Stopping the show

[Cadriel]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 11:46am

Was at Wicked yesterday (matinee), and during the Evita parody segment in "Thank Goodness," the crowd started laughing. Then the laughter picked up so strongly that Kristin couldn't finish delivering her line, and I believe there were smatterings of applause, and Kristin had to go back and improv, "As I was saying," to complete it. It stopped the show dead for a good half-a-minute.

Anybody else have any stories of moments of audience joy that have stopped a performance that didn't happen at the end of a song?

-Wayne

[JoizeyActor]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 8:48pm

Hm, this wasn't during the song, but a little girl screamed out in the audience during Little Shop when Audrey II first spoke "Feed me!" I have to admit that it was rather deep and really loud, and she probably wasn't expecting a talking plant. It stopped the show for a good minute and a half probably because people were laughing, then it would die down and start up again, and then applause broke out. Poor Hunter had to stand there in silence.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 8:55pm

Cadriel, I also heard that the Wizard's head was working during yesterday's matinee?

Here's a fun story, even though it didn't stop the show (it just prlonged a kiss): During Thoroughly Modern Millie, when Jimmy and Millie kiss right after the fight and right before "Jimmy," a little girl screamed "eeeeeeee(now she goes an octave higher)EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" when Christian and Sutton locked lips. So the kiss lasted much longer than it should have and the audience continued laughing after the kiss was over and through the entire beginning of the song.

[Cadriel]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 9:23pm

The Wizard head was not working - the mouth did not move - in its first appearance yesterday, before "A Sentimental Man." When the Wizard calls for help before "Defying Gravity" it was working again.

-Wayne

[CapnHook]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 9:32pm

Nathan Lane singing "Betrayed." At the end of the song, he struck his pose with his arm outstretched towards the audience. The audience applauded for a good 4 minutes, the transition to the next scene lasted quite a long time, as the actors were trying to do something to wait for the audience to stop applauding.

[Madame X]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 9:38pm

no, but I had to say that I was at the Mat yesterday too and was wondering she always said "As I was saying..." after her Evita impression...

[Cadriel]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 9:45pm

No, she doesn't - I saw it during previews and she didn't, and an acquaintance who saw it twice in previews said this was the only time she'd seen Kristin do that particular adlib. The audience at that matinee was seriously into the show.

-Wayne

[bestofbroadway]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 10:04pm

Saw a production of You Can't Take It With You and during the 3rd act a child yelled out "YOU BIG BULLY" to the Mr Kirby. It was hysterical! The audience laughed for quite some time and the actors on stage could hardly contain themselves.

[StinKer Roadmann]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 10:18pm

When I saw Gypsy in August, everyone went bananas when Bernadette entered from the rear orchestra. I'm sure it happens every night, but it seemed so insane this night (the audience was particularly vibrant...and the whole cast seemed to be really vampy and fun) that Bernadette stopped and faced the audience and took a little bow to quiet them because she couldn't deliver her lines and the kids started smirking. It was actually so much fun to see it be so interactive.

[StateOfJade]

Posted: 11/9/03 at 10:43pm

After 'The Wizard and I,' the audience WOULD NOT stop clapping, and Idina was just standing there with her hands still up in the air, still grinning, and I could see she was about to lose it and start laughing, but then the applause finally died down.