They had to do it EVERY performance — Page 2

Dolly Levi has to eat at every performance. The Dolly I worked with preferred chicken (turkey was too dry), whipped red potatoes (again, moister and lighter than standard Idahos), and real pickled beets. When beets became too tough to bear, she asked for a mix of buttered peas and carrots, but we kept fake beets on the table because the dialogue called for them.

Carol Channing had a recipe for puff pastries that she took with her everywhere she played the role. The pastries looked enormous, but when she stuffed them in her mouth, the collapsed and melted very quickly. She could stuff what seemed like dozens in her mouth at once, but much of the chewing and swallowing business she did was mugging for effect.

Well... this isn't so bad, but when I was in Wait Until Dark... basically all of the characters smoke. They didn't use herbal cigarettes in our performance. Thankfully I was Gloria, and only 11, so they didn't make me. lol But most of the people who had to smoke already did in real life... it was discusting... ugh

On the SUNDAY video when Bernadette Peters sings "Everybody Loves Louis" it's obvious that the pastry she chomps into is a store bought Twinkie.

in my production of chicago we get to deal with the joys of fake cigars and cigarettes due to the not too friendly fire marshall won't allow it and the bulk of my cast is underage....however we get the difficulty of remembering not to inhale the poweder within them under any circumstances

---

there was a show recently that the cast ate a full gourmet meal and copious ammounts of faux wine....it was called ominium gathering or something like that

---

In a production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers that I was a part of, our brothers had to eat cold oatmeal and muffins everynight... sometimes twice a day it was a two show day... Needless to say, they weren't too fond of it by the end of the run...

I feel sorry for the people who had to clean up after the last scene of Normal Heart.

---

The whole 1st act of Top Girls -Caryl Churchill takes place at a dinner in a restaurant. A full meal is served complete with dessert.

---

When I was Lt. Schrank in "West Side Story," I had to smoke every performance. Not a problem for me, because I like to have the occasional cigarette anyway. The only problem was that the director (the one and only Joey McKneeley) wanted me to simply chuck the cigarette into the wings when I was done with it (without putting it out first). Not only was I worried about setting the place on fire every performance, but I had to throw it only a couple feet away from where Tony was standing, and one night I actually hit him with it!

OT: My aunt has worked at the Entenmanns on Long Island for the last 8 years or so. Ever single day she gets to take home 1 free cake. In the beginning, this was great b/c we'd always have cakes around (she lives right down the road)...8 years later, I can't even look at any Entenmanns without feeling sick.


Sort of like Rath's twinkies.

To the Hello, Dolly posters....

Carol stopped using Cotton Candy, as it made her sick....
on the '95 tour they used tissue sprayed with tea and they would dry them over lightbulbs...24 to be exact, peel them off and twist them shut....

---