Tonight at Legally Blonde there was an automation malfunction right before "Bend & Snap"... they brought down the show curtain, brought the house lights up, made an announcement, yada yada.....the show started again about 10 minutes later but it made me think that I read about the show stopping at Legally Blonde all the time...... what is up with that?
The show stops more than other Broadway shows that are much much much more technical. Mary Poppins has only stopped once or twice and that show is GIANT.
Legally Blonde has stopped twice in the past, both of those times in the SF try-out. One of the times was at one of the earlier previews in "OMG" because the front of Delta Nu set piece didn't fly off the stage as it was supposed to. Another time was right before the bend and snap scene as they had a malfunction when some of the set pieces used in "Take It Like A Man" didn't come off the stage as they were supposed to, so the sets for "Bend n Snap" didn't come on. Maybe this is the same sorta thing. This is the first time i've heard about a malfunction happening on broadway. I have however heard that a show did not start for 20 minutes after it was supposed to as they were having problems with the sound system.
A little known fact is that in the original screenplay, Pan's Labyrinth was Pan's FLAByrinth. Hmmmmmmm...glad they changed it.
The only time they've stopped the show on Broadway I think is when one of Elle's Dorm Room set pieces was going off and bumped into on of the side panels. If I remember correctly, somebody posted that Laura Bell Bundy stood to the side trying to adlib something to make up for it, but then she was called off the stage just in case something would end up falling. They then brought the "Elle's necklace" scrim down.
Correct? I forget who posted about it, but I know somebody did.
I was there last night, too. Orfeh and Laura did ad lib, e.g. "I can see dead people," while looking down the trap. Laura kept on laughing, then they were called to the wings. The "show curtain" was brought down later on.
It's amazing to see how technical this Broadway show is. Look for the "The Show Behind the Show," 43 days to opening, on Broadway.com's Going Blonde, http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=540070.
Show stop all the time. Now that we have nifty things like these message boards, we all hear about them more. But they have been happening forever. Its live theatre! Its bound to happen!
There were at least three technical problems during the show -- the trio not coming up before Bend and Snap, LBB's mike went out at one point and she repeated a line, and the parents didn't come out in the golf cart the second time. There must have been gremlins backstage! I enjoyed the show, but the audience was kind of dead -- very little audience reaction to anything (except for the technical malfunctions!).
Was the "I see dead people" line an adlib? She said it again after the show re-started, so I thought it was a regular line.
"What was the name of that cheese that I like?"
"you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start"
"well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"
LB stopped once when I was there. During 'What You Want' the sorority house stairs didn't go off in time blocking the trap door from coming up with the desk and the books and Kate. They stopped for like a minute, not terrible at all. Things happen, atleast no one's ever gotten hurt by any of it.
mikem, yes, "I see dead people" is a line Paulette always says when Margot, Serena and Pilar come up (because remember, they're in Elle's head at that point, and now Paulette can see them.)
It seems though that since they never came up, she just looked down through where the lift (with the trio) is supposed to come up and said "I see dead people".
Wasn't there a night in which the courtroom scenery didn't come on the stage or something like that? I remember reading about it on this message board.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
I just thought of something else that happened that same night -- in the opening number, one of the sorority sisters bobbled (may have even dropped -- I can't remember) their cell phone right at the same time that the transformation happened with the descending down the fireman's pole, so I missed the transformation because of the distraction (or at least I assume that the bobbling doesn't usually happen -- is that right?)
"What was the name of that cheese that I like?"
"you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start"
"well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"