costume/scenery reveals

I guess not exactly the same but I was shocked in Fun Home at the Young Vic London when they reveal the full house, which went so far deep and was so lavish and full. Suddenly it clicked that Helen really was kind of emotionally trapped in this massive house and the whole atmosphere became eerie and chilling. I guess they couldn’t quite do the same thing on Broadway in the round.

The laser show from the Chromolume in the original Sunday in the Park with George was such a shock if you weren’t familiar with the show. The barricades unfolding and coming together in Act 2 of the original Les Miserables was thrilling. I can still hear the wood creaking and yawning as if it were coming to life. The house opening up like a doll house in the 94 revival of An Inspector Calls. Everything about that production was exciting and gorgeous. In the original London production of Passion, the entire bedroom set flew up and out (including the bed) at the end of the first scene. The main playing area of the stage in The Rocky Horror Show at Circle in the Square transformed from the movie theater interior to a blank playing area by rotating 180 degrees making it look like the stage turned inside out.

"Loveland".

“Enchanted April” on Broadway- as soon as the show started, I thought I was seeing a play without a set. Then the lights went up after intermission to reveal a beautiful interior set of a mansion.

”The Merry Widow” at the Met- there was an amazing transition into the Chez Maxime set that involved can-can dancers being lowered from the ceiling.

Would love to see pics/vids of any or all of these if you have them?

To Fun Home's point. At the Circle, the house was revealed by the two entering from the audience as the entire house floated to stage level. It was gorgeous.

Definitely David Rockwell’s She Loves Me jewel box set, particularly when it opens up for the first time at the top of “Sounds While Selling”!

This one’s great too because you can watch it’s proshot on-demand and listen to the audience applaud that first changeover. Deservedly so, it’s stunning.

RippedMan said: "Therese Raquin also at Studio 54 was really gorgeous. The house set coming down from the rafters. Then the reveal of the pool. Really a stunning production."

Agreed! That production was one of the most beautifully designed things I have ever seen on Broadway.

The mirror in the most recent revival of Three Tall Women deserves a mention, a fantastic way to denote what’s happening in the second half as well as being just plain surreal. For those who missed it, the first act (with the three “real” women) took place in a lavish bedroom that occupied the front half of the stage. For the second act (where the women become the old woman at different stages of life), the wall at the back of the room flew up, revealing an exact mirror copy of the set facing upstage, and behind that was an actual huge mirror, reflecting both the mirrored set and the downstage set, which is where the action continues to take place. On top of that, in the bed in the mirrored set was an actress playing the (dying, I think) old lady, who mostly laid comatose but would move now and then.

It was so simple but so perfect.

The two remaining Franco Zeffirelli productions at the Met:

LA BOHEME: After Act One, there is a brief pause before the curtain rises to reveal the three level Act Two set of Montmatre on Christmas Eve. The stage is populated by about 100 extras all dressed in period costumes and there's a dancing bear in their midst. It elicits an audible grasp from the audience.

TURANDOT: The second act begins with the characters of Ping, Pang, and Pong in front of their homes. When they finish their trio, the houses slowly rise to reveal the stunning palace of Princess Turnadot. It's mostly gold and seems to float on a lake with lily pads. There are about 80 extras onstage and when Turandot appears, she's dressed in aqua which really stands out against the gold on the palace walls and stairways. It, too, causes the audience to gasp.

The original production of NINE when all the women (except Louisa) came out wearing all white duplicates of their all black fashions.

Updated On: 2/22/22 at 01:36 PM

The set reveal that opens the second act in Hand to God. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time! I miss that play.

Updated On: 2/23/22 at 10:53 AM

Say what you want about the production, but the transition between Eva, Beware of the City and Buenos Aires in the Evita revival also struck me as beautiful.