The Bizarre, Ridiculous & Peculiar- 10 Strangest Theatrical Moments of 2014
By: Nicole Rosky Jan. 01, 2015
As 2014 comes to a close, it seems only fitting to look back on the craziest moments of this year- and there were many. From the cancellations of major productions to onstage flubs and unpredictable audience behavior, 2014 was nothing if not buzz-worthy.
Below, BroadwayWorld invites you to recall the most bizarre, ridiculous and peculiar things that happened on Broadway this year. Think we missed a stange moment? Share which oddity you found the oddest with us below!
10. Fare-Thee-Well
At the very beginning of the year, producers David Mirvish and Barry & Fran Weissler announced that Titanic would sail back to Broaday in Fall 2014. Then in May, the team confirmed that the planned revival had been postponed, delaying the highly-anticipated return of the ship of dreams to the Great White Way. Originally announced to have a Toronto run in July and August, and then transfer to New York immediately afterwards, TITANIC's schedule was reportedly altered due to the lack of availability of an appropriate Broadway theater for the show.
Producers announced that they intend on bringing the revamped version of the musical to Broadway when an ideal theater becomes available, though no announcement has yet been made clarifying future Broadway plans for the show.
Earlier this month, Wall Street Journal writer Joanne Kaufman openy admitted in a piece titled "Confessions of a Broadway Bolter," to how often she leaves in the middle of Broadway shows, sparking uproar in the theatre community. Rick Miramontez, of Broadway public relations firm O&M Co. wrote a letter to the WSJ editor that was never published, so instead, O&M published it to their blog. Miramontez writes,
"I have been representing plays and musicals for more than three decades, and in my role as press agent I have handed out tens-of-thousands of free tickets to members of the media. While the general public plunks down hard-earned money for the pleasure and privilege of witnessing the world's greatest stage talents flaunt their craft on Broadway, members of the press corps are traditionally given pairs of "press tickets," gratis... The hope, of course, is that those free tickets will yield coverage, and that coverage will convince the general public to plunk down said hard-earned money."
"So when your columnist, Joanne Kaufman, penned her piece entitled "Confessions of a Broadway Bolter," in which she boasts about the sheer number of times she skips out of the theater at intermission (trying, she tells us, not to get "spotted and caught out by the press agent who provided me with the tickets in the first place") I couldn't help but feel a bit like a chump for having accommodated the woman so many times over the years."
""Joltin' Joanne" Kaufman makes it sound like an unbearable hardship to have to sit through the entirety of a Broadway show. As the overwhelming majority of her colleagues manage to sit through (and often rave about) the very shows she bolts from, I have to think that this is less a reflection of the quality of the works and simply indicative of a woman who loathes the art form. It seems to me that a theater reporter who hates theater would be well served to find another beat."
"Well, let me be the first of what I hope will be many press agents to unburden Joltin' Joanne from her hardship. She will never be invited to another show by my office. If she deems a show of ours worthy enough for her (fleeting) attention, she is more than welcome to call us to arrange tickets -- but she had better have a credit card handy."
The day that a closing notice is posted is usually a sad one, but in the case of MOTOWN THE MUSICAL, it included equal parts good news. When the show announced this fall that it would close at the the Lunt Fontanne Theatre on January 18, 2015, it also revealed that not only would the show open in the UK in summer 2015, but that it also already had plans to return to Broadway in a Nederlander theatre to be announced in July, 2016.
On the announcement of the plan, Kevin McCollum commented, "We are only saying farewell to Broadway for now. We are leaving on a strong note, because we have a plan in place to come back even stronger. We've seen that Motown the Musical demonstrably appeals to a wide range of audiences. The passionate response to our show and the Motown catalogue puts us in a great position to arrange a successful return, while at the same time Motown the Musical branches out nationally and internationally."
7. Could We Start Again Please?
In April it was announced that Ben Forster, Michelle Williams and JC Chasez woud lead a 50-City US arena tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, so it came to everyone's surprise when the entire production was called off just months later. According to social media reports, assembled cast and crew were informed of the cancellation following a run-through of the show on May 30.
Lead producer Michael Cohl, eventually addressed the sudden news, describing the overall situation as "horrific" and accordingly revealed, "We realized we had a problem the day we went on sale." Furthermore, Cohl shared that options were being explored to keep the production afloat to the last possible moment, but those plans ultimately did not work out.
"We all worked very hard reinventing things, rethinking things, fighting the good fight. And it just got to the point ... Look, it is a business, let's face it. We had to make the right business decision," Cohl said of the abrupt cancellation. Cohl added, "We've questioned a thousand things - if we had gone with one or two lead superstars, if we had gone with a cheaper ticket price. We knew that this was a very risky project... We thought we had a shot."
At this year's Tony Awards, Golden Globe and Tony Award-winning actor Hugh Jackman returned to host for the fourth time. The song and dance man's big opening number featured him bouncing through the aisles, halls and backstage area of New York's famed Radio City Music Hall, running into several famous faces and nominees along the way.
While the number was certainly amusing and entertaining, many were left wondering, what's with the hopping? According to the star's rep Alan Nierob, the routine was a tribute to a song titled 'Take Me to Broadway', performed by Bobby Van in the film Small Town Girl.
The drama continued at Manderley this year. In October, it was reported that Mark Hotton, who in 2012 scammed the producers of REBECCA out of $65,000 and all-but extinguished the musical's plans for a Broadway run, was sentenced to almost three years (34 months) in federal prison. Hotton admitted to his part in what the judge deemed an "extremely elaborate" swindle; the con man "asked for time served" and will also pay $68,000 in restitution to REBECCA's lead producer Ben Sprecher.
Hotton's disastrous fraud scheme cost 130 people their jobs. Sprecher told the News after the hearing: "He did a terrible thing." Hotton refused to speak during the trial; Sprecher commented on Hotton's silence by saying, "An apology would still be nice."
REBECCA was around $4 million away from its goal when Hotton agreed to help the show's producers raise the rest of the money. The News says Hotton "promised access to millionaire investors for a finder's fee. But the investors were make-believe, and when producers got suspicious about one of them, the scammer had him 'die' from malaria."
Some serious cast shuffling went down, just last week at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. Idina Menzel, who plays 'Elizabeth' in the musical, couldn't go on, and Jackie Burns, who stands by for the role, was on vacation. So what is a Broadway musical to do? Turn to Jenn Colella. Colella, who normally plays Anne in the musical, tweeted:
TWEEPS! I just learned that I'm going on for Idina in the role of Elizabeth in today's matinee!! Get down to the Richard Rodgers if u can!
I'm deeply grateful for all of the LOVE & support I received today! Thanks, y'all! Wow. My respect for @idinamenzel is even more immense.
Back in Octotober, the iconic blond wig worn by East German Rocker Hedwig (aka star Michael C. Hall) during Broadway's hit musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, went missing. At the emotional climax of the show, the character takes off his wig for the first time and throws it on the ground in an act of defiance. According to a source, "Normally, the crew gets it immediately after the curtain call." However last Saturday evening, "the wig was nowhere to be found. They suspect an eager fan grabbed it [off the stage] and made off with it."
Those involved in the mystery believed the thief planned to wear the prop for Halloween. Warned Hedwig producer David Binder, "You do not mess with Hedwig's wigs. I'm afraid for the poor person who did this, because Hedwig will find you - hunt you down, and do unspeakable things to you. Trust me, you'd better not wear it in the Village on Friday. She'll snatch it right off your head, and if she takes a handful of your actual hair, I can't be held responsible."
2. The Wickedly Talented Adele Dazeem
It was the pronunciation that sparked a million tweets. On March 2, John Travola made his way to the Acadamy Awards stage and gave his now infamous introtuction of Idina Menzel, who then performed he Frozen mega-hit "Let It Go."
Josh Gad wrote in USA Today: "Adele Dazeem," he begins. "Not since I first heard the term "Gluten Free" have I been so shocked by two words. You see, for The Past three years, I thought I had been working with musical artist Idina Menzel while recording my lines for Frozen, but instead I had been working with an actress that sounds like a Season 4 terrorist on Homeland. So who is this Adele Dazeem and how has she captured the nation?"
He continues, "in order to truly understand how this "wickedly talented" performer snuck into the Oscar ceremony and bamboozled us into thinking she was the same girl from Enchanted, we must first understand the depth of her web of deceit. Thankfully, much like he has done throughout his storied career, John Travolta unmasked this fraud like she was Nicholas Cage's face in the aptly titled Face-Off. So what were Adele Dazeem's true intentions?"
Remember that time BroadwayWorld broke the news that Shia LaBeouf had been escorted out of a performance of Cabaret, and then subsequently arrested? In a series of bizarre events, the actor was taken to jail during intermision for being disruptive during the first act of the Tony-nominated revival. According to cast member Danny Burstein on Facebook, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your places call for Act II. Also, to let you know, Shia LaBeouf has just been escorted from the building in handcuffs."
While tales of the evening seemed too ridiculous to be true, LaBeouf then explained the situation from his perspective on Jimmy Kimmel months later. Find out what went down below:
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