Ticket Giveaway: Win two tickets to see Wicked for free.
July 26 update: Congratulations to Sarah Packford for winning the random drawing — and the two Wicked tickets.
The long-running Broadway musical tells the story of “The Wizard of Oz” from the witches’ perspective, more specifically from the Wicked Witch of the West, who was not, as a child, wicked at all, but just green-tinted, taunted, and misunderstood.
We’re giving away two center orchestra tickets, courtesy of Vivid Seats, for the performance on Saturday August 27, 2016 at 8pm.
To enter the contest for these tickets, answer:
What is the most magical moment you ever witnessed on stage? What made it so for you?
- Please put your answer in the comments at the bottom of this blog post, because the winner will be chosen through Random.org based on the order of your reply, not its content.
But you must answer the question, complete with description and explanation, or your entry will not be approved for submission.
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Update: The question is about a specific moment in a show — something typically lasting no longer than a few minutes — not an entire show or performance.
- Please include your Twitter name and follow my Twitter feed at @NewYorkTheater so that I can send you a direct message. (If you don’t have a Twitter name, create one. It’s free.)
- This contest ends Monday, July 25, 2016 at midnight Eastern Time, and I will make the drawing no later than noon the next day. You must respond to my direct message on Twitter within 24 hours or I will choose another winner.
Obviously, you have to be in New York on August 27, 2016 in order to see the show.
Update: Please remember to include your Twitter name.
It was while watching the musical Hairspray at a local theater and it was when she got arrested it really felt real best time I ever had
Ok I’ll try again ignore my previous try! I’ll go with school of Rock since I recently saw it with my 5th graders. It would be when the substitute realizes the kids can play instruments . He hands out the rock instruments. It was magical since I am a real music teacher!
The kids were terrific, and it was uplifting to listen to “you’re in the band”
Say what you will about the show, but the last moment in Finding Neverland with the scarf caught up in the swirl of glitter was beautiful.
@dyanysus1116
It was when Alan Cummings in his one man show of MacBeth on Broadway was under water in a bathtub for what seemed like FOREVER! I remember starting to sweat and beginning to really worry that he would drown if he didn’t come up. One of the features of the show had three TV screens above the stage that would show detailed views throughout the play. All three screens were showing the aerial view of him in the tub. I don’t know how he did it but he suddenly burst up panting and my heart was beating so fast! It was magical because I was so taken by that moment! My Twitter name is abitgraceful.
I saw ‘Hamilton’ in April; in Act II, when Angelica (Renée Elise Goldsberry), Alexander (Lin-Manuel Miranda) and the chorus are singing “It’s Quiet Uptown,” we could hear a pin drop. There’s a part when Angelica sings “forgivenessssss,” and Alexander’s face crumples. My heart crumpled and soared simultaneously.
The first show I ever saw on Broadway was In the Heights. The curtain call was the most magical moment for me, it was overwhelming to see all the work they put into the show. I was fascinated.
@simplyelegant_v
In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, when the stairs came out of the wall during one of Christopher’s monologues, my mind was blown. It was a beautiful stage picture that was so appropriate for the nonstop energy going on in his head. Although others may not call that “stage magic”, it induced chills for me when the text and the scenic design came together to make something that was…for lack of a better word, magical. @pli1018
Ellen Barkin’s Soliloquy in Normal Heart. It was so powerful. Went back to see the show a second time due to the impact it had. @randigoblue
I will never forget when the actress who played Campbell in Bring It On (Broadway, NYC) managed to belt out the last challenging note perfectly of “Born To Do” while making it to the top of an enormous cheerleader pyramid at the exact same time! Much respect for this talented woman! @kellie_tv Twitter
The most powerful moment, personally, that I’ve ever experienced was Jack Kelly’s “join the strike” speech in Newsies. It brought a vulnerability to the situation, as the kids were known for being energetic and rowdy, and completely changed my perspective on what “fairness” and equality actually means.
Twitter handle: @ImNotAPotatoe
What can be more magical than a Disney moment on Broadway stage? Went to see Aladdin and as the intro to “A Whole New World” kicked in, I breathlessly waited for that scene… Aladdin and Princess Jasmine on a flying carpet persuasively floating in mid-air (no wires!), amid a night sky festooned with rabidly shimmering stars! And that song, that beautiful song. Couldn’t get any more magical than that! @nkny
So far, till this day, nothing will ever compare to the Beast’s transformation in Beauty and the Beast! NOTHING! (I always tell people “you missed out on something you’ll never see like that again” lol) It’s as if I were watching the animated movie times 1,000,000,000! It was truly a spectacle to be witnessed. Cried every time (and I saw it a few times, had friends in the show, my dear friend Beth Fowler brought me backstage) and it was still as if i were seeing it for the first time! The choreography of lights, music orchestration and special effects all in one by far was SPECTACULAR!
Oooh, this a tough one, as I feel like I’ve witnessed sooo many magical moments onstage, of all different kinds!! One that comes to mind is recently at the closing performance of ‘Tuck Everlasting’…the amazing young Sarah Charles Lewis, who made her Bway debut in the lead role of Winnie, was clearly overcome by her emotions doing the show for the last time, that she started to cry a little bit during her last big solo “Everlasting,” and could barely finish the song. Then during the dream ballet sequence that came soon after, she and a few other cast members were also in tears, especially cuz that sequence is ALREADY so sad!! The audience was crying, Sarah was crying, and it was just one of those beautiful, sweet moments when it felt like everyone was really connecting with each other and the messages of that heartwarming show and giving it a sendoff with love. I walked out of the theatre afterwards with tears still in my eyes!
Twitter: @ladystardust25
Twitter: @bettielaven
When Elphaba rises from below the stage and sings “No Good Deed”, I get chills! Her furosity and anger has finally been touched and she is lost to the feelings the world has for so long thought she was ruled by. Slashing through the Grimmerie, looking for the spell to save Fiyero is nothing compared to the emotional change this girl, who only wanted to do good, is suffering!
Although I am always being inspired by so many amazing shows on (and off) Broadway, I have to say, “The Color Purple” truly moved me.
The scene where Celie admits that she is beautiful and finally learns to accept herself is so powerful; there was not one dry eye in the room when I saw it. The entire song is breathtaking (I’m Here) but it only takes a moment for the emotions to set it. Cynthia Erivo delivers a powerhouse performance every night, as expected! The entire show is truly moving, but it’s scenes such as those that bring the entire story together. I’ve never seen something so beautiful…
My Twitter is @ThespianGods
One of the most magical moments ( and there are many) was a signed conversation between Moritz and his father during Deaf West’s Spring Awakening. No spoken words but the audience was absolutely silent.
Twitter: @karen111s
The most magical moment I experienced onstage had nothing to do with special effects, or any spectacular element. But its purely based off of the content of the song. I watched Sydney Lucas perform “Ring Of Keys” from the front row of the circle in the square theatre. It was the best moment in musical theater I’ve ever got to witness in person. To see such a young actress convey feelings that I’ve felt in my real life as a gay man and see her put so much layered emotion and density into her performance struck a chord with me becuase I could relate to what young Alison Bechdel was feeling. @creationofgodga
It’s hard to pick just one moment from one show, but I would have to say that a moment that remains in my mind is seeing the horse puppets in War Horse for the first time as they came out on the stage. They were absolutely incredible…so life-like in their movements! In fact, as the show went on you completely forgot that they weren’t real. It was a truly magical performance.
Twitter: @KimMenning1
When I was 14 years old, all I wanted was to see The Lion King on Broadway. It had been a longtime favorite movie (still is!) and I wanted to see it come to life so badly.
As cliché as it may sound, the moments the animals marched through the aisles of the New Amsterdam and the birds flew out over the audience, I was transported. The show itself is beautiful, but that moment when the opening lines of “Circle of Life” rang through the audience and I got to see my favorite film come to life…. Well, that will always be a magical moment for me.
@jsibille42
I worked on Annie my senior year in high school, and watching everyone take their bows on the final performance brought me to tears. Watching all of my friends who I had known for years taking the final bow of their high school career, and the final bow I would see them in and knowing that they were all leaving for college and I wouldn’t see them again was really moving.
@NapkinsUnite
Watching PHANTOM OF THE OPERA from the 3rd row of the Majestic theater on Broadway, when I looked up above my seat to witness the theater’s ceiling chandelier hurtling towards me. Just as I was about to unleash a bloodcurdling scream (yes,l like a little girl), I was saved the embaressment when “magically” the chandelier veered off course and swung onto the stage. I still don’t know how they get away with that stunt 8-shows a week with never a crash into the audience. Only on Broadway!! @NewYorkTheater @garyorjoe
We won Hamilton Broadway lottery tickets. Front row direct center seats. Sitting up close, you could really catch every nuanced emotion on the actors’ faces and those small, powerful gestures that are not as visible from further away. Even though the entire performance was magical, I truly enjoyed watching the cast perform “A Winter’s Ball”. Javier Munoz’s smile and confident presence was so radiant in that scene. When they mentioned Martha Washington’s feral tomcat named after Hamilton, you knew exactly why. @booblesnoot
The last number of Hair, “The Flesh Failures” had me sunken down in my seat in a way I’ve never experienced. It was the first time something in a theater made me feel, grieve, and experience a shift inside of myself. It was the first time I left a theater different than I was when I entered.
@RyanCBrinson
It was a magical moment for me during Billy Elliot when Billy bursts into his “Electricity” dance and song. There was so much passion and emotion expressed in that dance and his dancing was brilliant. Twitter @mymusicboxes
The greatest theatrical experience of my life was seeing Suzanne Somers’ one-woman show on Broadway, The Blonde in the Thunderbird. Hands down. No question. The ENTIRE show was magical. Every moment. But I keep going back to the part where she reenacted the birth of her first born child live on stage. Either that or when she wheeled out her cart of QVC products– the ovation that the ThighMaster received was amazing.
In Aladdin when they went on the magic carpet ride singing A Whole New World. It was just so magical and I really loved it.
@dash1313
Such a hard toss up! It’s either the first time I saw Eden Espinosa rise up in Defying Gravity or when Aladdin and Jasmine rose up on the magic carpet in Aladdin!
The most magical moment I’ve ever witnessed take place onstage would have to be Sylvia’s death in Finding Neverland. Since I had already seen the film, I knew the grievous scene was coming –but nothing could have prepared me for how many tears a lone scarf and gust of glitter could induce; it was incredibly moving without feeling too heavy. The fusion of poignant thematic elements with creative stagecraft made for a truly wondrous sight.
I follow you on twitter (my name is linked to my account for verification). Thank you for the chance!
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. Once a great city, at play’s end it is an atmosphere inhabited almost entirely by ghosts.
Act 2 struck me: This place is lousy with ghosts.
And the new ones are irritating. They’re walking around, wide eyed… What happened to me? Where am I? You’re dead and you’re in Baghdad. Shut up.
Anyhow, the other day, I’m walking down the street. The street is literally ON FIRE.
And I see this little girl. Her life is like a soap bubble, and then pop! She’s here, in the middle of the street, looking up at me. And she says to me: What are you? And I tell her, I’m a tiger. And she says why?
@TaraWrobo
Lucie Arnaz singing “No Time at All” in the revival of Pippin. As a Grandma and woman of a certain age myself I loved this and her trapeze act was amazing. “Oh, it’s time to start livin’, Time to take a little from this world we’re given . . . “. @PiscesMist