The Show Must Go On - Backstage Stories or That Time I Threw Up Onstage and more

I am currently in a production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. We close this weekend. Check link below for How to Succeed in buying tickets without really trying. (See what I did there?)

Glendale Centre Theatre How to Succeed Tickets

This past weekend, our leading lady lost her voice. She went on Thursday and got through the show just fine. But Friday, we cancelled due to the loss of her voice and no understudy. Saturday she was back onstage and her old self as well. What a joy! She is an amazing performer and all around fun sweet person. But that's not the subject of this blog.

Today, I discuss some of my most memorable onstage mishaps. And I will save the best for last (my all-time number one most memorable/most embarrassing onstage moment). This weekend, in addition to the above cancelled performance we had not one, but two performances where light and sound cues went awry. At one performance, the first act went smoothly, as did half of the second act. Then suddenly, in the middle of the lead's big 11:00 number, I Believe In You, the sound went out. Then it jumped to the next cue, which was the entrance into the next scene. Only half of us were in place for that entrance. We went in,. Started the scene with half the men onstage. The others joined the scene in progress. But the lights were dimmed for some reason. Then the phone didn't ring. So the actor speaking said I'm expecting a call any minute at which point the phone rang.

In summer stock, the power went out on us due to a thunder storm about 10 minutes before the start of the show so a bunch of entertained the audience waiting for the power to come back on by performing improv and singing a capella in the generator lights.  Years ago, I worked out at outdoor theater where shows might be called due to rain. Once it happened in the middle of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It started raining in the first act. By the time intermission came, the stage had puddles. We never did the second act that night.

Another time, I was in a production of Babes In Arms. I played Lee Calhoun the arrogant playwright who is performing his play at the theater and the kids plot to sabotage his show so they can put on their own show. During the course of the scene things go wrong. Fake props are given to me, an actress walks off in the middle of the scene. Well one night, said actress decided to try slamming the door on her exit from the scene. This was on the advice of someone on the crew, not the director! Well when she slammed that door, the flat next to started to fall over with a small table and lamp right in front of it. I casually walked over caught the lamp with one had as it started to fall over and stopped the flat from falling with my other had and propped it up. It all looked like a part of the scene.  She never slammed that door again!

During a production of Kiss Me Kate, our Fred Graham was out on stage singing Where Is The Life That Late I Led?, when a drop came crashing down behind him in the middle of the song. He continued on. After all Lilli Vanessi was out to destroy him and his show at that point so it would make sense that a piece of scenery should come crashing down on him.  Thank God it was not literally! In the same production, the gangsters made an exit though one door that went into a three-sided set piece that swiveled around. and had an exit door on the other side. Unfortunately, at the moment they went in, it was turned in such a way that they couldn't get out the other side. They got our eventually. I don't remember how.

Another production of How to Succeed, our leading man got poked in the eye towards the end of Act One. Act Two was delayed about 20 - 30 minutes. When we cam back, he was wearing an eye patch. In Damn Yankees, there was a fire in the fly space above during Two Lost Souls. In college, our production of Orpheus Descending had a blackout just before the climax of the play. I went out onstage and spoke to the audience, (I was the A.D. and the director was across campus at a faculty dinner dance), we performed the last 10 minutes of the show by candlelight. The cause of the blackout was an April blizzard! Got to love upstate NY.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee provides all sorts of opportunities for mishaps because there are audience members on the stage worked into the show.  At one show, some audience members were talking. So in character as V.P. Panch, I reminded the audience that no talking was allowed at the bee as the spellers needed quiet for concentration.

Then there was the night, where I called up a young man in his 20s to spell Mexican. He spelled it Mexcian. Now mind you this is an intentionally easy word that the speller is supposed to get right.  When I rang the bell to eliminate him, he looked at me very confused. The next audience member is given the word Cow to spell. It sets up a joke and leads into a number in the show. The gentleman at the mike was very confused by this and thought (I guess) that it was some sort of joke or trick. He just kept looking at me not saying anything.  I kept looking at him and saying Cow. Please spell Cow. Its a Cow.  And since this is a cue into a song and this theater used tracks as opposed to live musicians, we went right into the song and escorted off the stage. Suddenly, I had only one audience volunteer on stage when I typically had three. It made for a shorter show that night.

I worked once with a man who was getting on in years and would sometimes forget his lines. In one scene, he is supposed to start barking orders at my character (his goofy lazy son-in-law) to pick up a bathtub that is lying in the living room and bring it upstairs. He said nothing. And I stood there thinking why would I say anything, I'm lazy. So I sat down on the couch and picked up a newspaper. After a couple of seconds, I looked at him and said, "Well I suppose you want me to take that thing upstairs and get it out of sight?" He fumbled a bit and got back on track.

Once, in Plain and Fancy, I started to fall asleep on stage in the middle of the scene...while standing up facing upstage with my back to the audience. One of the guys facing me saw me start to go, and took a step forward which got me out of it. The next night, I decided to have some fun with him and played like I was going to go again and faked him out. He was not happy!

And now the best of all time...Stop me if I've shared this one before.
You're A Good Man Charlie Brown in New York City 1994. I was playing Charlie Brown, At our last performance I got sick in my dressing room about an hour before the show. I felt better. Thought maybe I go it all out of my system and then went on to do the show. It was going fine until The Kite Song.  I started getting sick again. I got through the number but the urge to vomit was getting stronger.  I continued on thinking to myself "When do I get a break? Oh Damn! I don't leave until intermission."  I did a quick bit with Patty about the valentines cards and on my reaction, instead of saying I can't stand it, I ran behind Snoopy's dog house, got down on all fours, and threw up.

I then got up and walked off stage. The piano player continued to play. The cast gathered around me. (No one is on stage at this point.)  What do we do? I was leaning against the wall stage right prepping myself. I took a deep breath, stood up straight and said, "Let's go on." The Doctor Is In is next . Lets just go out there and go on. I walked out on stage, saw that the set was not in place for that scene, walked off the other side of the stage and looked at everyone and said OK, here's what we're going to do, we're going to go out there and change the blocks around for the Doctor Is In, hopefully the light booth will see what we are doing and go into the light cue for that scene. And that's exactly what happened.  I managed to finish the first act.

But Act Two, not so good. I got weaker as the show went on. By The Glee Club, I couldn't even stand without feeling sick, so I sat on a block next to the rest of the cast for that number. As soon as the show ended, I got in a cab and went straight home to bed where I stayed for the next two days.  Here's the thing...no one in the audience had a clue that I had thrown up on stage. It was all hidden behind the doghouse and it was clear, odorless and there wasn't much of it since I had gotten most of it out of my system prior to the show.

And that is my most embarrassing moment on stage. What are yours?

Classic TV on DVD Review - Maude

My most recent acquisitions Maude Season Four and Newhart Season Five. I'm in the middle of Newhart now. I finished Maude last week.  My thoughts on Maude.

It shares a great deal in common with All in the Family for obvious reasons. Maude was spun off of All in the Family (AITF) after Beatrice Arthur made a guest appearance on AITF. The feel is the same, it has the topic of the week and there's lots of shouting and loud audience reactions.

Like Norman Lear's other shows of the 1970s, its very dated. I feel this one is even more dated than AITF.  What's really interesting to see is Beatrice Arthur as someone other than Dorothy Zbrornak of The Golden Girls. Let's face it, The Golden Girls has become fully entrenched in our pop culture over the last 20 years.  The Golden Girls has become ubiquitous.  But in a good way. Maude is not Dorothy, but she sounds just like her. And after Bea Arthur had her face lift in Season Two (in real life and written into the show), she looks a little more like Dorothy than Season One Maude.

But Maude is over the top. She's loud opinionated and completely self-centered. Something Dorothy was not. In Season Three,  the comedy started to move away from the controversial topic of the week to get a little more slapstick. More emphasis on Vivian and Arthur and their marriage and the introduction of Mrs. Naugatuck who replaced Esther Rolle as the maid once Florida got her spin off. The comedy is much broader especially where she is concerned. Florida was understated and her sarcasm was subtle. Mrs. Naugatuck is a loud 60-something British maid whose a compulsive liar who clashes with Maude. The stories of her past are outrageous.

What is interesting and I find relevant to today are the episodes dealing with women's rights. Its interesting to see these shows knowing that the conversation is still very much alive today. In one episode, Maude's daughter Carol is passed over for a promotion at her job...because she is a woman. You heard right. Because she's a woman. She is the best person in her department and she's given a raise but they hire a man for the manager job. So he proposes that she come over after hours, and she does much to Maude, the ultra-feminist's dismay. But of course, Carol doesn't do anything. She leaves with her dignity in tact.

In another episode, Walter (Maude's husband) is entertaining a wealthy business man who is going to invest in Walter's appliance store. But he expects a woman in turn.  And Walter has a girl in his store who is the office good time girl. When she gets sick, Carol agrees to help Walter out by being attentive to the business man.  Maude is outraged that Walter would do such a thing. Carol says she's in control and knows what she's doing and finally Walter sees that he is pimping her out, and tells off the business man.

In yet another, an old high school friend of Maude's who has gone on to become a Gloria Steinem type is visiting for the holidays and she challenges everyone's views on women. And in the season's 3-part opener, Walter leaves Maude when she decides to run for state senate and he refuses to support because he wants a full-time wife.

I feel these stories while somewhat dated in 1970s ideas are still very relevant to today's climate. To this say women are still fighting to be treated equally with men.

Dated? Yes. A great time capsule of 1970s TV? Yes.  I think I'll take The Golden Girls over Maude any day.