On-Stage Accidents? — Page 3

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#51

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 5/8/12 at 12:31pm

At "Wicked" a few years ago, the bubble machinery caught in Glinda's wig and pulled the actress backwards a few feet before one of the Ozians ran forward and untangled her. She gave the bubble a devastating glare and continued with the scene.

Just remembering you've had an "and" When you're back to "or" Makes the "or" mean more than it did before

#52

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 5/8/12 at 12:53pm

just thought of another one. I was at LuPone's final in Sunset in London. Right before the set comes down the stage went dark and the curtain came down. They could not get the car to move to bring the mansion down.

With all due respect to you, the original London production of SUNSET BLVD. with LuPone did NOT have the full-scale replica of the Isotta Fraschini towncar when she was in the show -- they used a projection for those scenes. The full-scale replica of the towncar was created for the Los Angeles production and eventually added to the London production when they incorporated the American modifications done to the musical. If this bit did happen, it definitely was NOT when LuPone was in the show.

Also, for all the obvious reasons (backstage/wing space), the Isotta Franschini towncar was stored in the rafters -- suspended. It was only lowered for its appearance in Act 2 then raised again in the rafters. I know this because one of my exes worked in various productions of SUNSET BLVD: Los Angeles, Broadway, London and Germany.

#53

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 5/8/12 at 10:57pm

Many years ago I saw a performance of FIND YOUR WAY HOME where Jane Alexander injured herself on stage. At first, it looked like a staged response to the news that her husband was sleeping with the character played by Michael Moriarty. It seemed very interestingly staged until it could be seen that she was, in fact, bleeding. Game girl that she is, she continued the scene to its conclusion, making the best of the situation. God bless her.

Well-well-well-what-do-you-think-of-that-I-have-nothing-here-to-pay-my-train-fare-with-only-large-bills-fives-and-sevens....

#54

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 5/10/12 at 2:55pm

During a perfomance of the musical THE FROGS, Nathan Lane slipped through an open trap door... a trap door that was left open by a careless crew member. Nathan was back in the show the next night. The crew member was not

The story is that the producers and the stage manager made a big deal about it (as well they should have) but Nathan laughed it off and took it all... and the few stiches in his left leg... as an "occupational hazard."

"TO LOVE ANOTHER PERSON IS TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD"- LES MISERABLES--- "THERE'S A SPECIAL KIND OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS SHOW PEOPLE... WE'RE BORN EVERY NIGHT AT HALF HOUR CALL!"--- CURTAINS

#55

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/23/13 at 5:21pm

My grandfather was at Annie Get Your Gun in 1999 when Bernadette Peters ran off stage right before (during? I'll have to ask) Doin' What Comes Natur'lly. Turns out (she tells the story on Martin Short and in her Ask a Star) BP was sick and ran off to throw up. She came back on, got through Can't Get a Man with a Gun and then puked again. She finished the first act, and the understudy did the second one.

"Nice is different than good."

#56

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/23/13 at 5:21pm

Double post...

"Nice is different than good."

Updated On: 2/23/13 at 05:21 PM

#57

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/23/13 at 7:01pm

I'm surprised nobody wrote about this one...

During a performance of Song and Dance, Bernadette Peters lost her voice. She was a real trouper, but none-the-less, it was painful to watch, and listen to. Her voice started to go very early during Tell Me On A Sunday. By midway through the act, she was no longer hitting the notes. As it's a one-woman performance there was nothing short of stopping the show that would rescue her. I think most of the audience was hoping that they would stop the show, but they didn't. It was truly uncomfortable to watch. I felt horrible for her.

Updated On: 2/23/13 at 07:01 PM

#58

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/23/13 at 7:17pm

I was at a performance of PETER PAN with Cathy Rigby. Cathy's harness went jack and she flew in to her first scene about 3 minutes early. It was actually pretty funny.

#59

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/23/13 at 7:26pm

Hmmm...

I remember at the third preview of LEAP OF FAITH, the rotation of the tent during Act II grinded loudly and stopped, with the lights immediately coming up and Raul Esparza striding off stage.

I remember press night at GHOST when Caissie Levy started singing "Nothing Stops Another Day" (ironically), then a piece of scenery ****3d up and she went from an "Oh sh!t" look, to a grin, to striding off stage all in about 10 seconds...and the show didn't resume again for 45 minutes.

Everything about SCANDALOUS...

And finally, during (the current) CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, in Big Daddy's and Brick's big Act II confrontation, Benjamin Walker slammed his crutch against the bed hard enough for the padding on top to fly offstage perfectly (as if it was a well-positioned projectile). Walker went through the rest of the act and the first part of Act III with the busted crutch until an actor playing a butler came onstage and switched off the crutches.

Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!! www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm

#60

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 12:09am

Ok, this is a second-hand story, and I can't confirm it's real, but it is too funny not to share:

Apparently one night during a run of WEST SIDE STORY, Chino forgot his gun. Now, if I were in that situation, I'd...I dunno, run up to Tony and pretend to stab him or strangle him. Instead, Chino decides the best thing to do is throw his shoe at Tony. Then, after Tony has died, Maria turns to Chino and ad libs "Why, Chino? Why the Poisoned Boot?!"

#61

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 12:24am

Another WEST SIDE STORY one: Maria accidentally fired the gun at Consuela, and Consuela had to die on stage, exclaiming, "You bitch!" I can't even.

"I saw Pavarotti play Rodolfo on stage and with his girth I thought he was about to eat the whole table at the Cafe Momus." - Dollypop

#62

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 1:40am

Community production of Little Women. Jo has a very VERY fast quick change. about 20 seconds. in about half the performances, there was a tiny wardrobe malfunction (like a few buttons unbuttoned, zipper not up all the way, hoop crooked, wig looking bad). One night, the director was backstage and decided to help do the quick change. The dress was accidentally put on inside-out(because it was very dark in the wings). So instead of letting her go on stage anyway (mind you, nobody would notice it was inside-out), the director decides to try to fix it.

our diva, decides she is not going to miss her entrance. she ended up going on stage singing a 3 minute solo in her undergarments. which were peach, just like her skin color.

#63

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 12:31pm

Oh! That reminds me of one!

Junior year at college we did LITTLE WOMEN. Closing night, Jo quick changes into her dress for the ball scene, complete with big-ass hoop skirt. She gets through "I'd be delighted" just fine, but then, during the scene with Laurie, before "Take a chance on me" the hoop skirt starts to slip. She heroically continues, before abruptly stepping out of the hoop, throwing it offstage and remarking "those things are so uncomfortable!" perfectly in character. She continues the scene holding her skirts in a bunch so they don't drag on the ground and anger the horrified costume designer, who is staring at her from offstage, even more.

#64

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 12:44pm

A Chorus Line, Charlotte d'Amboise, Music and the Mirror. Towards the end of the dance, her skirt began to slip. Realizing the inevitable, she ripped it off, flung it into the wings and finished the dance.

"I just looked up Adrian Bailey on IBDb and it says his last show was The Littler Mermaid. So sad that this accident did indeed end his Broadway career, it seems."

He fell at least forty feet to the deck and sustained injuries that affect him to this day.

#65

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 1:17pm

A few at Wicked in London.

- There was a loud pop during the scene between Elphaba and Morrible after "I'm not that girl," the lights went out and the speakers stopped, theres a 10 minute blackout, then everything came back on and they picked it up.
- The Wizard forgot the bottle of elixer in his scene with Glinda. I was sat front row and saw him waving to people side of stage that he had forgotten something. When it finally came to the moment he had stolen one of the small green light bulbs on the back of the Oz head an improvised with that.
- I was also there at the hideous night when Kerry Ellis wasnt clipped into the flying machine in Defying Gravity properly, and she screamed out in distress as she was rising, half hanging out of the machine. Was very horrible, and after a 15 minute break, she resumed to sing the end of the song on ground level.

From shows i've done. I was in a production of Macbeth, where somebody tore tendons in the hand during a rehearsal with a dagger. Then on the actual night, Macbeth sliced his knee open with a sword, limped off stage and was rushed to hospital, got stitched up and made it back for that evenings performance.

Was also recently in a Production of Sweeney Todd where the chair went over as Sweeney pushed the beggar woman on to it, she fell on the floor. He slit her throat there, and then slid her head first down the ramp, and she bruised a few ribs in the process.

#66

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 1:17pm

When I saw Lovemuisk in previews, after a scene where Lenya and Weill have an argument, Donna Murphy turned to storm off and slipped on a backdrop that draped several inches on the stage and bit it pretty hard.

When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain. -Kad

#67

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 1:30pm

When I saw Wicked in 2011, "No Good Deed" started playing and you could hear Teal Wicks yell "Fiyero" but the podium didn't rise from under the stage. The podium then rised eventually without her on it as she kept singing and she finally appeared coming up from below stage right like she does in Defying Gravity.

#68

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 2:21pm

Saw the great Barbara Harris in THE APPLE TREE where she had voice problems throughout the performance. During the Adam and Eve segment she could hardly sing and her voice cracked terribly. It was very unsettling to watch. Strange thing was as the evening progressed her voice actually improved and got stronger. By the final PASSIONELLA act, she sounded just fine and was triumphant by evening's end.

Not so lucky was Patti LuPone during the very last performance of EVITA in L.A. (pre Broadway). Student seats back then were three bucks so the people at the box office knew me by the end of the run. The guy at the box office told me Patti's voice was shot due to recording the 2 LP cast album during the day that week. However she didn't want to disappoint her fans and friends by not appearing. She made it through "Buenos Aires" but afterwards her singing voice kept cracking badly. By "A New Argentina" not only could she no longer sing but she couldn't even shout out the lyrics. She was replaced for the second act by her understudy.

I saw Julie Andrews during her end of the VICTOR!VICTORIA! run. She struggled throughout the evening and actually seemed surprised at the notes that were (weren't) coming out. It was particularly upsetting to see a Broadway icon at the end of her singing career. There was this terrible buzz that went through the audience each time she cracked or was unable to hit the note. I was glad when the curtain came down.

I was at Streisand's "A Happening at Central Park" when Babs forgot her song lyrics. No big deal at all but it seemed to bother her. It was a truly magical night and as a momento I'm on the DVD standing in the very front row.

Saw a dancer injure himself due to a scenery mishap during a performance of the musical CHAPLIN starring Anthony Newley. He fell from quite a height and needed help as he staggered and was finally carried off the stage. It was very upsetting to watch. Always wondered if it ended his career as a dancer.

During a performance of A DOLL'S LIFE the scenery from stage left and right was intended to meet in the center. However it didn't and there was a free falling gap of about three feet between the converging pieces. It was truly entertaining watching the chorus deal with the mishap. The very first member hesitated and then carefully lept across the open space. After that each suceeding person in line followed suit and carefully made the jump. Comden and Green were sitting next to me and seemed to be amused by the moment too.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot more but hey that's what LIVE theatre is all about.

#69

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 3:06pm

A personal experience: I played the Sultan in ALADDIN. In the opening scene where the new suitors come to meet Jasmine, the actress playing Jasmine and I were on top of a big podium that stood about 10-15 feet or so in the air. She fell off during a tech rehearsal, and only came back to finish the last week of the run. (The run was 2.5 months)

#70

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/24/13 at 5:12pm

I've mentioned this one on other threads. During the recent run of "My Fair Lady" at Arena Stage, in Washington, DC, the flu traveled through the cast, and a few performances near the end of the run had to be cancelled. The next to last day of the run, a chorus member went on, book in hand, to play Eliza, because both the lead and her cover were sick. At the next to last show, a Sunday matinee, the lead had returned, but she coughed repeatedly during the first scene. During the dancing in "Wouldn't it be Loverly," her partners were visibly supporting her. I whispered to my husband that we were about to see the understudy take over. Wrong! The cover was still out, and they ended the show after "A Little Bit of Luck." Bummer for all concerned.

You alone can make my song take flight.

#71

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/25/13 at 7:14pm

I saw Ragtime at Drury Lane (which really should have been the revival) and right at the very beginning, the little boy comes out and says his lines, and the family was supposed to come up from a platform in the middle of the stage. The boy was standing downstage, clueless that the platform didn't actually raise, starts to sing "The skies were blue and hazy..." by himself. Once he figured it out, his face went blank. They had to start the show over. The kid's reaction was cute, though. Show turned out fine once they started over.

Well, minus the fact that Quentin Earl Darrington let out a disgusting gigantic gob of spit on stage while he was singing his lament in act 2.

Whoever says money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to shop. - Bo Derek

Updated On: 2/25/13 at 07:14 PM

#72

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/25/13 at 7:34pm

I saw Evita at the Carousel Dinner Theatre and during High Flying Adored, a maid undressing Eva caught Eva's slip on her gown and pulled one side of Eva's slip down exposing her breast and could not get the dress unstuck from the slip. Eva finished the song cupping her naked breast. Now thats a trooper.

"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal "I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello

#73

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/26/13 at 4:55pm

At one of the early previews of the Roundabout's THE MAN WHO CAME DINNER, Jean Smart was making her entrance wearing stiletto high heels. There were two steps that she had to walk down to the main playing area. She missed one of the steps and fell flat on her ass. Nathan Lane stood up from his wheelchair and director Jerry Zaks who was seated in the front row started running toward the stage. Ms. Smart, a true professional, jumped up did a "ta-da" (like do I know how to make an entrance), the audience cheered and the rest of the show went on without a hitch. I've always wondered if she continued wearing those stiletto heels in future performances.

#74

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/26/13 at 9:29pm

I saw Laurel Harris' first performance as Eva in "Evita" this past October. During the number "And the Money Kept Rolling In", Eva has an onstage quick change done by a few of the ensemble females. It was pretty obvious that it wasn't running smoothly, but it seemed they had gotten it all together. About 2 lines in the song after the change, Laurel's skirt piece began to slide down. She pulled it up a few times before it was just quicker to hold onto it, and continued to do so until she had a few bars to herself that she could turn upstage and completely refasten the skirt. I was very worried the entire song that it was going to fall, especially with the big lift at the end...

#75

On-Stage Accidents?

Posted: 2/27/13 at 8:06pm

CRAZY FOR YOU: Harry Groener desperately tried to get thru a performance despite a horrific case of food poisoning. He and Jodi Benson were halfway thru the dance portion of "Shall We Dance" when his cramps were so bad, he doubled over on stage and motioned for the stage hands to drop the curtain, saying he couldn't go on. I think he missed another performance that weekend.

One night the saloon set got hooked on something and slammed to a halt with a big BANG that was heard round the world! They drew the curtain and you could hear techs behind it yelling out to each other. 10 minutes later the sets were untangled but at the cost of an ensemble member who caught their arm on an exposed nail and ended up having to get a tetanus shot.

Not a Broadway show but; years ago I heard a tale about a community theater production of Fiddler where the girl playing Fruma Sarah was expected to be flown and swung in a flying harness above the cast for her nightmare sequence. Poor thing was scared of heights. Other cast members demonstrated it's ease by allowing themselves to take a flying ride in order to show her how harmless it was. She agreed to do it, but only during actual performances. On opening night she flew...and peed all over the cast below her out of sheer fright.

Costumes got an extra good washing that night.

"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium!"

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