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| re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 11:42 am EST 12/20/17 | |
| In reply to: re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? - pfolson 11:10 am EST 12/20/17 | |
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| At the climax of "Lips Together, Teeth Apart", Christine Baranski, Nathan Lane and Swoozie Kurtz pull out Anthony Heald from the onstage pool where is trying to drown himself. They were kneeling, clustered around him and as they pulled his head out of the water he let out a substantial fart. My first thought was to wonder how he managed to do that on cue every night. But when I saw their shoulders shaking with helpless laughter,as well as the first 6 rows of the audience (it didn't reach the back row apparently) I knew we had witnessed a once in a lifetime event. | |
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| re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? | |
| Posted by: BruceinIthaca 12:09 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
| In reply to: re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? - Billhaven 11:42 am EST 12/20/17 | |
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| One from my long-ago high school days. We were doing a production of Mary Chase's "Mrs. McThing," and I was play Ellsworth, the chef. After a commotion onstage, I am cued to enter, poke my head through the kitchen dutch door, and say, "What's up? What's the beef?" Opening night, the stage crew hadn't fastened the set very well, and, in the commotion preceding my entrance, the entire set collapses--I then had to enter and utter my deathless line. I took one look at the stage, burst into laughter, and walked off (VERY unprofessional of me!). Forty years later, I still think of it and it gives me a grin. Poor Mr. Radford (the director)--we made is life such hell. | |
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| re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? | |
| Posted by: Gustave 05:19 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
| In reply to: re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? - BruceinIthaca 12:09 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
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| My Catholic boys high school put on "Song of Norway" with Jon Voight as one of the principals. (Yes, THAT Jon Voight!:) The show has a slightly off-color section of dialogue involving young guys and gals getting frisky during some festival. (It would be tame now, I'm certain, but this was the 1950s.) The cast rehearsed the original dialogue, but the director, a priest, decided not to use it. Everything went well until the Saturday matinee when, traditionally, the audience consisted entirely of invited priests, nuns and religious brothers. I was backstage when Voight inadvertently went into the original dialogue and the rest of the cast followed. The director/priest, standing next to me, immediately began tearing out large sections of the script and throwing them on the ground. Poor Jon caught hell when he finished the scene. PS. Why has no one mentioned Rex Harrison's legendary fart during the run of "My Fair Lady"? |
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| re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? | |
| Posted by: blfan 06:31 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
| In reply to: re: What are the 'best' onstage mishaps that you've seen in live theater? - Gustave 05:19 pm EST 12/20/17 | |
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| "Putting It Together" - opening number of Act 2, "Back in Business". Carol Burnett, George Hearn, Ruthie Henshall and John Barrowman all onstage. Midway through the number, Burnett's skirt simply falls to the floor. Audience goes crazy, as does Barrowman, who drops to the floor in hysterics, then gets up,, turns and shows the audience where he completely split the seat out of his pants in Act I and they had repaired them with duct tape. The show went on after a hasty costume change. On a personal note - In college I was in a production of Terrence Rattigan's "Separate Tables", which had a wonderful semi-revolve that moved back and forth between the lounge and dining room scenes. Last performance, last set change, the revolve jumps the track. Actors entering the dining room stagger, silverware, table centerpieces go flying, soup slops out of bowls. Everyone calmly gets seated, picks up everything as if it were a normal occurence and prepares to start the scene. The first line is from the maid to one of the old ladies: "Goulash or chicken fricasee?" Except what came out was: "Goulash or frickin chickasee?" The cast choked on their soup and the actress playing the old lady later said: "Thank God my line was 'goulash'!" |
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