Something you weren't supposed to see during a Broadway show — Page 4

This past October I had a front row ticket to Mama Mia, right next to the conductor. I was constantly distracted and found myself looking down into the orchestra pit to watch the musicians. Between songs, the drummer would break out a newspaper and another musician would sip on a Jamba Juice while playing with a palm pilot.

One the guitarists caught me staring, so he smiled and waved.

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I don't know if this counts since it's not Broadway. However, when I saw Diahann Carroll in Sunset Boulevard in Toronto as Norma, during her final mad scene she ran out onto the top of the stairs with the gun in her hand.

The actors all then improvised and Diahann started waving it around. The ensemble was gasping and screaming a bit, following Diahann's lead. She then improvised, acting delusional and catatonic and dropped the gun. It was a nice save and gave the unsuspecting audience a nice thrill.She then proceeded with the script as written.

Those of us who knew the script well and knew that shouldn't be happening enjoyed that we had a story to tell. It also showed that the cast including Diahann were troopers who knew how to improvise on a dime.

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When I saw Wedding Singer I was in box seats above the stage. I saw everything going on backstage including the switching of the Grams (for the break dance number). It kind of ruined the show for me. Well, that and the costumes, the lighting and the score.
Ever Have a Fling With a Broadway Actor/Actress?

My first Broadway show was Phantom of the Opera, and we got really close seats, but they were to the side. After the Overture and what-not the curtains rose and I saw the actress playing Carlotta fix her dress right before she went onstage.

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Several years ago on the Les Miz tour, I had an obstructed view seat and could see into the wings on stage right. Just before At the End of the Day, I saw one of the women workers blow her nose and then stuff the snotty kleenex into her bra! LMAO.

Still wonder who that was...

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Well, Moxie in the City, you've ruined the show for me. I'm going to see it in August. I'm so ticked off.

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My favorite was "not dead Fred" in Spamalot getting into positiob to be dragged out on stage.

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Come on, guys! It's Kristen. She was acting. She probably made it more than it was for a laugh....not that I ever did anything like that onstage..lol. She's got a big enough head that it didn't hurt.

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A few in Tarzan:

When the big green sheet thing is moving on the stage when Tarzan and Jane are singing in the moonlight, it's being shaken by two guys on the sides of the stage who are dressed in these big green costumes (that even cover their heads) and it makes them look like alligators. The guys look miserable!

There's one point when Tarzan swings up into the rafters while Jane continues to sing, and while he's waiting to swing back down and sprinkle flowers on her, he's hanging upside down in the rafters and is fully visible from the first row the whole time (if you look up). It's a pretty long time to be hanging like that!

There's a scene where someone slaps someone, and it's the conductor (who's body is fully visible) who claps his hands to make the slapping noise.

And in another show I saw, where you can see the orchestra pit, I saw one guy make a phone call and another guy reading a magazine.

Updated On: 7/19/06 at 11:59 AM

well im a tech so i can actually pick that kind of stuff out but the only problem ive seen so far is during previews for tarzan, jane's father's mic came on late once and went off early twice! now thats a pretty big tech mistake, ha ha, thats what previews are for i guess, ha ha

I saw the Damn Yankees revival from the front row, and during the shower scene where they sang Heart, there were wearing only towels. From the front row the view was startling.

".....one of the stage hand person things came out onto the stage and shut it."

One of the what, me3?


Beauty and the Beast - Steve Blanchard lost his tail onstage. They kept cracking up, him crying out "Belle will never love me now! I'm a chihuahua!"

When I saw DRS I was to the farthest left I could be, in the front row, and I saw people about to enter backstage just watching for their cue. I also saw inside of the orchestra pit without having to move. There's actually moniter screens that are hooked to the conductor. Pretty cool.


Also, when the dancers were on my side of the stage, they kept looking at me...I think it's because I was wearing an insanely white shirt. It was pretty cool though.


Oh, and I also saw the actors spit pretty close. Again...pretty cool.