Mama's Gettin' Hot

A movie or TV show you share with countless others, but theatre is special. Only a chosen few will see what you're seeing.

Even so, I like a show that only varies a little between performances. I don't mind the actors exploring a bit, but I want the enterprise to be professional. Still, every now and then, you get something unusual.

I once saw Lily Tomlin in The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe when her body mike broke. They stopped the show and put on another. She said "I bet you think this makes the play better." And I'm sure for many in the audience, it did. They not only got to see the show, they saw something special.

It makes me wonder what people thought when they saw Patti LuPone earlier this year lose it during her show-stopping "Rose's Turn" in Gypsy: