Problem at Wicked this afternoon. — Page 2

I know The Phantom of the Opera has alternate blocking for certain scenes in case of mechanical error like if the boat doesn't come on and so fourth. I would imagine the "crouching" is rehearsed in the event that the cherry picker does not work. It just seems like they would have something a little more elaborate planned since, unfortunately, the only point of that entire scene is for Elphaba to take to the sky. Perhaps if the acting and music really was special it wouldn't be such a big deal. Even though the effect when fully functioning is still rather underwhelming.

"Three patrons asked for refunds at intermission."

Wow. Someone needs to tell these people that the show is about more than someone flying on a cherry picker.

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Updated On: 12/27/07 at 02:09 AM

Yeah, I really hate it when people get that way. So picky. The show shouldn't be about one technical error. And it's only natural for that to happen every so often. Jeez.

how do you do italics on these posts?

My PM window doesn't seem to want to work.
For italics, just put Shift+, and Shift+. with an "i" inbetween before the text and the same thing plus "/i" after the text.
(Sorry to write it out in such a roundabout way, but that's the only way I could get the instructions to show up.)

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Updated On: 12/27/07 at 03:56 AM

.

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Updated On: 12/27/07 at 05:08 AM

"Three patrons asked for refunds at intermission."

--- I hope they did NOT get them. WICKED is not about seeing the cherry picker work... It's so much more than that.

"I cant believe this thread has 600+ views, as if it was something important."

--- myManCape, it IS important. To me, any WICKED fan and many others... espcially Steph, the rest of the cast and crew and the people in the audience at that specific performance. Your rudeness is what's not important.

ANNNYYWWAYY... I'm just glad it was nothing serious again considering that we recently had another unfortunate trapdoor/melting incident

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Updated On: 12/27/07 at 08:18 AM

I can't believe anyone would feel justified asking for a refund because of a technical malfunction. If you're paying 100 dollars just to see a woman hoisted in the air on a cherry picker, then perhaps you need to find more worthwhile use of your money. In any case, I have to say that after all the hype I heard from my friends before going to see the show, I was completely underwhelmed with the end of Act One in general. But God, if the thing didn't work and I was onstage, I would freak out.

Well, that said . . .certainly, in live theatre, and all of us who have ever done it have had moments with set, costume and actor malfunctions! [i.e. actors who come in three pages early, go blank or forget all area's of dialogue!].

In fact, I was in a play in Pennsylvania . . .portraying three characters. Due to one person going blank and then messing up six other actors on stage -- I never got on stage to play the first character! Although a short scene, and I tried to rush on and do it; but then, the crew went to the scene after (i.e. lights) and the other six actors found their place AFTER my 1st scene.

BACK TO WICKED:
Interestingly enough, no one on YouTube, apparently, has ever caught a night when when the cherry picker did not work. That would be interesting . . .

P.S. Of course, I have never and would never use my camera inside a theatre to illegally tape or photograph anything. Still, I do watch clips on YouTube when they get posted.

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Updated On: 12/27/07 at 01:47 PM

Um WICKED is MUCH more then just the visual effect (Which btw IMO is a great effect) and everyone who is saying the music isnt that great really grow up. Sure to YOU it might not be great, but guess what its making 1.4 million a week, so obviously alot of people find the music special. I am really gettin sick of the immature idiots on this board.
Anyway, I heard they are currently working alternate blocking (better then just standing there singing and having the chorus behind Elphaba singing) so hopefuly if somin does go wrong they have more "umph" I guess you can say in the end of the song.

I saw Mary Poppins when she didn't fly. We were actually sitting waaaay on the right (stage left) and could see into the wings, and we could hear a bit of yelling and suddenly someone went "catch her!" and it looked like Ashley had almost fallen. She was lowered down onto a few guy's shoulders, pretty freaky stuff. Needless to say, she didn't fly after that - the Banks family just stood there and gazed out into where she should have been. That was the only time I've seen it so I don't know if it was done any differently, but I guess not? Sure, I was a little disappointed, but the rest of the show was so amazing that really, having her fly would have been a bonus.

The funny thing is, I've seen Wicked over a dozen times now and never once had a Defying Gravity malfunction. Yet the *one* time I see Mary Poppins..

This has happened once so far that I know of at Wicked LA. Like others have mentioned, the ensemble just got very low. Supposedly, much of the audience didn't even know the difference.

"Is it really, i mean really, is it?"

Um...yeah?

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"BACK TO WICKED:
Interestingly enough, no one on YouTube, apparently, has ever caught a night when when the cherry picker did not work. That would be interesting"

Actually, I'm pretty sure there was an audio of a show where the lift didn't go up (possibly Shoshana Bean, but I'm not 100% sure).

There's also one where Shoshana accidentally whacks her hat(which contains her body mic and mic pack) off when she's twirling around the broom. It's takes them a few seconds to transfer to her secondary emergency mic.

Although, youtube has probably taken down both video's. They're becoming increasingly strict about that.