Random Thoughts: Curtain Calls - Page 3

[greenifyme2]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 12:53pm

I usually don't stand until the leads come out unless I am floored by the entire cast/show.... which has admittedly happened a lot this past season. Perhaps it seems like SO's are the norm now because this season has been just so incredible, IMO far superior to the last 6 years I've lived here.

[another sloe eyed vamp]

Posted: 7/25/17 at 8:36am

Speaking of the Hamilton curtain call - is King George usually in it? When I saw it in Chicago 2 months ago, he wasn't in the line.

[sorano916]

Posted: 7/25/17 at 10:56am

another sloe eyed vamp said: "Speaking of the Hamilton curtain call - is King George usually in it? When I saw it in Chicago 2 months ago, he wasn't in the line."

King George is there, but the actor removes their wig so he doesn't stand out.

 

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 7/25/17 at 11:24pm

I agree that the automatic standing O is annoying, especially since it's normally impossible to see the stage if you do not participate. However, what is the problem with actors applauding each other? I think it's a nice gesture of appreciation and don't find it bothersome at all. On the contrary, I find it really nice.

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 7/25/17 at 11:32pm

I'm sure this has been discussed to death elsewhere, but it bothers the heck out of me that Kim doesn't get the last bow in Miss Saigon and that it goes to The Engineer. 

[sorano916]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:48am

I think the Newsies curtain call might have been the most complicated one of recent years. 

https://youtu.be/xU2-a97iqzE

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:50am

The Newsies curtain call is the most thrilling part of the whole show for me.

 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 12:53am

It's a good CC with the music and dancing, but for me it just illustrates my opinion about the show, at least the choreography, that it is so repetitive. I'm not taking anything away from the energy of the boys, after all the energy they've expended they have to do one more high energy routine. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:07am

dramamama611 said: "The Distinctive Baritone said: 

"I would hope that once an actor leaves high school (or maybe college) being "insulted" by a curtain call is long a thing of the past."

 
We actors are sensitive creatures, and yes, it is very easy to feel insulted by a director for many reasons - especially in the staging of the curtain call, in which he or she literally puts you in order of your importance to the show.

 

[polkadotmissile]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 1:26am

The faster/more high energy your curtain call is, the more enjoyable it is for the audience and the actors. I've been in (and seen) absolute snail's pace curtain calls, especially in shows I've with kids (they really want their moment damn it). 

And in Broadway theatre, I'm a bigger fan of the ones that line up with their CC music. The In The Heights CC is the best example I can think of (and probably my all-time fave), because it gives everyone a moment of recognition, but uses the music to move along at a nice pace. I also really liked the School of Rock curtain call, with Dewey's actor introducing the actors as they bow. Not a fan of the "Queen of the Night" reprise, but other than that it's great. 

I also really live for pit/tech acknowledgements, and I'm glad some conductors are able to pop up to give a wave, or even show up onstage (SOR). 

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 3:10am

Shrek & their "I'm a Believer" performance felt too long and I was only watching it on Netflix, so I didn't even have to sit/stand through the actual bows, which I'm assuming came after the song.

Was that how it was normally done or did they extend it for the video recording?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/26/17 at 4:18am

another sloe eyed vamp said: "Speaking of the Hamilton curtain call - is King George usually in it? When I saw it in Chicago 2 months ago, he wasn't in the line.

 

"

I can't speak to your particular performance, but yes, he's usually there.

[sorano916]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 11:03pm

Question: For productions that are split into two parts (like Wolf Hall), do cast bow after Part One? I've haven't seen a two part production on Broadway but when I saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on the West End, they didn't bow after Part One, only after Part Two (which meant the one character that was only in Part One didn't bow at all).

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 12:27am

sorano916 said: "Question: For productions that are split into two parts (like Wolf Hall), do cast bow after Part One? I've haven't seen a two part production on Broadway but when I saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on the West End, they didn't bow after Part One, only after Part Two (which meant the one character that was only in Part One didn't bow at all).

Note: For all the examples I can think of, I saw the entire production in a single day.  I don't know what they do when they split across days.  

I recall that both Wolf Hall and Norman Conquests had curtain calls after each part; but, in both cases, the applause were heavier -- although still tepid for Wolf Hall -- after Parts 2 and 3 respectively, an extra acknowledgement from the all-dayers.

Years ago, I saw Nicholas Nickelby and The Kentucky Cycle on two Saturdays.  I remember that they only took curtain calls at the real end of the play.  

So, I guess it depends.

 

[adagio]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 9:29am

rcwr said: "I've been thinking about this SO issue. I definitely don't think they should happen by default -- that's the CC version of grade inflation. But I also don't think that if they do happen, that they should be considered more automatic or less meaningful if they happen at the beginning of the CC rather than deeper into it. I'm a huge fan of ensembles. If I see a really good show and want to stand, there's a good chance that I'll want to stand for the ensemble. That's not cheaper or more automatic than standing for featured actors and leads. Standing right away *could* mean default, but it could also mean WOW THAT ENSEMBLE.

(It's happened to me before that I wanted to stand for the ensemble but not for the rest of the cast. Imagine standing for the ensemble and then sitting down again!)

 

"

I agree with you. And FWIW, when I saw Something Rotten on tour recently, I sat near a female swing observing the show. She leapt to her feet as soon as the ensemble members took their bow. If the actors themselves can think the ensemble members dancing their asses off is worth a standing O, I feel justified in occasionally doing so myself.

[schubox]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 11:27am

I don't mind a little reprise at the end of a CC, as long as it's short. The reprises at the ends of the CC for Book of Mormon and Bright Star are great memories for me. 

[BroadwayMan5]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 11:36am

When I was at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory recently, many were still sitting until Charlie's bow and it wasn't fully standing until Christian Borle's bow. That was definitely out of the ordinary for Broadway these days although maybe it speaks to that show's quality...

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 12:32pm

HamilHansen said: "I was in a production of The Addams Family and only about half the audience leapt to their feet at the end. Most waited for the two leads. So a full SO is not common as far as I've seen

The premise of this post is horrifying.  In what world, would The Addams Family ever deserve a standing ovation of any scenario?  A perfect illustration of the 'American Idolization' of the curtain call, merged with a most extreme case of grade inflation, to reference other posts.

 

[hannhannham]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 2:02pm

So odd - both times I saw it, it was a full cast bow in their final positions on stage, then a Hamilton bow, then a full cast bow in a line across the stage. Eliza didn't get a solo bow either time I saw it. 

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 3:36pm

Because Eliza is front and center for the first cast bow, it kinda looks like she's getting a solo bow. But she's not. 

 

I remember seeing Journey's End on Broadway, and rather than do a traditional curtain call, the entire company stood at attention in front of a list of the dead of WWI. The audience went nuts, and it was one of the most uncomfortable (in the right way) moments I have ever had in a theater. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 12:48am

ChairinMain said: "Because Eliza is front and center for the first cast bow, it kinda looks like she's getting a solo bow. But she's not. 

 

I remember seeing Journey's End on Broadway, and rather than do a traditional curtain call, the entire company stood at attention in front of a list of the dead of WWI. The audience went nuts, and it was one of the most uncomfortable (in the right way) moments I have ever had in a theater. 

 

She ABSOLUTELY got a solo bow both times that I saw it.  She bowed, then Hamilton bowed, then the cast again.  

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/2/17 at 2:00am

When I saw Harry Potter in London they didn't bow in "Part 1" which I thought was cool. Made me excited to see Part 2. But that was a double show day, so maybe it was the idea that most of the audience would be back for Part 2? So maybe on a single show day it's different? 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/8/17 at 11:39pm

HamilHansen said: "Exactly, The Addams Family is not worth an SO unless you have a talented Gomez/Morticia

IMO, the material is not good enough to give them the opportunity to deserve a SO.  To deserve an SO IMO, you have to have great material that provides you with the opportunity to even 'be eligible for an SO', and you have to do an incredible job on it.  Not just an excellent performance, a performance that you will be talking about long after the curtain has gone down.