Muck-Up Matinees?

[Littleshopofcarrie]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 11:55am

I know there have been some in the West End but have there ever been any Muck-Up Matinees on Broadway??

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 11:56am

Broadway doesn't have big, sweeping annual cast changes in one day like the West End. So this tends not to happen.

[broadway guy2]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 1:17pm

Didn't WICKED have a MUCK-UP MATINEE when Idina appeared out of costume in her red Jumpsuit and started talking to the audience? And then Glinda went out of character and yelled "I love Idina Menzel" to everyone.. It's on youtube somewhere. If I was an audience member during that show I would have been pissed.

Updated On: 12/17/13 at 01:17 PM

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 4:02pm

That was not a matinee. That was scheduled to be Idina's last performance in WICKED. She was injured the day before and had to call off her last two shows and Shoshana Bean went on for her.
That was definitely a weird night, but a LARGE majority of the audience members were there specifically for Idina. It is joked about a lot in the community because a lot of people flew in from all over the country to see her last show, even from London. So yes, she did appear out of costume in the last two minutes of the show. Yes, it was utter commotion however considering that most of the people in the actual audience had seen the show before and were there to see Idina herself, it was expected.

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 4:53pm

"Sunset Blvd" on Broadway closed on a Saturday. Elaine Paige at the matinee added a few adlibs but nothing crazy. The muck ups seem to be a more west end thing.

[Parsley]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 5:21pm

Not a fan of muckup,matinees. I really was not impressed during Gavroche's death scene that matinee when Enjolras was wearing Mme Thenadier's wig. Kind of took the edge off the moment :)

[broadway guy2]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 5:25pm

That happened during an actual performance of Les Mis? Wow that's really unprofessional.

[Sinfonian4life]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 6:28pm

No, that is the point of a muck-up. They do things not normally in the production. While that may be a little over the top...it is part of the muck-up.

I think that the U.S. does this through the concerts a 54 Below, ect. It may not be the whole show, but they may do something that is not normally in the show. I think that is where it would be more of a hit....thought?

Posted: 12/17/13 at 6:42pm

Are the audience members aware beforehand that it is a "muck-up matinee?"

If I was aware I don't think I would mind it, but if it was unannounced I think I would be a little upset.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 7:28pm

It's like pranks in high school shows on their closing night, right?

[broadway guy2]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 7:42pm

The cast of RENT did that 24/7. Every show was a Muck-up show for them. That show completely fell apart cause Michael Grief never came back to touch up the show and the cast was always goofing off and completely destroying John Larson's message.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 10:44pm

^The original cast?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 11:09pm

He said 24/7. The show was never, EVER done the way it was supposed to, but it was done around the clock all day every day. Even more performances per week than Sleep No More today.

[broadway guy2]

Posted: 12/17/13 at 11:36pm

No not the original cast, the cast of the later years. Thank God that show closed.

[sparepart973]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 1:44pm

I've seen several muckup matinees, and while there isn't an announcement, there is a big number of audience in attendance who are die hard fans of the show who would spot the jokes. In almost all the muckups I've seen, they are done in the fun/lighter moment of the show and not in the dramatic moments at all. Seriously, if you are not a fan of the show you would not know at all. I would say even repeated audience members wouldn't notice, as the muck up tends to happen in very minute details of the show. You really need to know the show quite well to spot them. Most of them are also done by the ensemble and not the principles. It does seem to be a West End tradition rather than Broadway. Having said that, the final matinee of Rebecca in Stuttgart was a muck up as well. In just about every muck up matinee I've seen, there were parts where I heard some fans giggle except I couldn't really spot the variation.

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 4:12pm

Shut up BroadwayGuy. I saw the final Broadway cast of "Rent" at least once a week during the final months. Aside from Renee having trouble vocally there was no goofing off. Grief was there. The show closed with an amazing cast.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 4:29pm

Can someone explain what a "muck-up matinee" is? Not sure I understand.

[broadway guy2]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 4:30pm

Oh sure, once they got word that it was closing and it was going to be filmed then everyone started caring again. But the few years before the final cast, the show was a joke. Yes they still did their job and did the show, but you could tell a lot of heart got lost in the later years. Greif never came in and cleaned up the show like it desperately needed. End of Story.

Updated On: 12/18/13 at 04:30 PM

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 12/18/13 at 4:54pm

Can you prove that?

And it's spelled Greif. G-R-E-I-F.