Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
#1Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/27/16 at 9:59pm
from Playbill.com http://www.playbill.com/article/cue-a-revisited-whats-your-worst-flubbed-line-missed-cue-onstage-mishap-60-actors-respond
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
#2Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/27/16 at 10:37pm
This was one of my favorites: (Gavin Creel) : Recently in Hair, I totally blanked on the entire second verse in "The Flesh Failures" at the end of the show. I finished the first verse and froze. I had no idea what the words were, so I just walked forward in silence with my arms out. Will started screaming out "CLAUDE!!!" to try and fill space but I just kept walking... in silence... Megan Lawrence told me afterwards that that is called going into "the white room." I don't like the white room. (First time I've heard of the term "the white room."
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
broadwayguy91
Broadway Star Joined: 12/23/15
#3Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/27/16 at 10:47pm
I still wish there was at least an audio recording of Kristin Chenoweth's Vicodin episode in Wicked. Of all the days to NOT have a bootlegger in the audience.. GRRR! LOL
#4Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/27/16 at 10:50pm
Would you be more forthcoming, as I am not familiar with this Vicodin incident?
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
broadwayguy91
Broadway Star Joined: 12/23/15
#5Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/28/16 at 2:40am
Patti LuPone FANatic said: "Would you be more forthcoming, as I am not familiar with this Vicodin incident?
"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7SnpOiryE8 Kristin starts talking about the Vicodin incident at the 2:28 mark.
#6Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/28/16 at 6:27am
2:34 more or less. It was a funny story.
"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)
Alex Kulak2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/11/16
#7Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/28/16 at 8:49am
I played Will Parker in Oklahoma, and during "The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends", I forgot my first line in the song, and sang Curly's line that came after mine instead.
ggersten
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#9Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/29/16 at 11:11pm
I am glad to hear that most of these on-stage mishaps involve forgetting lines or songs. As an older person studying acting, I was afraid that my Swiss cheese memory was something unique. I usually remember the lines more or less, but getting them down word for word often proves difficult.
Audrey
Audrey, the Phantom Phanatic, who nonetheless would rather be Jean Valjean, who knew how to make lemonade out of lemons.
Broadway Star Joined: 12/31/69
#10Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/30/16 at 12:12am
I watched this happen during "The Drowsy Chaperone." At the end of a scene the chaperone (Beth Leavel) and Aldolpho (Danny Burstein) climb onto the murphy bed and the murphy bed folds up into the wall on the right side of the stage (looking at it). Except at this performance the lifting mechanism jammed and the bed stopped halfway up with a sickening screech, then thud -- tilted at a 45 degree angle.
At first Beth and Danny were frozen -- wondering if the bed would start moving again. Then Danny seemed to realize the bed was broken, slid down quickly, then put his arms out and lifted Beth down and out of harm's way as gracefully as he could.
Just then the stage manager ran out from the opposite side of the stage -- his headset on, a clipboard in his hands, looking around frantically.
"Oh no!," Danny ad-libbed, "here come the neighbors. We better get outta here!" as he grabbed Beth's hand and they dashed offstage.
The audience roared.
ggersten
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/06
#11Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/30/16 at 12:22am
Clark Gregg tells about A Few Good Men playing the "Kevin Bacon" role and understudying the "Tom Cruise" role and going on for the "Tom Cruise" part without knowing the lines:
http://www.nbc.com/late-night-with-seth-meyers/video/clark-gregg-improvised-a-few-good-men-on-broadway/3102100.
#12Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/30/16 at 1:06am
Like Will Swenson's story, I was in a show once where I forgot to bring on a prop that was a major factor in the scene and I couldn't get offstage to get it. So, I had to find something on the stage to use as a replacement which was just so much fun for everyone else to have to adlib about.
I still have have nightmares about that.
Rainah
Broadway Star Joined: 11/24/16
#13Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/30/16 at 8:35am
I can't decide what I love more, Groff forgetting his lyrics to Left Behind or Lin burping mid-dear theodosia (of all the places to have it happen...) There's a video on the web somewhere, as they were filming backstage at the time and heard it.
#14Broadway Actors Reveal Their Worst Onstage Mishaps
Posted: 11/30/16 at 4:07pm
Would love to hear more stories from everyone. I know I've seen a lot of mishaps from forgetting lines to falls. My story is one year during summer theater while working front of house, the play onstage was getting a lot of laughs. The set included a door leading into a living room scene. Door is centered back of stage middle. One of the actors goes through door and door falls down. It stays that way for awhile and at one point a stage hand comes on and puts the door back on as the characters continue with their scene. The plot has to do with the characters getting a lot of money. At the end of the play as each character says what they will do with the money, one character changes their line to say, "Get the door fixed."
