everyone goes in slow motion....that caught me off guard and I thought it was really cool.

The end of the Full Monty when you are just waiting to see if they really will go the Full Monty and then they finally do, but a blinding light hides all, very creative.

I really wish I could have seen the Man of La Mancha revival! anyone know where I can find clips of it?

In "Dracula", when Lucy's nightgown is super-suctioned into the stage for no apparent reason.


EDIT: Before someone asks- yes, that was sarcasm.

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Updated On: 12/26/04 at 12:34 PM

AIDA: The tomb closing near the end...loved that.

The fact that Brooklyn is still open let alone made it to broadway is the best special effect ever!

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Many parts of Dance of the Vampires.

No sarcasm intended. That was the most technically elaborate show I've ever seen.