Anything Can Happen on Opening Night

By Eric Pozgay

Weeks of preparation and perspiration are at an end, though the show is only starting.  The set is finally completed and the tang of fresh paint is everywhere.  Actors check their props as the stage crew labors to organize the set. Mothers turned costume-makers wield safety pins, and the girls inform the boys that, yes, the boys MUST wear stage makeup as well. The light and sound technicians complete their final checks, while the director tries (and fails) to be everywhere at once. Energy and excitement are palpable as the cast and crew of The Sound of Music prepare to open the first show of Entertainment, Inc!’s 25th year.

Now they gather to honor an Inc! tradition—the “Circle.”  Standing in a circle, the cast and crew join hands. The director gives a few last notes and informs everyone there is a full house—we cannot seat any more audience members without violating the fire code!  A few hecklers say, "Macbeth" (it is considered bad luck to mention the Shakespeare play wherein all the characters are killed.) Some of the cast hushes them but most people think nothing of it. The director “runs energy” and everyone shouts in unison, “One, Two, Three GOOD SHOW!!!” The stage manager calls places after which a reasonable amount of chaos ensues. Forty-plus people, children and adults, rush in every direction.

After several tense minutes, the curtain opens. Act I goes off without a hitch-at least none that are too noticeable. At intermission, everyone is sure that they ruined a scene by skipping this line, or jumping that cue. But, on the whole, none of the errors are anything crucial...except to the actors themselves, who know the show verbatim. "Places", comes the call again, and the group prepares for Act II.
The curtain opens once more, and the show takes off with a lively scene. Everything is running smoothly-too smoothly. There is a sudden hush that is not in the script, as Max Dettweiler (played by Pastor Jay Reinke) takes a fall off the front of the stage. Several of the cast rush out and bring him backstage as the curtain closes. Thankfully, he is alright, if a little sore. In fact, he wants to rush back on and continue the scene, but agrees to wait a few minutes to catch his breath-to everyone's relief.

No more than two minutes later, Act II begins again. As the curtain opens on Jay Reinke, he is greeted by tumultuous applause: genuine admiration and appreciation for allowing nothing to stop the show.  Several minutes later in the scene, his character is supposed to leave the stage. One character says, “I think I’ll go for a walk.” He exits upon speaking his next line: “That’s just what I need” to a clamor of laughter.  When the show is over and everyone is taking their bows during curtain call, no one receives as enthusiastic a greeting as Jay.  Later, several of the cast apologize for mentioning “the Scottish play” to which he responds graciously.  He even responds with laughter to the suggestion that someone write him a manual: How To Stay On The Stage.

So, Opening Night was a success, and drives home two wonderful aspects of live theatre. First, anything can happen, and in fact it often does. No performance is ever identical. Second, people will do anything for a little extra applause….even jump off the stage.