Best staged number in theatre history?- Page 3

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:08am

Am I the only one who simply skips any post listing more than 3 to 5 favorites?

I'm not the thread boss and I'm sure posters will continue to do as they please, but if, using this thread for an example, one simply lists every great number one ever saw, I think one has missed the point of the assignment.

***

Sally, when I saw DREAMGIRLS, the entire audience applauded and screamed throughout "And I Am Telling You", so Miss H got plenty of applause. If she was robbed, it was by having to sing that entire number from behind a table, six minutes I nominate for the WORST STAGING thread. (But I agree with you about ending the act with the Dreams. Excellent choice. I liked it even better two years earlier when Martin Scorsese or Gower Champion did the same thing with Liza and the Chorus in THE ACT.)

Updated On: 3/26/15 at 09:08 AM

[DeafScribbler]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 6:31pm

Since many of my favorites have already been suggested, I will add those that have not been mentioned yet.

Since I'm Deaf, and rely much on visuals, my examples are more visual-oriented rather than auditory-oriented.

But "Circle of Life" from THE LION KING gets me every single time. The parade of animals, the birds flying, the African drums, everything. ASL interpreters too.

The Deaf West production of PIPPIN, "Magic to Do" was goosebump-inducing, especially with the hands coming out of the stage floor.

The Chicago sit-down production of JOSEPH... DREAMCOAT in the '90s, the "Any Dream Will Do" finale where a trapeze descended from above and Joseph rode it up with his coat stretching out 20, 30 feet. To a six-years-old who had no idea what they were singing about (not knowing the lyrics nor the dialogue), this was incredible. Haven't seen any other productions do this.

"La vie Boheme" from RENT for the choreography and the dancing atop tabletops. The fact that I had killer ASL interpreters that night only enhanced the experience as the actors acknowledged them from the tabletops (and threw in a sign or two). This was the '09 tour.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 7:19pm

Do you have a blog? Because I would read it.

Updated On: 3/26/15 at 07:19 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 7:47pm

Wonderful, eye-opening post (no pun intended), DeafScribbler.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 8:10pm

I can't isolate a single number because certain directors and choreographers have achieved what the French call a coup de theatre many times: Jerome Robbins, Gower Champion, Michael Bennett, Tommy Tune. Some of their entire productions would qualify. Hal Prince achieved it with A Little Night Music. And since DeafScribbler mentioned Deaf West, their production of Big River was spectacularly staged and extraordinarily moving.

And that's just musical theater. The overall visual effect of two productions of non-musical plays by John Dexter are indelibly imprinted in my mind: Equus and M. Butterfly. (He also did a production of Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmèlites for the Metropolitan Opera that is similarly etched in my mind.)

But if I had to choose, it would be Jerome Robbins's funeral procession at the end of West Side Story and Michael Bennett's "Who's That Woman."

[DeafScribbler]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 8:25pm

FindingNamo: Yes I do - www.thecreativepensieve.blogspot.com - there are several theater-related posts and ASL deconstructions of show tunes. I plan on adding more in the future now that there seems to be interest in this kind of perspective of a theatergoer that is Deaf : )

Reginald, thank you for those kind words. It's not often I see something like this aside from the eyebrow-raising or scoffing that a Deaf person might even be remotely interested in musicals.

Back on track - I thought of one more: the scene in IN THE HEIGHTS where the lights all went out save for cell phones used by the actors on stage. While I would not describe this scene as "best", it very well did leave an effect on me since I couldn't see the actors but I could hear somewhat - but not understand anything they were saying. Disembodied voices in foreign languages gives for a very unsettling feeling, and it did its job well. I remember hating that moment as I hate the dark (communication stops, can't see the ASL interpreters since the terp light was also turned off) and didn't know what was going on and why the lights were out, but once I figured what was going on, I thought it was well done as it invoked the correct emotions (fright, uncertainty, being alone) from at least one patron - me :) I could very well have been the only one in the theater of 1,500 others - couldn't see them, could barely hear them.

Updated On: 3/26/15 at 08:25 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 8:47pm

I learned Signed English as a teen from a dear, dear mentor, and subsequently signed a few songs in community theater shows. So I have a slight but cherished understanding of the intersection of musical theater and the deaf community.




Updated On: 3/26/15 at 08:47 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 8:49pm

(But if I say so myself, I sign a killer "On the Willows" and "Be a Lion.")

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:07pm

DeafScribbler, you pretty much had me by introducing a new and informative angle to a silly thread idea ("Best staged number IN THEATER HISTORY") but then I went to your blog and read three words that have made me your fan for life:

ASL Deconstruction: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

One might choose to fingerspell S-U-P-E-R-C-A-L-I-F-R-A-G-I-L-I-S-T-I-C-E-X-P-I-A-L-I-D-O-C-I-O-U-S out every single time the word is mentioned and risk carpal tunnel syndrome.


J'adore

Updated On: 3/26/15 at 09:07 PM

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:09pm

The Dance at the Gym
Sunday
Just about everything a Tommy Tune has ever done (I have such vivid memories of seeing The Will Rogers Follies when I was about 7...to me, it was akin to Dorothy's world coming into technicolor focus)

And the one that gets me as just being a perfect combination of dance, effects, staging, and pageantry is Circle of Life. I'm not a huge fan of The Lion King, but the start of the first note to the elephants to the amazing puppetry just is something else. The first time I saw the show and saw the elephants coming through just made me speechless, but it's very different then the way a perfectly done Robbins number makes me feel.

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:11pm

The Circle of Life is incredible.

[acekatherineplumber2]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:11pm

The Circle of Life is incredible.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 1:19am

No love for "Hey, Big Spender?" So iconic in its simplicity. And the Deaf West "I've Been Waiting For the Light To Shine" was breathtaking. The opening of "Fiddler" isn't bad either.

[jdrye222]

Posted: 3/27/15 at 1:27am

I'm probably going to be criticized as soon as I post this, but the opening number in THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS is probably the most astonishing thing I've witnessed in a theater.
Close second is the "You Can't Do Me" soft shoe with Joshua Henry in the same show (where he suddenly is released from his handcuffs in his mind... gave me chills)