Most important/life changing theater experiences you've had?

[StephenSondheimWHOO]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 4:48pm

What were some performances you attended that you really feel were really important to you as a theater-lover
I have 5:
Les Mis- My first broadway show, I was 3.
Company and Sweeney Todd at the Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration in 2002- I was 7 and it was my first performance of a Sondheim show, totally changed my life..
Billy Elliot in London- This show really have an effect on me, the message really rang true with me. And to see a kid my age up there doing what Billy does in that show was incredible as well
[title of show] first preview last night- Just to see these four nobodies who managed to get to broadway and the amount of love and support that they were getting was overwhelming.
Updated On: 7/6/08 at 04:48 PM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 4:52pm

Reading the "[TOS] First Preview" thread is the most important/life changing theater experience of my life so far.

[jagfkb]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 4:54pm

Obvoislu my first Broadway show, "Beauty & the Beast", but also when I first saw "Sunday". Reason being is that it really helped me crossover from more glitzy theater to a much more deep theater.

[Weez]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 6:14pm

I've kinda always been a theatre fan. I think when I saw the UK tour of 'Rent' back in 2001, it tipped me over the edge. I didn't instantly become obsessed with Broadway, but it was definitely a slippery slidey slope from that moment on.

Also, 'Henry V' last October. I've recounted this tale a bazillion times so I'm sure you'll have come across it at least once before, but it's the first time I've ever had a whale of a time at a Shakespeare play, and it turned me from an "I'm sure he's very good an' all, but I just don't get it" cynic to an "omg I MUST SEE MORE!" raving fangirl. ^_^

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 7:33pm

Back in April of 2006 when I was a senior in high school my theatre group took a trip to NYC (my first time to the city) and we got to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on Broadway! One of the girls on the trip was Norbert's niece so we got great seats and even got to meet the cast backstage. It was so amazing to be standing on the stage of the Imperial and it immediately brought tears to my eyes. The whole night was definitely one of the best experiences of my life!

[HometownGlory]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 7:33pm

This seems like the right place to make my first post! Two experiences spring to mind:

1) My first Broadway show - the Hal Prince revival of Show Boat in 1996, I believe. I was seven, and I was hooked.

2) The recent "Sunday" revival. I went in not knowing much of the show - bits and pieces here and there, the tableau at the end of Act 1, etc. - but not knowing what to expect. I was on a college visit and was debating whether or not to move to NYC or stay back in the Midwest. I wanted to go to New York and I knew I needed to in order to accomplish my goals, but the thought of leaving home was terrifying. I was enraptured by the show, and then Jenna Russell sang those first few words of her song - "Stop worrying where you're going, move on" - and I knew right then that I was going to move to New York. I just sobbed and sobbed. I'll never forget that one moment (and also after the show, when I had the chance to tell Jenna the story and made her cry as well).

EDIT: I should also mention that the most fun night I ever had in the theatre was seeing "The Drowsy Chaperone" original cast. Pure joy from start to finish, and all just as nice as can be.
Updated On: 7/6/08 at 07:33 PM

[jennyish]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 7:42pm

I'll second the SUNDAY revival. Or maybe just the first time I heard the music.

Also, and I'm well aware I may get grief for this, Patti LuPone in Gypsy. STFU, haters.

[Select a Member Name]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 7:55pm

(Don't hurt me.)

1. My first show - Mamma Mia when I was 10 in San Francisco
2. Wicked - After I saw the show, I said to my parents, "I want to do that."
3. Rent - from there, my interest broadened, and I started discovering more shows. And that was around the same time I started voice lessons and acting.
4. Discovering BWW through one of the [tos] videos. I've learned so much from this site. I live in a suburb outside of San Francisco, so this site has helped so much. :)

[jordangirl]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 11:20pm

1. Last Sunday's closing of Sunday in the Park with George. Seriously, I have never and likely will never experience anything like it ever again.
2. Next to Normal ~ the sum of all the times I saw it...and how it affected me the same and yet different every time.
3. My very first Broadway show ~ A Chorus Line. I was sitting front row center mezzanine in the Shubert (it was during the original run). The lights went down, the very first part went by and then that countdown... I was hooked.

And not technically theatre in the "proper" sense... But seeing Alice Ripley perform "You Have to Be There" live in DC this past April...completely amazing. And ditto Emily Skinner's cabarets. Cheesy, yes, but oh well. :P

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 11:23pm

Seeing Bernadette Peters sing Everything's Coming Up Roses in Gypsy is what changed the way I looked at musical theatre, and made me fall in love with it (musical theatre), more so than I already was. It's when I realized that watching live theatre was my passion. Updated On: 7/6/08 at 11:23 PM

[yellibean2]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 11:35pm

Maybe it's just because I'm still high off of it, but last night at [tos] is definitely taking that number one slot right now. The only thing I'm worried about now is that no theatre experience is ever going to live up to it.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 11:41pm

For me, every moment spent devoted to my craft, this thing called 'theatre' to begin with, is life-changing.

[File1218]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 11:46pm

Light in the Piazza..... Enough Said!

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 12:10am

Seeing Les Mis for the first time at Music Circus, and Lupone Gypsy.

[GatorNY]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 12:14am

Oh my goodness...y'all are making me feel really old! For me...I'll never forgot going to see RENT in June of 1996. The show was over. Most everyone had left the theater. My friends were ready to go...and I could not stop sobbing. It sounds cliche, but I've never been the same since. I'll never look at life the same way again. So much insight...give in to love, or live in fear. Forget regret. I could say from first hand experience...life will be yours to miss. I've had great times at other shows. But RENT really gave me something...something I needed at that time in my life (I was 30). Something I never got from school, or religion or work...it made me realize that all I have is right now, and I owe it to myself to make it the best that it can be.

[proptart101]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 2:43am

#1 - 1981 National Theater, London UK Peter Hall's Oresteian Trilogy (http://members.aol.com/actorsite2/gh/oresteia.htm)

#2 - 1978 (or 79) Lyric Opera, Chicago IL - Faust

#3 - 1995 New York City Opera , State Theater - Temple of the Golden Pavilion

#4 - 1974 Bolshoi Ballet, Covent Garden, London UK - Giselle

All four of these production's each in their own way, affirmed or reaffirmed my life in theater, especailly the NT production.

[carderic]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 2:46am

Elaine Stritch at Liberty

[COOOOLkid]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 3:25am

1: Gypsy (Patti LuPone) - Her performance was just electrifying. Enough said.
2: Curtains final performance - The energy of the audience was incredible; Watching a true "musical comedy" was incredible and uplifting.
3: August: Osage County - Okay, so this truly is an amazing play. I truly learned how incredible a straight play could be.

[BroadwayRandy0711]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 3:58am

My theater experience started later in my life than I would have liked it to. I grew up near San Antonio, Texas and so my first show was of a touring production of Chicago in 1999 when I was 19. I remember how much I feel in love with musical theater after that show. I also remember the guys sitting next to me checking out the hot male dancers with their playbills rolled up like a monocular.

My first Broadway show in NYC came in May of 2005 when I saw Wicked. I thought that it was absolutely amazing. On that same trip we saw Avenue Q and experienced for the first time meeting the cast afterwards. I had no clue that people waited by the stage door to meet the cast. The cast was extremely friendly and made my show experience a more memorable one.

Now that I have seen many more shows and come up to NYC more often I have a broader spectrum of shows to compare. I have to agree with many of you so far, Patti Lupone in Gypsy is truly "electrifying".

[Elke]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 4:03am

1. The Phantom Of The Opera - Yeah, yeah... It was the first musical I saw, now 8 years ago, and it just blew my mind. It changed my life because by getting into theater, I started travelling a lot to see shows and met so many new people. It was a "life saver".
2. Pacific Overtures (Donmar Warehouse production) - Up until then, I had only seen impressive large scale productions and this one was so... beautifully humble. It made me realize that there's more to theater than impressive sets, big show stopping numbers etc. Loved it.
3. I'm keeping this slot open for future shows: seeing Gypsy, ITH, Spring Awakening and others in September.

[Melicus]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 5:27am

Updated On: 7/11/08 at 05:27 AM

[singalongsong2]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 2:08pm

My first Broadway show was definitely the most important experience. I had never been to NYC but I had always wanted to see a show someday. I finally had the opportunity through a school trip. I saw "Rent" because that was the show that I had been wanting to see for many years. I absolutely loved it. Ever since, I have been taking a 4 hour bus to NYC about 4 or 5 times a year just to see more Broadway shows. Without that first experience seeing Rent, I may never have fallen in love with Broadway.

[Patash]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 5:38pm

My first trip to New York included seeing School for Scandal done by the APA Repertory Company with a stellar cast. A fairly small role was played by Helen Hayes. Every time she entered the stage it was if electricity was being generated. She commanded the stage and exuded energy. That's the day I learned what stage presence means.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 10:38pm

1. Seeing Zoe Caldwell in "Medea" and realizing that great acting wasn't about naturalism.

2. Seeing Patti LuPone in "Evita" (front row of the mezz, my first Broadway show during my first trip to NY) and realizing that great singing could elevate great acting.

3. Seeing Martha Clarke's "Vienna: Lusthaus" and realizing that the theater could do more than act and sing.

[sondheimfan2]

Posted: 7/7/08 at 10:53pm

I agree with HometownGlory. I've been attending Broadway musicals for nearly 30 years and have seen some of the greats: Lansbury,LuPone,Peters (in original roles).....met Stephen Sondheim at a preview of the original Into the Woods....cried at Les Miz and the glorious revival of Lincoln Center's Carousel....but, there was something magical about seeing The Drowsy Chaperone with the OBC. It is a musical lovers dream musical...the best night I have had in the theater....so far.