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Post by crabtree on Feb 18, 2018 19:03:58 GMT
Lots to choose from here, decades on I still remember the appearance of the whale at the Royal exchange's Moby Dick. Pure imaginative theatre, as is the foal/Joey transformation in war Horse. And the appearance of the Bounty in Mutiny!
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Post by alece10 on Feb 18, 2018 19:19:52 GMT
So many to choose from over the years but two that spring to mind are the staircase in 42nd Street and the lighting rig transformation at the start of act 2 of Les Mis 25th Anniversary at the O2.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2018 19:22:39 GMT
Like you, decades on I still am overawed by the sight of Jesus, in the original Palace Theatre Superstar, rising from the depths of the stage in cross formation, even though there was no cross to be crucified on... I thought it was breathtaking. The first time I saw two pieces of rubbish, either side of the stage in Les Miserables, join to be come a barricade I was dumbstruck. We’re all used to it now...  The same goes for Javert’s ‘jump’ from the bridge on the Seine into the swirling river... OMG! These are just some moments I’ll never forget. |
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Post by Stephen on Feb 18, 2018 19:43:13 GMT
I have yet to see Potter so can't comment on it, nor would I.
I always like the effects which seem magical. I love the end of Phantom with the chair. Wouldn't call it astonishing but seeing the bus fly everyday at the Palladium this Christmas was pretty 'magical'!
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Post by theatremadness on Feb 18, 2018 19:50:00 GMT
Maybe not the most astonishing but the 'simple but effective' illusions in Hope and Nobody Cares in Groundhog Day were both pretty stunning and received rounds of applause. The black & white/colour projections at the Donmar's City of Angels was awesome considering the small space. 42nd St staircase, of course! Not sure if this really kinda fits and it's more staging, but the Swastika in The Producers during Springtime for Hitler with the giant mirror behind it will always stay with me. Of course the majority of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child!! The technology in Curious Incident... and actually the tech used in wonder.land at the National (I didn't hate that show as much as everyone else in the world, so sue me!). Although I didn't see it live, the transition in Hangmen looked pretty cool on screen.
I wish, I wish, I WISH I could've seen the Carousel come together in the National production (I think that's the one I'm thinking of? I guess I'm the only one who can answer that question).
The War Horse transformation was also very good, yes!
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Post by Phantom of London on Feb 18, 2018 19:56:20 GMT
Mmmmm the person walking through the door in Ghost was mind boggling and other special effects in it also.
I loved that show.
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Post by ali973 on Feb 18, 2018 20:09:00 GMT
Lord of the Rings had some amazing tricks.
And in the original Sunset, the way the house pulled back mimicking a fade out in film on "we'll begin at nine sharp" was quite something.
More simply though, the spotlight hitting Norma as the music swells to "With One Look" is one of the best moments in a musical.
End of Harry Potter Part I is pretty great too.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2018 20:24:20 GMT
Hate to say it, but the carpet in the Broadway/London productions of Aladdin is wonderous! I say that as someone whon can figure out the techniques of most effects pretty quickly and it takes alot to impress. Wonderfuly executed and mind bogglingly effective.
Second the notion of Groundhog Day's 'Hope'. Though this is more of an example of exeedingly genius choregraphy and stage direction than technical merit, but so brilliantly produced for provoking a reaction of astonishment.
Edit: Also, credit due to the current/recent revival of Miss Saigon's Helicopter. Another example of perfect cumilation of technical elements to create impact. Genuinly looked (and felt) like a helicopter was on stage at points.
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Post by Stephen on Feb 18, 2018 20:36:46 GMT
Come to think of it, I really liked the effects in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Drury Lane.
I loved the paper aeroplane effect as it looked very realistic from my seat. Also the costume change when Wonka first enters...did it disappear into his cane? Looked cool. And finally at the end when Wonka turns around and disappears through the trap door before his coat falls to the stage - nice ending.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 18, 2018 20:39:05 GMT
More simply though, the spotlight hitting Norma as the music swells to "With One Look" is one of the best moments in a musical. Especially when the laser effect of Glenn’s jewellery was in danger of rendering one blind. Fab. |
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Post by cheesy116 on Feb 18, 2018 20:55:38 GMT
Come to think of it, I really liked the effects in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Drury Lane. I loved the paper aeroplane effect as it looked very realistic from my seat. Also the costume change when Wonka first enters...did it disappear into his cane? Looked cool. And finally at the end when Wonka turns around and disappears through the trap door before his coat falls to the stage - nice ending. The costume change as he enters is done by attaching a long elasticated rope to the back of his costume and its pulled back quickly through the door he entered in, literally ripping the costume off to reveal the one underneath. Much like how a measuring tape works when you push the button on it. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 18, 2018 20:58:25 GMT
I always think the end of Act 1 of Our House is a great bit of stagecraft. Joe appearing to be dancing on the bridge at the same time as being down on the stage may be a bit of distraction/substitution but it was done so seamlessly in the original production that it was truly memorable.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2018 20:59:18 GMT
Come to think of it, I really liked the effects in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Drury Lane. I loved the paper aeroplane effect as it looked very realistic from my seat. Also the costume change when Wonka first enters...did it disappear into his cane? Looked cool. And finally at the end when Wonka turns around and disappears through the trap door before his coat falls to the stage - nice ending. Yes! Forgot about that Charlie. Some great effects in there. The first time I saw the paper aeroplane effect was wonderful. Recreated in Bat out of Hell at the end of the Finale. Wonka's costume change in 'It must be Believed...' was the one jacket pulled from the middle of the back, whipped down off into the dark backstage as he was up a few steps. Most underwhleming effect has to be the replacement "Great Glass Elevator" Charlie received once the original automated, hydralic elevator completely gave up towards the end of the run. A scissor lift with some black drape wrapped round it, rolled on and off. Poor. |
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Post by loureviews on Feb 18, 2018 21:08:07 GMT
The chair in Phantom.
The barricade in Les Mis.
Macbeth at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, with water featured throughout. It was amazing.
Chitty's car!
Miss Saigon's helicopter in the original production.
And War Horse, foal to horse, of course.
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Feb 18, 2018 21:09:34 GMT
.... decades on I still am overawed by the sight of Jesus.... and I was going to say when it snowed in Frankenstein |
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Post by ptwest on Feb 18, 2018 21:37:24 GMT
As already mentioned, Ghost has some pretty stunning moments. To add to the comments about Sunset, the way that the house originally appeared was incredible, a real “where the hell did that come from” moment.
I also loved the illusions in Mary Poppins - the hand coming out of the dolls house had me wondering for a while.
Also, a mention for Phantom - the combination of the dry ice and the candles rising though the stage blew me away the first time I saw it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2018 21:50:11 GMT
The effects in the RSCs The Tempest, which were created by Imaginarium were quite stunning. I also seem to remember the hologram of a woman in a shower during Terry Johnson’s Hitchcock Blonde at the RC some years ago.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 18, 2018 21:51:24 GMT
Pinocchio had some very cool effects some of which I still can't quite see how they did , especially the burnt finger.
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Post by Being Alive on Feb 18, 2018 21:59:06 GMT
Despite thinking it was a terrible show, and despite it actually being quite obvious how it was done, the one that instantly comes to mind was Willy Wonka's disappearance right at the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when the coat falls to the floor. It was a really impressive moment
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Post by tonyloco on Feb 18, 2018 23:06:17 GMT
Some memorable moments that stay with me include all the effects in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and all the effects in "Mary Poppins". Characters flying out over the auditorium are always exciting and to have three at once in "The Witches of Eastwick" was a special treat. And Paul Kieve's effects for "The Invisible Man" (various productions) and "Ghost" were mind-blowing.
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Post by dlevi on Feb 19, 2018 9:37:12 GMT
Others have posted about Ghost and while I thought the show was awful, there were some effects that were simply extraordinary. I saw it in the West End and except for the effects had an awful time. Circumstances found me seeing it again when it played in New York and because I knew the show was sh*t I was was able to concentrate on the effects and illusions. By doing that, I actually had a good time.
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Post by Jan on Feb 19, 2018 10:06:35 GMT
Ariel making his first entrance from underwater in the middle of the on-stage pond - Almeida Tempest.
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Post by Steffi on Feb 19, 2018 10:22:47 GMT
Lord of the Rings had some brilliant moments using the revolving stage, lights and props. The Dark Riders were quite impressive as was the whole set up for Lothlorien. Also the act one ending and Gollum falling into the fire towards the end of act two. |
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Post by mallardo on Feb 19, 2018 10:27:21 GMT
The guillotine removing heads in the NT's Danton's Death. I was in the front row and I have no idea how it was done.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2018 10:29:06 GMT
Another obligatory War Horse vote. Not least because every time I do it creates the ghosts of PhD supervisors past to tell me it's not that good.
And another for Groundhog Day- some deceptively simply effects (as in not big and flashy bells and whistles types). Similarly I loved the Potter effects because they were so 'old fashioned' in their execution but still astonishing.
And not 'astonishing' in the 'how do they do that?' way, because that's fairly obvious, but the scale and quality of 'rain' in the Singing in the Rain tour was always a 'wow' moment.
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The same goes for Javert’s ‘jump’ from the bridge on the Seine into the swirling river... OMG!
