Showstoppers - Witnessed Accounts of Show-Stopping Moments- Page 5

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 4:29am

Wildcat "Follies" was a once in a lifetime event, those of us lucky enough to be there that night saw magic..

The other one was during "Guys and Dolls" at Her Maj, Ricky May doing "Sit down your rocking the boat", the night i saw it, the show stopped for around 10 minutes as people went wild..

Stage-door 76, thank god that production of "Urinetown" is heading to Sydney next year, missed it in Melbourne, looking forward to seeing it..

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 5:47am

Bernadette Peters didn't only get your typical standing ovation after Rose's Turn, it was more like the last scene was delayed because people just went crazy after she did it, it was such a powerful moment, she revealed so much during that number that the audience was just mesmerized. That was a real show-stopper, but if I had a time machine, I'd go to Dreamgirls opening night because Margot's experience is similar to everyone who saw the great Jennifer Holiday perform "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," if I get chills from the OBCR, I can only imagine what she must have been live.

[fiatlux]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 5:50am

The first preview of Follies in London, the Loveland sequence was greeted with a certain amount of hysteria (in a very restrained British way)but Diana Rigg bumping and grinding through Ah But Underneath - even with some dummy lyrics at this point - stopped the show.

[lamentingenvelope]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 6:36am

GREAT BIG STUFF.

I have never heard an audience scream like they screamed after that number. There was this enormous uproar that had to have lasted at least 5 minutes. The only real show stopper I've ever experienced.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 6:44am

I saw one of the first previews of Hairspray and there was a standing ovation after "Good Morning Baltimore", Harvey's entrance, and "Welcome to the Sixties".

[Dre2387]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 8:54am

Everytime I see DRS, Dirty Rotten Number gets a SH*T load of applause. It gets to a point where Norbert claps along with us and trys to get them to stop so he can start up the show again.

and, I finally saw Rent two saturdays ago (I know, I suck) and Frenchie was out but the woman who took her place as the 'Seasons of Love' soloist did an incredible job (my friend said that it was the best she had heard and she has seen it like 5 times). And it definately was a showstopper. Everyone was like, holy SH*T, that was incredible! The way she could hit those notes! Couldn;t help but clap right after her solo, not just after the song.

can't think of any others right now.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 11:46am

My story is a tad different. I was Albert Peterson in a regional production of Bye Bye Birdie. The woman playing Mrs. Peterson was also the director, and had announced that after direting over 90 musicals, this would be her last. She was a bit of a "legend" in the area. AMAZING actress.

Her first entrace, after yelling "oh Sonnyboy!" from offstage, she received wild applause and a very long standing ovation. We're talking minutes here. I'm sure it seemed even longer on stage, trying to stay in character, but it was just sop incredible. She finally had to wave off the audience so that the scene could continue.

[Pippin]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 12:49pm

I was bernadette's last performance of gypsy. she got a show stopping applause just for her first line, and she wasn't even on stage yet. then, when she walked out, good lord, it was like the pope himself. the show was stopped for a good two minutes. then finally after Rose's turn, the show was stopped for another two minutes, but the applause and the response was the most energetic thing I have witnessed from an audience.

also, Marin Mazzie in Kiss me Kate stopped the show three times during her "I hate men" number. after each verse, and then when she got up on the table and spread her legs like she was giving birth. the song took about ten minutes for her to perform. I will never forget it. one of the best theatre experiences of my life.

[angelic1]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 1:21pm

In DC, at the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center, during "Merrily We Roll Along" Raúl Esparza sang 'Franklin Sheppard, Inc'. I had never seen the show before, so I didn't know what to expect. He did this unbelievable performance of this song and about 3/4 of the audience (myself included after a slight pause) jumped to their feet when he was done. They all had to hold position for at least a minute/ minute and a half. It was crazy, but well-deserved.

[Pippin]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 1:28pm

this is from another thread, but this was my experience of Heather's final performance in Aida.

yeah, it was definately an experience, chloe. right at the end of Elaborate lives reprise she sing "too many choices tear us apart, I don't want to live like that. I just....." and she froze and started to just weep. It was so amazing. the orchestra was holding out the chord. after about 20 seconds of her trying to continue, but not being able to, a woman in the audience, who I am guessing was her mother stood up, and shouting something like "you can do it, go on". then the rest of the audience started to shout things like "take your time," "we love you" and all that. the tension was amazing. finally, she finsished her sentence.... wanna be with you- barely. she was so overcome, Adam pascal actually started to get affected as well. I was balling. then they climbed into the tomb, and I am sure she broke down after she was hidden from the crowd. When she came out for the final scene in the modern day museum, she was back together, but you could tell that she had gone through it. It was an amazing day, and I will never forget it. For her curtain call, she came out running and jumping to thunderous applause and yells, and she bent down, and hit the stage, and then kissed it. it was so amazing. a memory I will never forget.



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[lildogs]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 1:38pm

I really have nothing to add except my thanks for all these great stories--I teared up more than once just reading through them!

[bobbystrong]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 2:07pm

"Secrets".

IN MY LIFE.

need I say more?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 2:09pm

Secrets
There's a little rumor
Someone has a tumor

[alli2]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 2:15pm

Don't know if this was mentioned yet, but when Idina stepped onto the Gershwin stage at the almost-end of her "last show" in Wicked. There HAD to be a good 5-10 minutes of applause, then another 5 minutes when Jennifer Laura Thompson shouted, "I love Idina!!"

And from what I could hear on the phone, the applause and screaming after "Woman is the n* of the World" at Marcy's last show at Lennon.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 2:17pm

Anything Paulette Ivory sang in Aida. Especially God's Love Nubia.

[bschneid76]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 4:31pm

I've had two accounts.

Bernadette Peters after Rose's Turn. It was breathtaking! I'd never seen anything like it, and she WAS magnificent in the role. After that I was hooked on all GYPSY.

The second, was a personal one, not something that the audience did, was after Gary Beach sang "I am What I am" It sent so many chills down my spine that it certainly stopped the show for myself, sadly, the audience wasn't packed like it should have been, I saw the show twice and got the same response each time.

[Conor]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 4:55pm

Cheno's last performance was pretty incredible, to be surrounded by so many sobbing people really made it that much more powerful, not to mention she has such phenomenal presence and voice.
The only time I've ever seen a standing ovation in the middle of a number was Sharon Wilkins singing "There's Always Me" from "All Shook Up" and when I saw Les Mis in London a few years ago Fantine brought down the house 3 times during "I Dreamed a Dream" I don't remember who was playing her, my parents were too cheap to buy me a program and I must have been like somewhere between 10 or 13, but it was soooo phenomenal, best Fantine I've ever heard.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 5:00pm

Old Fashioned Wedding (Bernadette and Tom spent the entire song trying to screw each other up - to the point where they were both singing the same part, and having to start over about twice)

[xxnewgirlxx]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 5:10pm

To add to the DRS mentions, when I saw it, the audience really reacted to the "I think we still deserve a hand..." line. The applause literally went on for about 2 minutes, and then they finished the last 30 seconds of the song and even MORE applause.

I didn't expect it and it was a nice moment. You can tell John and Norbert were thrilled.

[gwalke4]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 5:47pm

From my recent trip:

When Cherry Jones slid onstage on top of that set piece in "Doubt," I didn't think the audience was going to stop applauding. I'd never experienced entrance applause before, and it seemed to go on forever. It was not two months after she won the Tony, and there was such a sense of recognition there that she is one of our finest actresses.

At the very end of "Piazza," there's not really a break for applause directly after Fable, it just ends the show. The audience was SILENT as those lights went out. The whole place was just frozen. And then as soon as chorus members starting coming out, people were on their feet. Everyone breathed this huge sigh of relief and tears, we were all so caught up, and huge cheers for Victoria Clark.

Though the hardest I have ever clapped for anyone was for Kelli O'Hara after "The Beauty Is," I wasn't sure when my hands would stop, I was rising out of my seat, but the show had to continue.

[James2]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 6:00pm

Final Performance of Man of La Mancha - Long applause for "Man of La Mancha", "Aldonza", and especially "The Impossible Dream" (it was long for "Dream" both times I saw it)

Gypsy - Bernadette's "Rose's Turn"

The Boy From Oz - "Once Before I Go"

Little Shop of Horrors Tour - "Suddenly, Seymour"

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - "Great Big Stuff", "The More We Dance", and "Dirty Rotten Number"

Monty Python's Spamalot - "Knights on the Round Table" "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", "You Won't Succeed on Broadway", "His Name is Lancelot", too many to count

Posted: 10/25/05 at 8:34pm

Updated On: 11/6/05 at 08:34 PM

[lfae]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 8:40pm

stage_door76 - ditto when I saw Urinetown! audience went nuts. It was amazing :)

others I can think of...from this year:
Sunset Blvd (The Production Company) after Judi Connelli's With One Look.
Kiss Me, Kate (TPC again) after Too Darn Hot

the 1st time I saw Wicked - closing show in San Fran, when Eden came out of the trapdoor...my god. that was CRAZY!!! her The Wizard and I got THE loudest applause I've ever heard, either.
and second time I saw it, in NYC, just a regular Wednesday night, and the audience energy was so much lower than SF's, until Popular when the applause and cheers went on for ages.

completely random but a friend reminded me of it a few days ago...Eureka, after the line "so Miss, God is Banjul" which usually got a bit of a giggle, one night - near the end of the run - it suddenly got this MASSIVE applause, and it was just hilarious and so unexpected!

and, the 2nd time I saw Oliver - again the closing show, after Tamsin Carroll's As Long As He Needs Me reprise, the audience just FLEW to their feet.

Posted: 10/25/05 at 8:50pm

"Jennifer Holliday
Dreamgirls
End of Act I
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"
There was an applause break and cheers at the end of the first PHRASE.
The standing ovation started halfway through the song.
Sheer pandemonium at the end of the song.
Several people rushed down the aisle to the front of the orchestra, reaching out to her.
Some people were literally standing ON their seats, screaming and cheering.
By the time she reached the last note of the song, it looked a riot had broken out in the Imperial Theatre, with everyone on their feet, yelling bravas until they were hoarse ..... some people were even weeping......

Nothing I've ever seen since remotely compares."


Sounds like an episode of Showtime at the Apollo.

[Horton]

Posted: 10/25/05 at 8:58pm

Man of la Mancha
Stokes- Impossible Dream!!!!!!! I was in the fron row, I was in tears.