When Theatre Goes Wrong

The other day we talked about a single scene in the touring production of The Wizard of Oz that came to a brief halt because of a technical glitch, but there are lots of stories about shows where more than one thing went wrong, and the actors had to deal with it.

I just read the story of such a show, a production of A Christmas Carol out in Los Angeles. The story is being told by Mark Evanier, a professional writer who writes an excellent blog called News from ME.

It's a terrific story, and you can read the entry right here. Here's a snippet:

Opening night of A Christmas Carol at the Kodak (Theater), so many things went wrong that the audience couldn't keep from laughing and ultimately, neither could the actors.

Our first inkling that things would be far from perfect came when we sat down in the theater and opened our program books. Out tumbled one of those little slips that told you there'd be a cast substitution. This one was unusually chatty...

It's a funny story, and one to chill the blood of anyone who's involved in theatre. Of course, this is exactly why live theatre is so much fun - anything can happen!

It's a real challenge for actors to overcome unexpected problems and keep the show moving along - though sometimes it's an impossible task.