Stop the Show! A History of Insane Incidents and Absurd Accidents in the Theatre by Brad Schreiber was released by Thunder's Mouth Press this month.
"The first collection of theater's greatest blunders, from the West End and Broadway to the lowliest amateur theater,
Stop the Show! revels in ruined lines, dangerous scenery, rude theatergoers, performers sabotaging each other and more," state press notes.
"Among the outrageous and mind-boggling events during live performances:
Richard Burton, after an afternoon of drinking with his brothers, accidentally urinates through his tights while swordfighting Michael Redgrave at Stratford-upon-Avon.
The Second City Toronto member who took LSD for the first time feels its effects hours later...in the middle of a comedy sketch, posing as a taxi cab driver.
A homeless woman climbs onstage during a production of
Cats on Broadway, rubs up against stunned, costumed performers and begins singing off-key.
In London's intimate Bush Theatre, an actor finds himself onstage with a petrified burglar who sneaked inside the building to rob it, not knowing it was a theatre.
An April Fool's Day announcement in a Broadway theatre, claiming that
Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfus and Gene Hackman all have understudies going on for them creates a mass exodus from the theatre before the audience can learn it's a joke.
The book is currently available from
Amazon.com and other retailers. Visit Brad Schreiber's homepage at
www.brashcyber.com.
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