Things you never realised and now feel dumb about. — Page 3

Weez: Hey, at least FinishingtheHat2 has something to contribute to this thread, even though it is not Broadway related!

---

I grew up in an area with only one performance space within about 75 miles. It's located right downtown and is about 2.5x what the Gershwin Theatre is. I'd been to SEVERAL touring shows there since I was a kid and I assumed that's how big ALL theatres were. Especially on BROADWAY.

Well, so I go up to see my FIRST Broadway show at the Marquis theatre. We were standing out in the lobby area and someone from the house staff had opened the doors to the theatre. I caught a quick glimpse of the show curtain and thought it looked way too close. Something was wrong here. We had seats on Row V. Now, like I said in my local venue, I would have known that Row V might as well been a mile away from the stage.

So the staff takes my ticket and I walk in the theatre. Instantly, my jaw drops. I could not believe how close we were to the stage. Even on row V.

Just imagine my suprise at the Shubert and the New Amsterdam...

---

I always just assumed that Hunter and Sutton Foster were married

---

When I saw GYPSY, I didn't realize that June's boys were named after the places they were picked up from on the train. I just thought they were named L.A. and Tulsa and that sort of thing because they had weird names...

I used to think, until fairly recently, that actors didn't wear wigs. When I saw Wicked, I was obsessed with what I assumed was Eden Espinosa's hair. I was so envious! Until I realized...

Almost everyone I talk to who doesn't really know theater assumes the same thing.

The Damn Yankees threads reminded me that back in the day I used to think that "Whatever Lola wants" was Lola Falana's personal song. I had no idea it came from Damn Yankees (which I later thought was about the Yankees, rather than the Washington Senators...).

---

It took me about three viewings of Dreamgirls (the stage version) to realize who the father of Effie's child was. I didn't get the whole Act 1 "I'm not feeling well, I've got pain" was that Effie was pregnant. I just thought she had eaten some bad Chinese food.

---

I don't know if this is the right thread for this, but..

I have no idea what "blocking" is.

and also, are all actors (ensemble included) members of the equity? and um..what exactly is the equity? I always assumed it's the union group of Broadway actors.

What's a non-equity tour of a show?

"I have no idea what "blocking" is."

Blocking is the movement of actors on the stage and their positions on the stage. For example, if an actor enters through a door and crosses over to a sofa and sits down, that actor has been blocked to cross to the sofa and sit. For every show, the stage manager draws a diagram of all the positions of the actors on the stage and draws diagrams of all their movements while on the stage.

"and also, are all actors (ensemble included) members of the equity? and um..what exactly is the equity? I always assumed it's the union group of Broadway actors."

Equity is the short term for Actor's Equity which is the union for actors and stage managers. There are different types of theaters, some have union actors and some do not. All Broadway theaters are equity and only use union workers. Many regional theaters are equity but employ non-union actors in smaller roles to help them get their union status. There are productions of musicals that go out as "non-equity" tours meaning they aren't using union workers, although some have hired one or two union people.

---

And why do people spell ridiculous 'rediculous'?
The same reason they spell definitely "definatly."

---

My apologies if I phrased that badly. What I meant is that (in my limited experience) I've never heard it used by a non-American, not that all Americans do it. And obviously the mangling/evolution of English language is certainly not something I would blame/credit just America for

EDIT Lizzie Curry: Fair point! I suppose everyone notices/commits different speeling erors

Updated On: 7/10/08 at 10:31 AM

For a really long time, I didn't realize that Blake Daniel was Gideon Glick's replacement in Spring Awakening. I thought that he played Jonathan B Wright part and that J.B.W. was the replacement, and that Gideon was still on. I feel like an idiot now.

---