Your greatest theater experience....- Page 2

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:22am

I'll pick two, one straight play and one musical. Seeing Ian McKellan in Amadeus, which was like every master class in acting rolled into one, and Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls, which was the most insane I have ever seen an audience get over a performance.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:25am

I remembered another one!!! Seeing the AMAZING Bernedette Peters in GYPSY!!! The CD does NOT give her justice!

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:32am

When I saw POTO in the front row. It was awsome because I saw everything. Its expensive to get front row to POTO or any show for that matter and my parents got me tickets for Christmas.
=-D Also when I went backstage after a perf. of POTO.

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:38am

How do you get to go back stage!? This has been asked before, but never answered.

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:39am

Fosseboi - sleep with someone - I'm kidding! (sort of)

[ChristineDaae]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:41am

I was talking to James Romick that night before the show and he invited me.

[NoDayButToday2]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:47am

the first show i saw on broadway was les miserables, and my mom new the person who played javert so we got to walk around back stage and get autographs from everyone before they left the building and were mobbed by the stage door fans... i got to see the dressing rooms and wigs and they made the stage spin and i got to walk on it its harder than it looks hehe

also seeing rent for the first time i dont know theres just something about that show that draws me to it if that makes any sense

[LiTtLeDaNcEr729]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:47am

I'd have to say Sutton in Millie- it was pretty much a life changing performance for me. I always loved dancing and singing and such, but when I saw this show I knew that I had to perform and that I wanted to perform for the rest of my life. I ended up seeing Sutton in the role 5 times. My third time I went backstage- which was amazing.

Another I guess would be seeing Lea Salonga in Miss Saigon when I was 9 (I think)- when she was back in the show for like...a four month run. I barely remember the show, but Lea is the first performer I looked up to. I remember getting home and watching our Les Mis 10th anniversary concert and being really excited because Lea was in it.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:47am

Without a doubt, the time I saw CATS on Broadway. I had seen some touring shows, but I had never actually been to Broadway before. I was agog. It was like having all my dreams come true at once. My mouth fell open when I walked into the theater and saw the amazing set. Then during intermission, everyone was allowed onstage, so I bolted up one of the ramps and got an up-close look. I even touched the stage before I went back to my seat. I was over the moon the entire night, but the absolute best part was when I actually got to touch a cast member. Rumpleteazer parked herself right next to me during "Macavity" and I thought "When am I ever going to get to do this agian?" so I reached out and scratched her on the head. She went along with it all the way. And that's not even the best part! Just before she went back onstage, she tapped me on the foot and gave me a huge smile.

[ScarletFever]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:52am

The first greatest musical theater experience was seeing Les Mis back in the 90's. It was the first musical I saw as a young adult and I didn't remember the few things my parents took me to as a very young child (Annie, 42nd St.). I remember picking it out on the TKTS board knowing nothing about the show other than hearing it is good. I had no idea what to expect out of a broadway show... I figured it'd probably be ok or good.
My sister and I didn't read the playbill and knew nothing of the story of Jean ValJean. During the prologue, we were mesmerized by what was happening on stage and trying to keep up at the same time.. Ok so this guy gets out of jail and he tries to find work.. new music, what is happening? Who is this.. this mayor person?.. ok that's him. What is happening now, there's a factory. Who is this Fantine person? What is she singing about.. Cossette?? What is that? Oh ok, so that is her daughter and she is trying to send her money.. oh no, she is dying. LOL trying to catch the lyrics the first time without knowing anything about that show is really tough! I remember wanting to cry during I Dreamed a Dream.. Andrea McArdle's voice (wow the girl from the Annie record I listened to over and over as a kid) was awesome and mind blowing (please don't criticize this point, LOL I LOVED her Fantine, she is my favorite to this day). Lovely Ladies was incredible at the time, I didn't want that song to end, I loved the whole scene: the prostitutes hunched together in the fog with the pimp on top... I'd never seen anything like it. After Lovely Ladies, the show slowed down to a less than frenzied pace and song after song was more beautiful than the last. We were teary at the end when you know who dies. I wanted to be Eponine, lol what girl doesn't? When the cast did the curtain call, I thought the applause was so thunderous and that there was a standing ovation, that it must be a unique thing only because this performace was SO incredible. When the cast left the stage, but then returned for the second bow, I thought for sure it was only because the audience gave such stupendous applause and it was a one time thing. I trully thought this was all a unique thing that didn't happen at every show.. or any other LOL. I ran home and called everyone I knew, especially my parents' gay theater freak friend to tell them just how absolutely unbelievable everyone's voices were in that show and that I've never heard voices like that in my life and those people are the most amazing singers in the world and the show is the most amazing thing in the world. My parents were like, um yeah that is what Broadway shows are and that is why those people are paid to do that. I trully did not think there was another person in the world better than the people in that cast that day. That show that day made me fall in love with Broadway instantly. That naive magic I felt that day could never be replaced.


I would have the say the second most unbelieveable theater experience was my second time seeing Caroline. The first time, I struggled a little to get the show and get through it as some of it was a drop tedious. After listening to the Cd, and the melodies became familiar and catchy and the lyrics made a lot more sense and I saw the amazing depth this show possesses, I went to see it again. It was no longer tedious, but just awesome. Tonya Pinkins was ROBBED. Every bit of her performance - even though her voice is a tad strained, it still fits her character amazingly- is a tour de force. But, her Lot's Wife moved me like nothing else live ever has. I almost wanted to lead a standing ovation, but was too chicken lol. But, those moments of musical theater are the most amazing, moving, heartfelt thing I have seen. I felt like I knew "Caroline" inside and out, body and soul, I felt as though I could breathe her in the air, smell her esseence and read her brain. Trully a remarkable, breathtaking performance. I loved Idina, but Tonya was surely robbed! It is so sad this beautiful piece of theater is closing!

[CJR]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:56am

Hollywood Arms opening night. I had two friends in the show and a friend with comp tickets..... I left work early cause "I was sick" and met up with her for the show.

I have never been so touched by a show. The story and the way it played out hit so close to home it was unbelieveable. At the end of the show when Louise (Michele Pawk) and Nanny (Linda Lavin) were standing together and Nanny realized Helen and Alice wouldn't be back, I began tearing up. Then when Helen (Donna Lynne Champlin) stepped back out onstage as her "adult self" and said "Mama died 3 months later..." I began to bawl. I have never had a show effect me like that.

[mtdog13]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 12:58am

Your Eyes in Rent. When Adam sang it, it was so heartfelt. I'm usually quite a 'tough' guy (sans tears), but I couldn't help it on this occasion. Either that or Defying Gravity (*ducks from flying produce*). That was amazing. Oh, and not to mention anything from Forbidden Broadway: Summer Shock. So yeah. That's that.

[LadyGuenevere]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 1:03am

Mine doesn't have to do with meeting an actor or anything, but I went to see my first straight play on Broadway last year- Anna In The Tropics.

It wasn't the most amazing thing, but what captivated me so much was the storyline. When I heard the shot and Juan Julian (Jimmy Smits) just writhed in pain- I didn't see it coming, it was so sudden. My heart practically stopped and I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. It was the first show to get an emotional response from me. Updated On: 8/21/04 at 01:03 AM

[CJR]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 1:10am

I have to admit that the end of Wicked (from For Good, straight till the end) gave me chills. I actually got a little teary, but nothing like my reaction to Hollywood Arms.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 1:19am

My greatest theatre experience has to be when I saw Les Miserables. I was five and didn't really understand what was going on so much, but when Eponine sang "On My Own", i cried. I remember thinking that it was so sad and beautiful. AT FIVE YEARS OLD! That's true love for a musical. Also, now this wasn't at the theatre but i luv the dancing so much i consider it so. A year later, I saw THE RED SHOES (the movie of course) and when the red shoes theme started to play i got up and i danced. it was then i realized i luv doing this, to dance to sing to act. i said "i wanna do this 'til i die." Those two were life changing for me.

[Crazy4MattMorrison52]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 1:25am

hairspray!!!

[LongIsland Grl]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 1:25am

I think mine is a toss up between Les Miserables and Rent. When I saw Les Miz for the 1st time, I cried like my puppy died. It was very cathartic. When Eponine and Fantine came out to meet Valjean at the end, I was literally shaking.

With Rent, I saw the original cast and it was so raw and heartfelt. I loved that it was all about love. Love for your friends, a parents love, homosexual love, heterosexual love. I really believe in the message.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 6:22am

1982. The Imperial Theatre. Jennifer Holliday doing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." The standing ovation started at the halfway point of the song. By the end people were literally standing ON their seats screaming, whistling, crying and carrying on, several people ran down the aisle and rushed to the edge of stage to try to reach out and touch her -- it was pure pandemonium. I had seen a hundred shows before it and have seen many hundreds of shows since -- nothing else compares to that moment. Not even close.

[Mamie]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 7:13am

I would have to say that my greatest theater experience also came with a performance of POTO. It was 2 weeks after 9/11 and I was finally able to get from DC to NY. I'd wanted to come before but travel there wasn't being encouraged. There were lots of stories about how 9/11 had nearly destroyed Broadway as well and attendance at Broadway shows was extremely low. I read an article in the Washington Post about how the cast of "Kiss Me Kate" had given up half their salaries in order to keep the show going. (I'm not sure right now, but this may have involved their actually buying half the seats in the theater and then giving them to the families of the fire fighters and rescue teams.) The article also showed a picture of the audience at POTO - and it was nearly empty.

I'd seen POTO about 7 times over the years and really didn't have any great desire to see it again, but that picture really got to me. I took an early train to NY on Wednesday and managed to get in early enough to run to the theater, with bag in hand, and catch Kiss Me Kate. Imagine the shock (and JOY) to discover a nearly full theater! As you all know, it was mostly filled with New Yorkers rather than the tourist trade. It was a wonderful performance and the energy between the audience and the stage was almost visible. But it was nothing compared to the performance that night at Phantom.

That night the theater was packed. (I'm glad I got my ticket early or I wouldn't have made it in.) The people started cheering when the first notes from the orchestra started. I had a great seat in the 4th row where I could easily see the expressions on the actors faces as they realized what was happening that night. I remember it starting during the rehearsal scene for Hannibal, when the ballet girls danced onto the stage and sat down at stage left. One looked into the audience and slightly elbowed the girl next to her. THat girl also looked up and eventually they were all staring around the orchestra and up in the balcony. You could tell they were stunned by the size of that audience. They were having trouble fighting off the smiles!

Well, this went on all through the performance. I found myself so emotionally wrapped up in what was going on that I spent a good part of the evening literally sitting on the edge of my seat. I wasn't the only one.

The show ended and the curtain calls started. The audience couldn't seem to clap loud enough as each member of the cast entered. Finally it's Howard M's turn out on the stage and THAT'S when it became my greatest theater experience. Every member of the audience was on it's feet - not just clapping but yelling for him and the others. A cheer started up in the balcony and then moved through the theater like a wave. EVERYONE was cheering. You know how the cast holds hands and stands in a line at the end? Well HM had to let go and hold his hands over his face. The emotion was too strong.

I'll always cherish the memory of that night and I'll keep it with me forever.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 7:33am

Juliette Binoche's final monologue in Naked ("you were my pretty dress....")
W;t, which left me unable to stand at the end, I was so overwhelmed.
Mary-Louise Parker in Proof, an intensity nobody else matched in the role.
Closer. Particularly the end of Act One when performed by Frances Barber.
The Donmar Warehouse production of Merrily, We Roll Along was perfection.

[BalletGirl85]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 7:43am

Seeing Sutton and Hunter in "Grease" on Broadway for my 12th Birthday (Sept 96). I was in the city for all those crazy "Annie" kid callbacks and I was being kept longer than they thought they were gonna need me and just having a crappy time because my mom had to go back to work and things were BLAH and then I saw "Grease" and was like HOLY CRAP and the cast amazed me, I fell in love with that show and an unhealthy "Grease" obsession began. Years later, I found my Playbill and saw that I saw both Foster siblings and I was thrilled because I remembered how much I enjoyed their performances.

[G]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 8:03am

Dame Judi in Amy's View. Beyond belief.

[ProducersFan]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 8:11am

Okay, everyone is going to groan on this one... but finally getting the chance to see Nathan and Matthew perform in The Producers.

I had missed the chance to get tickets through a series of unfortunate events. When it came down to the last few weeks, my mom took the bus up from Baltimore and I went up with a school-sponsored bus trip (which was going to see 42nd Street). After waiting in the cancellation line from about 10:30 to 1:55, we were told we were allowed to go buy our tickets. I starting shaking and sobbing - that was how emotional the experience made me. We didn't even see where we were sitting until an usher told us. When we got to our seats (which were awesome) I just completely lost it and started crying again. The show was just amazing and I don't think I've ever witnessed a performance as magical as that one. It was even more special to me because of what my mom went through to help me realize a "dream."

~Jessica

[Marquise]

Posted: 8/21/04 at 8:22am

Jennifer Holliday blowing the roof off the Imperial Theatre in the Act I Finale of "Dreamgirls"......

...Sheryl Lee Ralph descending a stairway that seemed to lead to the stars in the Act II opening of "Dreamgirls"...

M - A - G - I - C

Posted: 8/21/04 at 8:32am

Margo and Marquise - I read here (and have elsewhere) of our same experience with Dreamgirls. Obviously we didn't go on the same night - so this must have been the common occurrence. What an unbelievable thing to have witnessed it live.

And Margo - I was one of the idiots standing on his seat - and they talk about how nuts Idina fans are