.... the paid choreographer hands the unpaid dance captain the movie version of the show and says "write down the dance steps"
... the king and I is done with a largely white cast, all of whom sport YELLOW makeup and heavy eyeliner (including the one asian kid)
... an 8 by 10 room serves as dressing room for all the guys AND the makeup room for the entire cast
... you first meet your scene partners ONSTAGE at the first performance
... there is a substitute director who realizes that the show opens in 2 days and all of Act 2 is not staged yet
... the urchins in little shop are different girls in each scene
... into the woods is expanded to include "other fairy tale characters" including Shrek
... the king and I set features human statues... who have no concept of how to stay still
... the orchestra "pit" is actually the floor in front of the front row
... the lighting person can't handle the cues for "sorry wrong number" (there was 2 pools of light on either side of mrs. stevenson, they were supposed to alternate on and off to transition the calls)
... Your props are taken because another actor lost his and his is "more visible"
... Games of tackle football have been played, in full costume, by actors waiting to go on
... the doors to the stage open into a brightly lit hallway and are visible from the audience
... the theater was built with no fly space, nor direct access to the catwalk
... in a cast of 60, 1 actor still gets cast in 5 speaking roles, including a lead
... a show is partially double cast so 1 actor can play both male leads
...there is a week between final dress rehearsal and opening night
...rent is performed with an all white cast (search "rent:school edition" on youtube)
... the curtain call takes 45 minutes and the order makes very little sense
... standbys and cast members not on stage double as puppeteers/ crew members/ dressers
... the stage manager tries to quit siting there is "nothing for him to do" if there is a live orchestra for the musical
... the final performance ends with the director giving an hour long speech introducing every single person who worked on the show, making them come on stage if they are in fact in attendance and then making them give a speech on the spot.
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
