Technichal Mess-Ups

[kingfan011]

Whats the biggest technical snafu you saw in previews? How was it handled?

[Crazy NooNooHead]

I was at the first preview of Groundhog Day. I'm sure those details have been discussed a lot on these boards, but everyone involved handled it really well (although I'm sure they were freaking out on the inside). The way the cast got so into doing the show concert style and their ability to laugh through it made me love the show more, and it's definitely one of my favorite show memories.

[TheSassySam]

Anastasia throwing the music box during Once Upon a December on the first preview. I gasped and then got the church giggles, lol. 

[trpguyy]

I saw Good Vibrations, it was one of the biggest mess-ups in theatrical history.

[RippedMan]

Saw Ghost well into its short run, and the show had to stop. And the lead came out with his guitar and the entire cast sang some song.

[antonijan]

Joseph's Technicolor coat didn't unfurl

[schubox]

Not in previews, but I was there when the whole audio system in Great Comet went down for around 20 minutes. That was a week or two before they closed

[Phantom4ever]

In Phantom of the Opera, the backdrop falls when Carlotta moves upstage and begins singing the refrain of 
"Think of Me". A few years ago, the backdrop fell the first time she sang the refrain and it hit some actors who had not gotten out of the way yet and they went on with the scene, ignoring it. The crew raised it up and dropped it again at the right time. Very awkward. 

During the 10,000 performance, during the Don Juan opera, the chandelier's lights started to turn on and off through the whole "opera."

At Spiderman, Arachne's harness got stuck and they had to stop the show. The actress had to constantly be moving her arms and legs and she kept doing it the whole time they were working out the problem. The audience started to laugh at her predicament and she smiled to show us she was ok with staying in character. 

[ksilver117]

Phantom4ever said: "During the 10,000 performance, during the Don Juan opera, the chandelier's lights started to turn on and off through the whole "opera."
 

I was there for that, and I don't remember that at all. Not doubting you, I was in the second row so it was out of my direct sight-line, and I would have had to look directly up to see it. Can't believe I missed it!

I've seen the throne not work once during Phantom, and a few minor things here and there. Saw someone get hit in the head with the thrown apple during Don Juan as well, that might have been my favorite actor flub.

 

Best technical glitch I can remember seeing was at Matilda. Opening scene, the stage is pretty dim, and there's a table onstage with a cake on it. We were front row, house right, and a stage manager appeared almost directly in front of us. Fifteen seconds later, before anything has really happened, they held. After a brief pause, they restarted the show. Thirty seconds in, the stage manager appears again, and then they hold for fifteen minutes. Third time was the charm that night. It was weird, and because it was my first time seeing the show I'm not totally clear on what it was. I think the candle on the cake may not have lit, or the table got stuck in its track? Something like that.

[IlanaKeller]

I was at the first preview of "Spider-Man"....

 

 

And loved it! As a techie, it was really cool to see the "guts" of the show, and it was definitely a unique experience.

[Phantom4ever]

ksilver117 said: "Phantom4ever said: "During the 10,000 performance, during the Don Juan opera, the chandelier's lights started to turn on and off through the whole "opera."


I was there for that, and I don't remember that at all. Not doubting you, I was in the second row so it was out of my direct sight-line, and I would have had to look directly up to see it. Can't believe I missed it!

I've seen the throne not work once during Phantom, and a few minor things here and there. Saw someone get hit in the head with the thrown apple during Don Juan as well, that might have been my favorite actor flub.


I was in the front mezzanine so that's why I saw it. As you know, people sitting in the orchestra really don't look at the chandelier except for the overture,during Il Muto,  when Phantom shakes it, and when it falls. 

I have seen so many problems with that darn apple. Carlotta used to pop it in the pig's mouth and it would pop right back out and bounce across the stage. 
 

 

[once a month]

Starlight Express, very late preview after having opening night shuffled, the bridge over the stage shifted. They evacuated the upper levels of the set one actor at a time,  and all the cast sang the final number from the stage floor, skating in a circular motion. I sat across from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman, both in major furs who promptly walked out.

[haterobics]

I think it was the first Something Rotten preview, there was a table and chairs that slide in from sides, and it hit the other set and stopped short. So, Brian D'Arcy James just ad-libbed something as he went over to grab the table, and I think told someone else to bring the chairs over here, so they could talk... and then they continued with the scene.

[Huss417]

The spelling of this thread for one. :)

[Call_me_jorge]

One of the columns on the King and I tour just dropped and just sat there and didn’t move for a good portion of the show.

[TheQuibbler]

The infamous turntable breaking down during Groundhog Day (not the first preview, but a few weeks in).

Opening night of Wicked in Philadelphia, the Ozian yelled, "Look! It's Glinda!" and... nothing happened. I was in the front row and could see the bubble move over and then stop. A few moments later, the curtain came down and the show restarted after about five minutes, sans bubble. Kendra Kassebaum just walked out. The bubble also wasn't used during the finale, either. For as many times as I've seen Wicked over the years, I've never witness a "Defying Gravity" fail, though. 

The trap door broke during the "What You Want" sequence of Legally Blonde, leaving a gaping hole in the stage. 

[LxGstv]

Last preview of Hello, Dolly! there was an issue with Ermengarde’s mic, so they made an announcement that they were taking a quick break, curtain went down for about 10 minutes while they fixed it. No issues after that. It happened in the first 10 minutes of the show.

[amazingamandakate]

Once when I saw Something Rotten, the house set didn't come on for Right Hand Man. The show paused for a few minutes then went on without a hitch.

[johannabarker]

Biggest Phantom Phail: they turned on James Barbour's mike

[raddersons]

TheQuibbler said: "The trap door broke during the "What You Want" sequence of Legally Blonde,leaving a gaping hole in the stage."

Just thinking about this gives me anxiety. I had enough anxiety when there were holes in the floor during Fun Home... and there was no dancing during any of those scenes.

[stlrod]

The shop didn’t open at the beginning of “She Loves Me.” Took 10 minutes to fix and then we began with Jane coming in. She was great throughout the break.

[Huss417]

johannabarker said: "Biggest Phantom Phail: they turned on James Barbour's mike"

 

You never give it a rest.

 

[BwayLB]

Mamma Mia in Costa Mesa Sound was too low and Music was too loud for me to hear the cast

[chewy5000]

Just recently saw a classic phone-continues-to-ring-after-it's-been-answered, always one of my favorites

[Scarlet Leigh]

First time I saw Tarzan, in the opening number when the cheetah is suppose to attack and kill Tarzan's parents, the tree house is suppose to rise up and then when he "kills them" they are pulled off the structure and back into the wings but a rig. When I saw it through, something happened and the tree house never rose up so when it was time for the cheetah to do the thing, he just kinda came down, looked at them and the parents slowly walked backwards off the stage awkwardly.