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| 1776 matinee today, The Egg...projection/video didn't run | |
| Posted by: Showtunegal 10:44 pm EST 11/19/22 | |
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| I saw 1776 at the matinee and as we were walking along 42nd Street after the show, a friend and I were saying how we didn't understand why they swelled the music and rocked it out during The Egg--we couldn't even hear the singers. Then someone who had been to the same performance joined our conversation and said there's supposed to be a bunch of images of famous US protests--suffrage, MLK Jr, pussy hats, etc., and I remembered Sara Porkalab taiking about how she thought Jan 6 should have been included. So that solved why the music had swelled over the singers...it was supposed to accompany those images. But it did not. My question, as someone who doesn't work in the theater is, what are reasons that could go wrong in a Broadway house? I mean, it doesn't seem like a tricky effect to pull off. And...I wonder If they were unwilling to start the images a little late because then they would have been off with the music? Grateful if anyone has any insight. Thank you! | |
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| "it doesn't seem like a tricky effect to pull off" | |
| Last Edit: waterfall 01:30 am EST 11/20/22 | |
| Posted by: waterfall 01:20 am EST 11/20/22 | |
| In reply to: 1776 matinee today, The Egg...projection/video didn't run - Showtunegal 10:44 pm EST 11/19/22 | |
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| I had to laugh a little at this. Almost everything behind the scenes is more complicated than it seems - it just *looks* easy. There are *so* many things that could have gone wrong. Chromolume mentioned a couple of possible suspects: human error, computer glitch. It could have been a power surge or failure - the latter is unlikely, though, as there are backup systems in place that automatically kick in. The equipment itself could have failed. There is so much going on that you don't see. Things like this happen far more often than you'd think. Turntables don't turn. Lights don't light. Lifts don't lift. A missed cue might not be noticed, so it's often the better choice to skip it rather than start late. In your case, you knew something was odd, but had the projection started late, you would have *known* something was wrong. It would have taken you out of the show. I am willing to bet that most of your fellow audience members did not register what you did. Perhaps they were unable to start/restart the images. Starting some cues late could result in injury or even death (think automation or pyro). I'm reminded of a discussion I had here once regarding a lamp failure in a movie house. Another poster wondered why it took so long to get the movie going again: "How hard is it to replace a light bulb?". I explained that that kind of "light bulb" can very easily explode, sending hot glass shrapnel everywhere. To change one requires a face shield, goggles, chest and throat protectors, and very long and heavy gloves. Sorry I have no definitive answer for you, but I hope I have offered some insight. |
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| re: "it doesn't seem like a tricky effect to pull off" | |
| Posted by: Showtunegal 10:42 am EST 11/20/22 | |
| In reply to: "it doesn't seem like a tricky effect to pull off" - waterfall 01:20 am EST 11/20/22 | |
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| you did, thank you! All this technical stuff is fascinating. And I've actually seen various other snafus (who hasn't, in a life of theater going) but I wondered about this one. I saw a production of If/Then where the entire fire escape that's supposed to descend for the final number of the first act didn't come down, for instance, and when I saw Spider-man there was only one "hold" from the god mike...thanks again. | |
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| re: "it doesn't seem like a tricky effect to pull off" | |
| Posted by: waterfall 05:50 pm EST 11/21/22 | |
| In reply to: re: "it doesn't seem like a tricky effect to pull off" - Showtunegal 10:42 am EST 11/20/22 | |
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| You're welcome! I have posted here for around 20 years but lurk more than post. One of my favorite snafus was in The Full Monty. There is a lighting cue during the "reveal" that obscures the nudity - except one night when it didn't happen, and the audience got an eyeful! |
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| re: 1776 matinee today, The Egg...projection/video didn't run | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 12:33 am EST 11/20/22 | |
| In reply to: 1776 matinee today, The Egg...projection/video didn't run - Showtunegal 10:44 pm EST 11/19/22 | |
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| Sometimes things just glitch. See: the version of Wicked where the cherry picker fails and the cast lays on the floor | |
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| re: 1776 matinee today, The Egg...projection/video didn't run | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 10:59 pm EST 11/19/22 | |
| In reply to: 1776 matinee today, The Egg...projection/video didn't run - Showtunegal 10:44 pm EST 11/19/22 | |
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| It could have been a human error (missed cue - those do still happen all the time lol), or perhaps a computer glitch...and yes, I would suspect that starting the cue late would have put things too out of sync, even if that wouldn't have been obvious to the audience. ...TBH, even though it would seem I liked the production more than a lot of folks out here, I daresay the song would have been perfectly fine without the projections and the rock part of the arrangement. (My apologies to Ms. Porkalob.) |
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