#26
Posted: 4/11/09 at 10:10pm
In "The Woman in Black" when the lights go out and the lead turns on his flashlight
The Most Effective Blackout in a Production — Page 2
#27
Posted: 4/11/09 at 10:16pm
I love the blackout leading into "The Blackout".
The blackout right when Elle jumps in "So Much Better"
That is kinda cool to not see her land.
The one after Defying Gravity
Just a comical one, in Curtains when Cioffi leaves the stage for his "urgent call" and leaves the briefcase with the top secret info onstage with all the suspects. It goes black and then he says Lights and they are all around it trying to grab it for themselves.
The blackout right when Elle jumps in "So Much Better"
That is kinda cool to not see her land.
The one after Defying Gravity
Just a comical one, in Curtains when Cioffi leaves the stage for his "urgent call" and leaves the briefcase with the top secret info onstage with all the suspects. It goes black and then he says Lights and they are all around it trying to grab it for themselves.
#28
Posted: 4/11/09 at 10:20pm
I found the "slow fade" if that counts in August to be effective. I like the legally blonde one also. There is nothing better in theatre than a REALLY effective blackout, and nothing worse than a show that over uses blackouts.
I'll have them clawing at eachother, like drag queens at a wig sale"
#29
Posted: 4/11/09 at 10:31pm
Instead of [i]black[/i]out, how about the "whiteout" at the end of the SUNDAY revival? So powerful, and illustrates the final line of the show so beautifully.
Daniel's gasp when he sees it gets me every time. How I wish they had put that on the recording.
Daniel's gasp when he sees it gets me every time. How I wish they had put that on the recording.
#30
Posted: 4/11/09 at 10:32pm
its over its over its over (contact in rent)
I think that's a blackout
I think that's a blackout
#31
Posted: 4/11/09 at 10:42pm
TonyVIncent you are right. While I did not see the revival having watched the original numerous times the White Out is nothing short of breathtaking and kind of wraps up the show in the most fulfilling way.
Current Avatar:The sensational Aaron Tveit in the soon to be hit production of Catch Me If You Can.
#32
Posted: 4/11/09 at 10:57pm
I don't see how DG is an effective blackout other than leaving some audience members thinking that the show is over, it isn't really a cliffhanger or anything.
#33
Posted: 4/12/09 at 11:06am
For me -- CABARET, no contest
I still remember the moment Alan Cumming removed his coat, and you saw his concentration camp garb (with 'jewish' and 'gay' symbols, if I remember right?)
The expression on his face, the swelling music, all of it just made my heart stop. And the blackout was just chilling
I remember afterwards, I didn't want to speak, and I didn't want to hear anyone else speak either -- I just felt frozen in the moment and the emotions
I wish SO much I could go back and re-live that whole performance that day. It was definitely one of my theatre high-points
I still remember the moment Alan Cumming removed his coat, and you saw his concentration camp garb (with 'jewish' and 'gay' symbols, if I remember right?)
The expression on his face, the swelling music, all of it just made my heart stop. And the blackout was just chilling
I remember afterwards, I didn't want to speak, and I didn't want to hear anyone else speak either -- I just felt frozen in the moment and the emotions
I wish SO much I could go back and re-live that whole performance that day. It was definitely one of my theatre high-points
You don't go to the dragon without a present - Mark Rylance
#34
Posted: 4/12/09 at 11:08am
"This is like children's theatre for 40 year old gay people!"
Blackout.
Xanadu
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Blackout.
Xanadu
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
#35
Posted: 4/12/09 at 11:13am
The end of Act 1 of Proof, anybody?
"Who says you can't bend over backwards and eat bugs if you want to? I guess the bugs would probably say you can't do that that, but assuming that they are willing and consenting bugs, then there's no problem. Let's wig out eating bugs."
-RuPaul
#36
Posted: 4/12/09 at 11:28am
Speaking of SUNDAY IN THE PARK...
In the original production at the eend of scene three, Dot and George begin circling eachother like animals, everyone watches as she moves her bustle around in front to create a pregnant look. The rest of the scene blacks out with just her and Georges spotlighted for an instant as he puts his hand to his chest as if to say "It's mine?" the teh scene blacks out.
Lapine at his most brilliant.
In the original production at the eend of scene three, Dot and George begin circling eachother like animals, everyone watches as she moves her bustle around in front to create a pregnant look. The rest of the scene blacks out with just her and Georges spotlighted for an instant as he puts his hand to his chest as if to say "It's mine?" the teh scene blacks out.
Lapine at his most brilliant.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#37
Posted: 4/12/09 at 12:09pm
Brandon, Defying Gravity's blackout is moreso that its blackout then the lights come back up and shes not there. It just very cool that in a few seconds, she (and elle woods, in LB for the matter) can "disappear". It may sound stupid but i find it really cool.
#38
Posted: 4/12/09 at 12:19pm
The "white-out" at the end of the SUNDAY revival was absolutely breathtaking.
Formerly SirNotAppearing - Joined 3/08
#39
Posted: 4/12/09 at 12:25pm
Broadwaybound-What do you mean they "disappear"? The curtain comes down. It's not like there's a blackout and then all of a sudden there's an empty stage.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#40
Posted: 4/12/09 at 12:27pm
In the Heights and Legally Blonde.
I'm a professional. Whenever something goes wrong on stage, I know how to handle it so no one ever remembers. I flash my %#$&.
"Jayne just sat there while Gina flailed around the stage like an idiot."
#41
Posted: 4/12/09 at 12:53pm
My favorite one was at the end of (I think it was) Act II in "August: Osage County" when the daughter screams "I'M RUNNING THINGS NOW!" and then we go to Intermission #2.
I'm as jumpy as a virgin at a prison rodeo!
#42
Posted: 4/12/09 at 12:55pm
Agreed! Totally forgot about that moment.
She screams that line, the audience goes nuts, and the lights go off. Love it.
She screams that line, the audience goes nuts, and the lights go off. Love it.
#43
Posted: 4/12/09 at 2:35pm
I agree with fosca3!
Hey, that rhymes!
Hey, that rhymes!
"TheatreDiva90016 - another good reason to frequent these boards less."<<>>
“I hesitate to give this line of discussion the validation it so desperately craves by perpetuating it, but the light from logic is getting further and further away with your every successive post.” <<>>
-whatever2
#44
Posted: 4/12/09 at 3:52pm
Damnit Bud Frump i was hoping Id be the first to bring that up. The power in her voice when she yells that line and then bam blackout I love. But for me hands down I agree with everyone else the finale of Cabaret to this day is the most chilling, amazing effect I have ever seen at the end of show. I have never been so moved.
<------ Me and my friends with patti Lupone at my friends afterparty for her concert with audra mcdonald during the summer of 2007.
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
"I am sorry but it is an unjust world and virtue is only triumphant in theatricle performances" The Mikado
#45
Posted: 4/12/09 at 4:54pm
The numerous blackouts in [title of show].
"How could she just suddenly, completely disappear into thin water?" - The Little Mermaid
#46
Posted: 4/12/09 at 5:02pm
I agree about the blackout after "I'M RUNNING THINGS NOW!" in A:OC. Though Johanna Day's is nowhere even remotely near Amy Morton's. Every single time I saw Morton, I felt like I had just been pummeled by a MAC truck. And just the sudden plunge into darkness was so effective. LITERALLY a cliffhanger.
#47
Posted: 4/12/09 at 5:08pm
I'm surprised nobody has brought up Blasted. The play that ran earlier this year at Soho Rep.
There was a sudden explosion with the brightest light and loudest sound into the blackout that continued the roar of thunder. I have never jolted in my seat from fear before this amazing moment.
There was a sudden explosion with the brightest light and loudest sound into the blackout that continued the roar of thunder. I have never jolted in my seat from fear before this amazing moment.
#48
Posted: 4/12/09 at 5:13pm
The end of God of Carnage. Everyone one is scattered across the stage, each one a wreck. Responding to Harden, Gandolfini says, "What do we know?" A small bit of music plays, and blackout. When I saw the play last night, I heard people say "Wow" in awe of the tremendous energy and emotion the actors exuded in that 90 minutes.
The end of Act One of Equus. Radcliffe, atop Nugget, shouts, "Amen!" A small bit of music plays, and blackout.
The blackout near the end of The Drowsy Chaperone. The cast is nearing the final note on the record, and then the power in Man in Chair's apartment goes out. Quite funny.
The end of Act One of Equus. Radcliffe, atop Nugget, shouts, "Amen!" A small bit of music plays, and blackout.
The blackout near the end of The Drowsy Chaperone. The cast is nearing the final note on the record, and then the power in Man in Chair's apartment goes out. Quite funny.
My avatar = A screencap from Avatar, arguably the greatest animated show of all
#49
Posted: 4/12/09 at 5:53pm
Ahhh, I love the blackout at the end of Act 2 of AUGUST. I was in the rush seats, so my last view was Estelle Parsons face.
Some people paint, some people sew, I meddle.
#50
Posted: 4/12/09 at 6:47pm
All time favorite:
The end of SPEED-THE-PLOW.
Charlie says "Whose name goes above the title?"
Bobby:"Fox and Gould."
Charlie: "Then how bad can life be?"
BLACKOUT
The look on Jeremy Piven's face as Charlie said that, followed by an immediate blackout, made that play ten times more powerful than it was prior to that moment.
ALSO:
The end of Shining City, where SPOILERS AHEAD
the ghost appears behind the door
END SPOILERS
and the lights immediately go out.
Absolutely terrifying. Blood-curdling. Horror.
The end of SPEED-THE-PLOW.
Charlie says "Whose name goes above the title?"
Bobby:"Fox and Gould."
Charlie: "Then how bad can life be?"
BLACKOUT
The look on Jeremy Piven's face as Charlie said that, followed by an immediate blackout, made that play ten times more powerful than it was prior to that moment.
ALSO:
The end of Shining City, where SPOILERS AHEAD
the ghost appears behind the door
END SPOILERS
and the lights immediately go out.
Absolutely terrifying. Blood-curdling. Horror.
Tickets From $59
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $71
Tickets From $95