Trying to avoid spoilers, but the conductor in Curtains sings the first song to open the second act.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
Trying to avoid spoilers, but the conductor in Curtains sings the first song to open the second act.
I would go so far to say that the conductor is actually another character. Not only is he in "our" world conducting Curtains but he is also conducting the show within the show.
"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".
It's been a while since I saw Sister Act but if memory serves the conductor gets involved in a major way during the finale. It would be a SPOILER to reveal it.
In South Pacific right after act 2's overture he yells something like a 1 2 3 4 to the actors that are dancing on stage for the Thanksgiving entertainment
In the Joe Papp/Public Theater's Pirates of Penzance, the conductor had a duel with the Pirate King.
In the Papp version, the Major-General also asks the conductor to play the last verse of Modern Major-General faster for an encore, and the conductor acknowledges him. (I will avoid spelling out the Italian and French he uses for fear of embarrassing myself.)
When I saw The Wizard of Oz in Boston with Mickey Rooney and Liliane Montevecchi, during "If I Were King of the Forest", the Cowardly Lion's tail got wrapped around the conductor so he popped up with a "WTF" look on his face. The stage was built with a section around the orchestra pit.
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
--Cartman: South Park
ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
There's one bit in the revival of Hair when I swear somebody shouts something to the conductor and he responds in some way. My memory is fuzzy, so I will ask my Hair-ite friend to confirm. Also, this was in the London production.
In Les Misérables, the conductor kind of participates in the wedding scene. Depends, of course, on the production and how much participation warrants a mention.
I've noticed the ITH one as well. He grabs Rickey Tripps hand as like a sign of the show going well or something. Chicago also comes to mind. But also, in Billy Elliot, the conductor sings along to the opening song, The Stars Look Down, and he always puts his hand up when Billy slides on the raked stage for the angry dance, just incase he falls.
The Spamalot conductor's treatment of the trumpet player during the overture made me laugh...
"Kimberly Grigsby always seems to find a way to work herself into the performance, whether it's called for or not."
Really? I've only seen her conduct Light in the Piazza and thought that her music direction was easily the best of all the shows I saw on that trip - does she usually make more of her part?
She used to bounce around and dance a lot when she conducted Spring Awakening, but I found that just added to the energy of the show rather than being distracting.