This American Life: "Music of the Night after Night after Night"

[John Adams]

Posted: 10/30/20 at 6:02am

Recent podcast of "This American Life" w/Ira Glass featured a segment of what it's like to play in the orchestra pit of Phantom of the Opera night after night... after night, after night, after night. Some of the musicians have been playing in the pit for over 20 years.
Podcast episode is called, "The Walls Close In" and the POTO segment of the episode is Act Two: Music of the Night After Night After Night.
The reporter for this segment (Jay Caspian Kang) is working on a documentary on the subject. I found it interesting; maybe you will, too! :)

https://www.thisamericanlife.org/721/the-walls-close-in/act-two-3

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/30/20 at 10:11am

I've been listening to TAL for years and was so tickled they did this. I can't wait for more!

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/30/20 at 1:46pm

Thanks for posting this. It has been a while since I have listened to TAL. 

I saw Phantom on Broadway two years after it opened. A Saturday matinee. I was extremely excited. The orchestra seemed to just be dragging. At intermission my partner at the time and I were talking about it and a lady who had seen the show many times agreed. We had no clue what was going on but it really made the show drag. I have seen it since and glad to say the experience was much better. I plan to see it again when Broadway re-opens.

After listening to this, maybe the Oboe player had just worn everybody down the day I saw it! She was quite interesting. He comment about not playing for the audience kinda struck me. I literally said out loud, while listening to this, "You don't know what you got till it's gone" when he spoke to her after the shut down. I also loved the White Out story even though it was a bit wrong for them to do!