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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 1, 2019 21:19:02 GMT
Still after seeing this on Friday that is Mary Poppins’ final flight up to the upper circle, if she simply ascended from the stage to the circle, I would say that is quite cool, but for Mary to fly Horizontal from the wings to centre stage, then vertical up to the circle in one foul swoop is astonishing. As is Bert walking and dancing on the proscenium arch, is stuff that dreams are made on,
Defying Gravity, including the way the broomstick comes on to stage (this is absent in the Broadway version) alway gets a wow.
As did the car in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Then again I know some people’s on here thought the show was a turkey, I didn’t but Paul Kieve’s illusions in Ghost was jaw dropping, especially ‘walking through the door’ and the final scene are both bonkers.
Javert’s suicide in Les Miserable.
The dancing in Billy Elliot especially ‘angry dance’ and ‘Swan Lake’.Also at the beginning when Billy first enters the dance studio after picking up the keys from Mrs Wilkinson and he takes his first ballet steps, realising he is never going to be a boxer and whilst he takes his first steps is image is projected on the wall, done in the most basic way, but most powerful.
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Post by crabtree on Dec 1, 2019 21:50:20 GMT
I've started something here....yes the first time I saw One from chorus line was astonishing, the reveal of the various underground lairs in the NT's wind in the Willows, the end of both david bintley's carmina Burana and the King dances. The Lord of the rings musical had some jaw dropping moments, and Stephen fry's Mythos was full of moments. Both the Royal exchange's Edward II death scenes were shocking and cleverly staged. Aren't we lucky to have all these memories.
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Post by pianowithsam on Dec 1, 2019 22:05:03 GMT
I know I might be in the minority, but 'Wait For Me' in Hadestown this year and when the set retracted was something truly spectacular for me.
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Post by Stephen on Dec 2, 2019 0:16:12 GMT
- The first entrance of Joey in War Horse is, as pointed out above, amazing. During the NT backstage tour I learned that originally Joey's mother (a full size puppet looking very similar to Joey) entered before him. It was decided that this ruined the effect of his first entrance fully grown and she was removed! The music perfectly compliments the staging during his first entrance and it's breathtaking. The ending of War Horse also always chokes me up all of a sudden and I'll never forget that feeling the first time I saw it.
Mary's Final Flight. Really magic.
Circle of Life is breathtaking (especially in the stalls)
The ending of Black Watch with the drill and imagined mass pipes and drums is epic.
The Flying London Bus before the interval of the Palladium's Dick Whittington really got me. Probably a combination of working there at the time and seeing the children's amazed faces and the fact that I remember being in awe of Chitty flying at the same theatre as a young child myself!
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 2, 2019 0:29:47 GMT
Ha - love the War Horse one, which I saw with mother, The one I think everyone likes is when young joey, runs to the back of the stage with the hind legs being pulled off, enter a gasp of disappointment from mother, then seconds later the the full size joey runs out from back of stage, from behind a bank of lights, enter a gasp of amazement from mother, as myself I had seen it several times before and have to say I am still pretty stoked by it.
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Post by craig on Dec 2, 2019 9:29:43 GMT
Aren't we lucky to have all these memories. We really are. I never take it for granted! |
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Post by Being Alive on Dec 2, 2019 12:34:08 GMT
Mary Poppins flying over the audience (first time in a theatre aged 9 - will never forget it)
The mirror number in Follies at the National
Rosalie Craig's final 'Being Alive' in Company
The closing night 'title number' in 42nd Street.
Andrew Garfield's final speech in Angels in America - I get teary just thinking about it.
Title number in Hello Dolly with Bette Midler
The underwater costume change in Bat Out of Hell (I didn't realise it was more than a puddle so i was SHOOK!)
Cynthia Erivo singing 'I'm Here' and getting an instant standing ovation on Broadway.
These are just the ones that come to mind straight away.
As Julie Andrews said at her talk last month - "are we lucky or what?"
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Post by NeilVHughes on Dec 2, 2019 12:38:07 GMT
For me, in the last few years one stands above all
The end of The Inheritance Pt1, the ghosts had me in in bits.
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Post by danb on Dec 4, 2019 21:57:33 GMT
1. The act 1 title track finale of ‘Bat Out of Hell’...breathtakingly epic, cheesy, visually kitchen sink throwingly massive.
2. ‘Pinball Wizard’ -Tommy (see #1).
3. The Final Scene in Sunset, both Adelphi and Coliseum versions. Big bonkers and brilliant...also Siobhan Dillons ‘Too Much in Love to Care at the Coliseum made me swoon.
4. Alex Jay in ‘My Fair Lady’...started out peed off that Martine had bailed but left feeling that I’d seen a star born that night. Wish I knew where she was now.
5. Rent - halfway through finale B on Broadway telling myself to soak it all up in case I never saw it again.
Just remembered Dali’s melting room in ‘Hysteria’ at the Royal Court. That was quite something.
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Post by lou105 on Dec 4, 2019 23:59:50 GMT
I think I posted about this at the time but I saw Gypsy in Chichester from a side seat and was directly in the line of sight of Lara Pulver's horrified face as Imelda belted out Everything's Coming up Roses, and she realised she was the next protégée. So powerful.
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Post by theatremad on Dec 5, 2019 11:25:46 GMT
1) War Horse, especially the change from foal to horse
2) The arrival of the refugees in David Edgar's Pentecost in 1995
3) The ship in Treasure Island in the Olivier rising out of the stage
4) Marry Poppin's ascent into the roof
5) Randomly the foodbank scene in The Seven Acts of Mercy
6) Little Boy scene in Oppenheimer
7) The arrival of the boys to support Dennis in The Boy in the Dress
8) Arriving at The Masque of the Red Dress, my first immersive show
9) Decade at St Katherine's Docks, pretty much all of it
10) Sitting on the front row of the Dorfman both for Curious Incident and again on the front bench for This House
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Post by Jan on Dec 10, 2019 16:20:56 GMT
I think mine include the death of Smike in the RSC Nickelby, the appearance of the whale in the royal exchange's Moby Dick, the first entrance of Joey in war Horse, and the Doomsday vision in the NT's The Mysteries. Yes the Doomsday one was quite something. Another extraordinary moment was Ariel bursting out of the centre of the on-stage pond at the Almeida. The last image of the Michael Sheen Hamlet - Fortinbras takes off his mask, it’s Hamlet, at the start of a new story playing out in his head. Lots of others. It can be just small things, in the Trevor Nunn "All's Well That Ends Well" the men are boarding a train to take them to the front to fight in WW-I and Parolles has a bag of golf clubs slung over his shoulder - that was in 1982. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2019 19:34:13 GMT
The whole of Time The Musical. my first West end show and on a scale that i doubt we'll ever see again.
The 'security guards' stripping like The Chippendales at the end of Moby Dick.
Paying £5 to stand at Starlight Express and slapping hands with the cast as they raced around the track.
Watching Linzi Hateley belt her face off and delivering such a warm performance in Joseph.
Seeing Bernadette and not believing how it ever got on the Dominion stage.
When i was in my first ever professional stage production at 14 and the Financial Times reviewer calling my performance 'splendid' Who knew tue FT reviewed theatre?? i still have the cutting.
Going to the opening night of Children of Eden and being spelllbound by it. Too bad it closed shortly after.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2019 20:10:13 GMT
Mary Poppins flying over the audience (first time in a theatre aged 9 - will never forget it) The mirror number in Follies at the National Rosalie Craig's final 'Being Alive' in Company The closing night 'title number' in 42nd Street. Andrew Garfield's final speech in Angels in America - I get teary just thinking about it. Title number in Hello Dolly with Bette Midler The underwater costume change in Bat Out of Hell (I didn't realise it was more than a puddle so i was SHOOK!) Cynthia Erivo singing 'I'm Here' and getting an instant standing ovation on Broadway. These are just the ones that come to mind straight away. As Julie Andrews said at her talk last month - "are we lucky or what?" The costume change in Bat, is it really not than a puddle? - I was pretty sure that he just falls down the hole, they spray a bit of water up to make it look like he's made a splash, quickly does a costume change and chucks some water over himself? - if it is more than that, it should be obvious to the audience, because I was totally confused. Don't get me wrong, I thought the show was fab, but I'd like to see the action in order to be shocked. |
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Post by musicallady on Dec 10, 2019 23:26:17 GMT
Seeing my brother conduct Northern Ballets Romeo and Juliet at the Theatre Royal Newcastle for the first time.
Maurice Clarke singing Anthem in the tour of Chess.
The chandelier rising and falling in Phantom.
Seeing the Crucifixion in the first national tour of Superstar
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Post by leanne23 on Dec 11, 2019 11:41:25 GMT
Mary Poppins flying over the audience (first time in a theatre aged 9 - will never forget it) The mirror number in Follies at the National Rosalie Craig's final 'Being Alive' in Company The closing night 'title number' in 42nd Street. Andrew Garfield's final speech in Angels in America - I get teary just thinking about it. Title number in Hello Dolly with Bette Midler The underwater costume change in Bat Out of Hell (I didn't realise it was more than a puddle so i was SHOOK!) Cynthia Erivo singing 'I'm Here' and getting an instant standing ovation on Broadway. These are just the ones that come to mind straight away. As Julie Andrews said at her talk last month - "are we lucky or what?" The costume change in Bat, is it really not than a puddle? - I was pretty sure that he just falls down the hole, they spray a bit of water up to make it look like he's made a splash, quickly does a costume change and chucks some water over himself? - if it is more than that, it should be obvious to the audience, because I was totally confused. Don't get me wrong, I thought the show was fab, but I'd like to see the action in order to be shocked. It's definitely more than a puddle! It's a 6ft water tank under the stage. Whoever is playing Falco has to hold their breathe and remove their costume underwater, which is held together via magnets. |
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Post by steve10086 on Dec 11, 2019 11:55:16 GMT
The costume change in Bat, is it really not than a puddle? - I was pretty sure that he just falls down the hole, they spray a bit of water up to make it look like he's made a splash, quickly does a costume change and chucks some water over himself? - if it is more than that, it should be obvious to the audience, because I was totally confused. Don't get me wrong, I thought the show was fab, but I'd like to see the action in order to be shocked. It's definitely more than a puddle! It's a 6ft water tank under the stage. Whoever is playing Falco has to hold their breathe and remove their costume underwater, which is held together via magnets. I figured there was an air pocket in there rather than holding their breath, but am a little confused how anyone thought it was a puddle/fake when Falco comes out absolutely soaked. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2019 13:02:05 GMT
It's definitely more than a puddle! It's a 6ft water tank under the stage. Whoever is playing Falco has to hold their breathe and remove their costume underwater, which is held together via magnets. I figured there was an air pocket in there rather than holding their breath, but am a little confused how anyone thought it was a puddle/fake when Falco comes out absolutely soaked. But how do we, as an audience, know this? We don't. So how can we be shocked or amazed by it? Cast and creatives can tell you, oh it's this and that but I until I see some hard proof. I choose to believe differently. |
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Post by crabtree on Dec 11, 2019 13:13:59 GMT
The best and most memorable water moment was at the end of the royal exchange's last Edward II - having met his fate with the poker, Edward was then dumped into an onstage puddle, face down, with his head underwater, whilst an ornate coronation of his son, happened around him. not a ripple or a bubble for ten minutes. Obviously some breathing apparatus was involved but the staging was real sleight of hand. Breathtaking - as it were.
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Post by vickyg on Dec 11, 2019 13:30:00 GMT
The first musical I ever saw (and the first anything in a theatre that wasn't a pantomime) was Wicked and I will *never* forget the way I felt when the curtain came down for the interval after Defying Gravity. It's what has hooked me on all kinds of theatre ever since.
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Post by craig on Dec 11, 2019 13:43:15 GMT
The first musical I ever saw (and the first anything in a theatre that wasn't a pantomime) was Wicked and I will *never* forget the way I felt when the curtain came down for the interval after Defying Gravity. It's what has hooked me on all kinds of theatre ever since. It's certainly quite the theatrical moment! I was breathless myself! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2019 14:45:59 GMT
I loved that moment in Mary Stuart when the coin stopped spinning and from everyone standing facing front, being blank,all of a sudden everyone bowed to *whichever one it was* and she became the queen in a heartbeat. I got the shivers.
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Post by steve10086 on Dec 11, 2019 15:03:17 GMT
I figured there was an air pocket in there rather than holding their breath, but am a little confused how anyone thought it was a puddle/fake when Falco comes out absolutely soaked. But how do we, as an audience, know this? We don't. So how can we be shocked or amazed by it? Cast and creatives can tell you, oh it's this and that but I until I see some hard proof. I choose to believe differently. Up to you, but you’re believing the wrong thing. I saw the show multiple times, saw him jump feet first into the water, and emerge completely drenched. He also used a handheld mic after he returned as he couldn’t wear a mic pack in the water. If you choose to believe he just “chucked some water over himself” then go for it. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2019 15:41:04 GMT
But how do we, as an audience, know this? We don't. So how can we be shocked or amazed by it? Cast and creatives can tell you, oh it's this and that but I until I see some hard proof. I choose to believe differently. Up to you, but you’re believing the wrong thing. I saw the show multiple times, saw him jump feet first into the water, and emerge completely drenched. He also used a handheld mic after he returned as he couldn’t wear a mic pack in the water. If you choose to believe he just “chucked some water over himself” then go for it. There's really no need to be aggressive. Is there a video of this costume change out there? Otherwise, I don't think you can way I'm definitively wrong. He would have had to use a handheld mic even if he hadn't been dunked in a tank. Wireless or headset mics can't get wet, neither can wired really but it's far safer. - all Im saying is it's the magic of theatre. You can believe what you think and I will believe what I think until we see it for our own eyes. We will never know the truth. |
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Post by Playbill99 on Dec 11, 2019 16:10:09 GMT
Mary Poppins flying over the audience (first time in a theatre aged 9 - will never forget it) The mirror number in Follies at the National Rosalie Craig's final 'Being Alive' in Company The closing night 'title number' in 42nd Street. Andrew Garfield's final speech in Angels in America - I get teary just thinking about it. Title number in Hello Dolly with Bette Midler The underwater costume change in Bat Out of Hell (I didn't realise it was more than a puddle so i was SHOOK!) Cynthia Erivo singing 'I'm Here' and getting an instant standing ovation on Broadway. These are just the ones that come to mind straight away. As Julie Andrews said at her talk last month - "are we lucky or what?" The costume change in Bat, is it really not than a puddle? - I was pretty sure that he just falls down the hole, they spray a bit of water up to make it look like he's made a splash, quickly does a costume change and chucks some water over himself? - if it is more than that, it should be obvious to the audience, because I was totally confused. Don't get me wrong, I thought the show was fab, but I'd like to see the action in order to be shocked. I watched a documentary recently which explained how they did it - It was more than a puddle and he really does do a quick change completely underwater! |
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