Standing Ovations

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 2:17pm

This topic appeared on another thread, and I thought it an interesting one.

Why is it that nowadays it seems people just stand for ANYTHING?
A standing ovation should be reserved for the best of the best or else it is just the same as a simple round of applause. There is no greater praise to give, so if it is the norm, how do we top this when we see something that truly deserves it?

That said, I have found myself on my feet a few times for shows that were really pretty poor for a couple of reasons.

I saw a really tired old production of DOLLY with Madeline Kahn that was really one of the dreariest I have seen. However, the costumes were spectacular. And as the curtain call began, the person in front of me stood, blocking my view of the stage. Well, darn it, I wanted to see Dolly’s bow dress, so I found myself giving a standing ovation to this piece of crap production. (By the way the dress was beautiful.)

I saw THE WIZ when Stephanie Mills returned to it. Again, it was a lazy, lackadaisical, tired worn out piece of theatre. But at the end when Mills blew the house down with “Home” I found myself on my feet. I was honoring four minutes of a two and a half hour bomb with the highest praise I could give.

Has this ever happened to anyone of you?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 2:29pm

Many times a discriminating theater-goer is FORCED to join a standing ovation just so he or she can see what's going on!

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 2:54pm

yeah, i stood up when I saw RENT. There was certainly no reason to.

[onceadancer2]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 2:57pm

I must confess, the only time I ever stood up waas after the premiere of Balanchine's FIREBIRD. Maria Tallchief deserved it. Otherwise, not really!

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 2:57pm

Depends on the cast of RENT. That finale can be very moving if an excellent actress is playing Mimi.

Updated On: 9/28/03 at 02:57 PM

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:05pm

That ending is ridiculous and could NEVER be moving. The finale song itself is nice, but the actually conclusion of the story is pathetic.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:06pm

So sorry, I did not see the previous thread with the same topic. My appologies, Bulldog, I should have just posted on yours, but I just now scrolled down far enough to see it.

Forgive me?

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:08pm

BroadwayGirl107, I respect your opinion, but you must not understand the storyline.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:22pm

I must admit, I didn't understand until I listened to the cd some more. But now I understand it, and I still think it's stupid to be talking about warm white lights and coming back from a near death experience, it just seemed like a silly thing to put in, while they could've made it much more touching. The production itself has a lot of flaws.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:26pm

I agree with you BG107. I found the ending offensive. None of my many friends who have died of AIDS have ever come back from the dead.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:30pm

Sad, but true. Wasn't RENT supposed to have substance and be "real"? That took away from all of the realism of it. SO ridiculous.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:41pm

I enjoy Rent, except for the ending. The plot just becomes ridiculous. I, thank god, have never seen a show not worthy of a standing ovation.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:45pm

I agree about the RENT ending. I enjoy the show and the finale cong.. but teh Mimi thing makes me want to throw something at teh stage. It is a total rip off and destroys the 'harsh reality' that the show has tried to dislpay for teh entire production. that moment breaks that. Of course, you mention that to a RENTHEAD and they freak and want to kill you for saying that.

There was, however, a foreign production of RENT that was not a reproduction company and they altered the ending to have Mimi die.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 3:49pm

B'wayGIRL...thank you for your honestly written opinion of RENT. I saw it down on 4th Street really disliking it and founding it contrived and phoney...and that's just from the lyrics I could understand!!

Yours for a better Broadway!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/28/03 at 6:38pm

Well, Mimi wasn't really dead, it's not like there was a doctor or a coroner there pronouncing her or anything. It's just a few grungy downtowners. I never felt the ending was as big a cop out as a lot of people, it seems as if they overlook Angel's death, which is actually the big one in the show, and given a lot of time in the proceedings. I felt as if the show really does deal with people losing people for whatever reason. I too have never had a friend come back from a death from AIDS, but I have had plenty who made remarkable comebacks when they appeared to be at death's door. This was what I felt they were dramatizing in Rent.

[alterego]

Posted: 9/29/03 at 12:27am

When Liza Minelli was doing The Act on Broadway years ago she actually had 20 paid stooges who would stand up to make sure she got her ovation.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 9/29/03 at 7:31am

Thank you Namo! To me that is what makes Rent so special. It does deal with loosing someone to the disease...but it also offers hope. Something which many of my friends who saw the show needed...and appreciated.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 9/29/03 at 7:49am

As long as only the poor drag queen dies, it's OK.

[QueenS]

Posted: 9/29/03 at 9:39am

MasterLcZ, you took the words right out of my mouth.

Everyone talks about how the "New" 42nd St is a theme park, but nothing out Disney-fies the ending to Rent. Let the trannie die, but we need a happy ending, so the straight girl gets to live.

Puccini pronounced Mimi dead over a hundred years ago.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 9/29/03 at 11:01am

I do not think Rent, in any way, sends the message it's "ok that the trannie died".

[Unknown User]

Posted: 9/29/03 at 11:04am

I have to say, IMHO, that the show is good. I liked it very very much and have seen it a few times. It always pulls tears out of my eyes. But then again, I am a sucker for sap sometimes.

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 9/29/03 at 3:48pm

Every time I've seen Phantom theres always been a big standing ovation. When I went to see Cabaret the other day, no one really stood up. I couldn't belive it. Maybe because Jon Secada was Emcee?

[Princess MimiChica]

Posted: 9/30/03 at 8:55pm

"That ending is ridiculous and could NEVER be moving. The finale song itself is nice, but the actually conclusion of the story is pathetic. "


are you kidding?? what are you, brain-drad? anyone with a pulse couldn't HELP but be moved by the RENT finale!!! The point of the show is to LIVE with your disease and fight another day, and Mimi coming back to life just ties the whole show together. If you can't understand the meaning of that ending, then, well I don;t know what t otell you. Get help. Or better get, get a heart and a soul.