Scenes You'll Never Forget — Page 3

There are quite a few, but here are three that I find myself thinking about a lot:

Younger Brother (Bobby Steggert) hugging Coalhouse (Quentin Earl Darrington) before Coalhouse leaves the Morgan library in the RAGTIME revival.

Adam (Patrick Breen) answering Luke's phone at the end of NEXT FALL.

The aforementioned grocery throwing scene from THE NORMAL HEART.

ETA: Forgot to mention the amazing confrontation scene between Viola Davis as Rose and Denzel Washington as Troy in FENCES when Troy's infidelity becomes a reality for Rose.

Updated On: 6/30/11 at 11:53 AM

"Walking into the lobby after 'I Am My Own Wife.'"
I saw this at a matinee, and this moment stopped me dead in my tracks. I was transfixed, and honestly a little dizzy, and they ended up having to ask me to finally leave the lobby - and I have no idea how long I stood there staring.

A couple I recall:

Mozart's death in the original NYC staging of AMADEUS.
Max's final monologue of BENT through to final curtain.
Merrick's death in THE ELEPHANT MAN.
Emily at home in Act III of OUR TOWN.
The epiphany in MIRACLE WORKER.
The final scene between John and Elizabeth Proctor in THE CRUCIBLE.
Many memorable moments throughout, but essentially all of Act III in NOISES OFF.
The hat flying away in the Lincoln Center LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA.
The bus announcing Kennedy's assassination in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE.
Hugh Jackman singing "Once Before I Go" in BOY FROM OZ.
Langella's performance of 'the moment' in FROST/NIXON.
Eartha Kitt doing the 'recipe' in TIMBUKTU!.
Paul's monologue from A CHORUS LINE (I know, I know,) as well as the line formation moment Namo mentioned.

And while I agree with Namo about the final image of SEARCH FOR SIGNS, that entire presentation was one big 'goosebump' for me.

Finger - while some of mine reference specific NYC productions, many are from other places (or simply because of the scripts themselves, which I've seen numerous productions of in many locales.) Theater can reach you anywhere. I've only been fortunate enough to spend two relatively short periods of time seeing NYC stuff (separated by 20 years, at that.) But I've been moved and elevated by theater my whole life

What happened in the lobby of I Am My Own Wife?

The final scene in the Circle in the Square production of DEATH OF A SALESMAN starring the great George C. Scott decades ago. There was not a dry eye in the House. Scott was said to have gotten drunk after performances due to the amount of emotion he put into the play.

From the original Broadway production of GYPSY in 1959:
The final scene of Act One, at the railroad station, when Ethel Merman sang "Everything's Coming Up Roses". The set consisted of the station house with the railroad tracks disappearing into infinity. The Daily News critic at the time was John Chapman and he was so impressed with the Jo Mielziner designed set that he purchased the original drawing of that set. Mielziner was a genius who designed the sets and lighting for countless Broadway productions. I recommend his fascinating biography with illustrations of all of his shows.

The dressing room scene between Rose and Herbie, when Herbie walks out. Jack Klugman and Ethel Merman did some fine acting in this scene and throughout the musical. Merman was not just a belter (and Arthur Laurents be damned!)

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The entirety of Act 2 of THE NORMAL HEART.
My mind wanders somewhere there before I go to sleep every night. It haunts me in the best way possible.

No other play has had that effect on me.

Second, when Dan breaks the music box in NEXT TO NORMAL and a weeping silence overcomes the audience.

Some from this current season...

Jerusalem ->
-Rooster making himself a drink
-The entire section with Rooster and Phaedra (his monologue, the goldfish, the dance) through him re-emerging from the trailer. I cried both times during that part and still can't listen to the song without tearing up.
-The last 10-15 minutes of the play

La Bete ->
-Valere's monologue and Elomiere's (David Hyde Pierce) facial expressions

The Normal Heart ->
-Ned and Felix's argument when he hurls the food at the wall
-Dr. Brookner's monologue
-The scene in the crisis center with Bruce's monologue about Albert

Angels in America ->
-Basically any scene with Louis and Joe
-Louis and Belize in the diner
-The Kaddish


There's probably quite a few more but oddly enough, I have forgotten them...

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Updated On: 6/19/11 at 09:24 PM

I too am curious about what happened in the lobby of I Am My Own Wife...

For me, the ends of Act II and Act III of August: Osage County. Holy hell.

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More!
* Pretty much all of Kathryn Evans' scenes in the London Sunset Blvd revival
* As for funny: "Run, Freedom, Run," the first time I saw Urinetown (on tour in SF)
* The very different staging of Moritz's death in the Melbourne production of Spring Awakening

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This is now one of my fav threads ever.
Mine:

The electrocution scene during 'The Writer and the Writer's Brother' story in THE PILLOWMAN- the whole audience near fell out of their seats... and the story itself was just so disturbing and magnificent

The moment Toby is released from the straight jacket, given his violin and begins to sing in the SWEENEY TODD revival

Stew confronting his younger self and his own youthful mistakes at the end of PASSING STRANGE- one of those bone chilling self-perception moments that could only happen in a unique theatrical situation

The forced baptisim of Shylock in the MERCHANT OF VENICE revival in the park last summmer- so haunting and a magnificent addition to the show.

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the cinematic staging of the nightmare (helicopter scene) in miss saigon

clara's hat blown by the wind and caught by fabrizio in light in the piazza

the angel descends from the ceiling of prior's room at the end of millenium approaches, angels in america.

donna murphy as fosca in her first scene where she explains why she reads books in passion

raul esparza singing "being alive" in company

Thanks, Q. That's a good enough description. I figured it was something like that but just curious to get an idea.

Also: Bernadette Peters' Send in the Clowns, Patti LuPone's Rose's Turn, and for whatever reason, Mark Rylance talking to the lighter in Jerusalem.

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NY Debut.