Honeymoon in Vegas - Nederlander Theatre - February 6, 2015 8pm
This show has the honor of being my (now) husband’s first ever Broadway show. And what an experience it was to have for his first one!
Normally, a NYC weekend for me would involve four (if not five or even six!) Broadway shows. My husband, not being as avid a theater lover as me, agreed to see one show this weekend. After looking over our show options, I decided on Honeymoon in Vegas at the Nederlander Theatre, as I hadn’t seen the show yet and I thought he might enjoy it. Based on a movie (which I still have yet to see), the story follows Jack (Rob McClure) and his girlfriend Betsy (Brynn O’Malley) who go to Vegas to finally get married. But when Jack loses big in a poker game, he has to agree to conman Tommy Korman’s (Tony Danza) plan to pay off his debt.
During the opening number, Jack sings about how much he loves Betsy, ignoring the curse his mother placed on him to never get married. Soon after that line during a dance break, Betsy fell through a trapdoor and the ensemble danced off the stage. All of a sudden, the stage manager’s voice could be heard, “Actors, please clear the stage,” and Rob McClure side steps off stage left. A few seconds later, as the audience began to nervously laugh, I waited for the big finish, a platform to rise up with Betsy and Jack. But instead, the house lights came on. That’s when I knew Betsy was NOT supposed to fall through the trap and instead something had gone seriously wrong.
Our view of the opening number after the stage was cleared!
After a few minutes (with my husband asking if this is normal for Broadway shows), Tony Danza, whose character had not yet been introduced, came out on stage to explain that Brynn had fallen six feet through a trap that had opened too early and twisted her ankle. However, he also told us there was a medic downstairs treating her and Brynn was insisting that the show must go on. She just needed a few minutes to wrap her ankle and then would be back out. After another quick trip to the bar, the house lights flashed and we settled back in our seats. And when she came onto the stage with her ankle in a bandage, she got a thunderous standing ovation. As they began the next scene, where Jack proposes they get married in Vegas, his next line was: “Are you sure you want to do this?” This definitely had a few meanings in that moment as they laughed but she nodded and they carried on. Other than skipping a few lifts throughout the show, she proceeded to knock out almost the entirety of the show. The finale was not only an incredible song, but that shared audience experience led to one of the loudest standing ovations I’ve ever experienced, and when Brynn came out for her bow, the entire audience could recognize the incredible work that she and the entire company had put in to make this show excellent.
This is what I miss about live theater. That moment was one shared experience for only those in the theater that night. It won’t ever be repeated and we won’t ever have that experience again, which is what we miss watching the same captured performance on film. The unpredictability of live theater, how to cover when something goes wrong, and that shared knowledge that makes this show different from every other performance. Both because of how great the show was and this shared experience, Honeymoon in Vegas is one of my favorite shows I’ve seen on Broadway, and was a very memorable first Broadway show for my husband.
It was definitely an experience neither of us will ever forget!
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