"More recently, when i watched the alternate ending of the RENT film, when they come back to the stage with the empty spotlight, I was blown away, and then Angel enters and I wept even more.
Oh, the power of the theatre!"
JBSinger - I started to lose it, too, but when Angel re-appeared, it went away some. I think it might have been even stronger if it was just an empty space or a stool with drumstricks on it instead of bringing him back.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle