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Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: DistantDrumming 03:48 pm EST 12/29/22
In reply to: A Chorus Line's dazzling night - and others - TheBroadwayMaven 03:29 pm EST 12/29/22

The Chorus Line one sounds especially thrilling.
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: dsikula 05:01 am EST 12/30/22
In reply to: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - DistantDrumming 03:48 pm EST 12/29/22

I was and wasn't at the Chorus Line performance. I lived in California, and even though I'd already seen it about 20 times at the LA Shubert, wasn't able to snag a ticket, but arranged a trip for that week. I saw "Night, Mother" earlier in the evening, knowing it was short and that I'd be out before curtain time at the Shubert.

I went to the theatre, hoping to somehow scrounge a ticket, and couldn't do that, but got lucky and was able to watch the whole thing on the monitors of the TV truck that was recording it. It was indeed fabulous.
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: claploudly 09:51 am EST 12/30/22
In reply to: re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - dsikula 05:01 am EST 12/30/22

WAIT dsikula - you mean it was recorded?????????????
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: AlanScott 02:37 pm EST 12/30/22
In reply to: re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - claploudly 09:51 am EST 12/30/22

It was shot for the Theatre on Film and Tape collection at the Library for the Performing Arts (TOFT). It may be viewed there. Not sure if special permission is needed.

There was also a great deal of television coverage that included some excerpts from the performance.
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: simbo 02:28 pm EST 12/30/22
In reply to: re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - claploudly 09:51 am EST 12/30/22

I think the curtain call was broadcast ... it's on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo0iIoWePYI
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It was my most exciting night in the theatre
Posted by: GreatMartin (greatmartin2003@yahoo.com) 11:46 pm EST 12/29/22
In reply to: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - DistantDrumming 03:48 pm EST 12/29/22

My friend Buddy Vest, who played Zach on the tour and who was in "Dreamgirls" at that time, gave me and our mutual friend, Bob Kingsbury of the University of Illinois in Carbondale, tickets.
We rented tuxes to wear at that performance and my hands were sore and I had a sore throat from applauding and clapping during the whole show. I have seen "A Chorus Line" on stage for 101
performances all over the USA .
I have been going to the theatre since 1944 when I saw Alfred Drake in "Oklahoma" and saw many memorable performances of musicals and plays plus performers BUT seeing Michael Bennett's
special performance for "A Chorus Line" still takes my breath away when I see youtube's shots of that performance.
Sadly Buddy died in the 1990s but memories of him AND "A Chorus Line" will never die'.
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re: It was my most exciting night in the theatre
Posted by: DistantDrumming 03:06 am EST 12/30/22
In reply to: It was my most exciting night in the theatre - GreatMartin 11:46 pm EST 12/29/22

Thank you for sharing, GreatMartin. Sounds incredible. And, gosh, from 1944 to 2020, you must have seen some amazing productions. I'm curious to know if there are other memorable nights in the theatre you'll never forget... probably too many to name, I imagine.
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: EvFoDr 06:06 pm EST 12/29/22
In reply to: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - DistantDrumming 03:48 pm EST 12/29/22

I attended the performance where Phantom became the longest running show in Broadway history. Darn, it wasn't that long ago but the details are fuzzy :-) I do remember a very beautiful special program booklet and I think a mask of sorts for everyone. The party was at the Waldorf and Lauren Bacall was there. Sorry it's a slim recollection, but overall a very magical night. That said, my number one "special" performance experience was the closing night of the original production of Les Miserables....which 15 years earlier had been the first Broadway show I ever saw. But that's another story for another time :-)
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: NoPeopleLike 07:30 am EST 12/30/22
In reply to: re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - EvFoDr 06:06 pm EST 12/29/22

The party was not at the waldorf.
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: EvFoDr 11:08 am EST 12/30/22
In reply to: re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - NoPeopleLike 07:30 am EST 12/30/22

LOL. Really? And there's Betty Bacall with Hal Prince in the gallery thumbnails, third from the bottom in the far left row.

"The music of the night was heard up and down Broadway on January 9, when Andrew Lloyd Webber's epic musical The Phantom of the Opera played its 7,486th performance and broke the record for the longest-running show on the Great White Way, displacing Cats for the title. On that fateful night, the curtain call at the Majestic Theatre brought together Phantom cast members past and present as well as producer Cameron Mackintosh, director Harold Prince, choreographer Gillian Lynne and Lord Lloyd Webber himself for an emotional and exciting curtain call. After the record-breaking performance, an enormous gala celebrated the milestone at the WALDORF-ASTORIA. Here's to another 7,486 performances, Phantom!"
Link https://www.broadway.com/shows/the-phantom-of-the-opera/photos/the-phantom-unmasks-its-record-breaking-performance
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: FleetStreetBarber 04:02 pm EST 12/29/22
In reply to: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - DistantDrumming 03:48 pm EST 12/29/22

I attended the performance at which "Fiddler" became Broadway's longest-running show. I had purchased my ticket using a twofer and sat in the rear orchestra. Hal Prince invited the audience onstage after the final curtain, along with the casts of every other show on Broadway, for supper catered by Nathan's. In addition to our Playbills, we each received a one-sheet cast list printed in black on gold fabric.
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: DistantDrumming 05:26 pm EST 12/29/22
In reply to: re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - FleetStreetBarber 04:02 pm EST 12/29/22

What a fun memory! Did you know it was going to be such a special performance when you bought the tickets?

The cast, the audience and the casts of every other Broadway show fit on the stage? That's impressive!
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re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances?
Posted by: FleetStreetBarber 06:22 pm EST 12/29/22
In reply to: re: Were any of you at these record-breaking performances? - DistantDrumming 05:26 pm EST 12/29/22

I should amend my previous email to clarify somewhat. The performance I attended was on Friday evening, July 21, 1971, when "Fiddler" became Broadway's longest running MUSICAL. In June of 1972, it surpassed "Life with Father" to become Broadway's longest-running SHOW.

To answer your question, yes there was some advance publicity that there would be a celebration at the theater, although I don't think the casts of most of the other shows playing at the time showed up in droves. The only performer I remember seeing was Dom DeLuise who had recently replaced James Coco in "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers."
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