Most musicals the musicians are typically under the stage in what is called an orchestra pit. They got creative with the storytelling and staging in this so they could be on the stage.
The orchestra is live for a Broadway show. Usually in an orchestra pit, but I think that you are right that they floor covers the orchestra, although some Broadway shows have had the orchestra live from another location. Then there are the musicians on stage playing folk instruments. Rent also featured a band on stage.
Those few seconds at about 5:16 gets me, when Capt. Bass is calling her husband finding out who was on the other planes. And when she says "Charles, are you sure?" And cries. She was talking about Capt. Charles Burlingame, the captain of American flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon. They were friends and had been together recently in London. So besides dealing with her crew and passengers, Capt. Bass was also dealing with her personal loss of a friend.
The song "Costume Party" where the plane people are waking up the next day always hits me like a ton of bricks. I saw Come From Away on tour three days before losing my home to an F3 tornado. The song's lyrics ran through my head the next day as I tried to wrap my mind around this life altering experience.
That line of the musical near the end of this reaction gives me chills - “I know Gander is not New York”. Just. The way this musical tells us who Hannah is waiting to hear from. It’s everything you said about how terrible it is not to hear from a loved one, compounded by a thousand because Hannah knows that her son was very much in danger, being a firefighter in NY, and she hasn’t heard from him. And I love the absolute anguish in her voice as she sings her part in this
As Beulah helped Hannah through it, a few years later Hannah helped Beulah through the death of her firefighter son too. They’ve remained firm friends.
I think that is one of the most respective thing the musical does. It doesn't pull the focus to the events unfolding in new york. You don't have a hashing out of the details, instead they keep it just focused on Gander.
"Who am I if I don't feel like the me from yesterday?" had to be the line that really hits home. September 12th, 2001 felt like being on a different planet compared to September 10th.
On Broadway in NYC, the music MUST be live for a musical. It's a union rule. The touring version of Come From Away also has live musicians. I've seen it both on Broadway with this cast and with others on tour - they are equally good. If the tour comes your way, try to go. My mom was one of the bus drivers for plane people(not in Gander but one of the next closest airports) and it's something she'll never forget. She knew what was going on because she was at home in the morning before work. While on her usual run, she got called to return to dispatch immediately. For the passengers she picked up at the airport, no one knew what was going on. Mom wasn't allowed to fill them in and on the planes back then they had AirPhones on the seatbacks, but they had been switched off. A few were upset that they were not being sent on to their destination and wanted to get on another plane right away. "I have a very important meeting. I must get to it". That all changed pretty quick when they were dropped at hotels /other drop off points and saw the TVs. She would accompany them inside and their jaws would drop when they saw the news on TV.
5:52 pretty much every broadway show has a live band that plays every night. Usually they're under the stage so the audience doesn't see them but some shows put the band onstage. Having a live band is crucial because sometimes actors will switch up timing or have to wait for applause so the conductor watches them via a screen and the actors can see the conductor via a screen as well.
I was just in Gander to see Come From Away there. I was staying in a town 20 mins drive from Gander (many small towns around). At night the road between these towns are literally pitch black with only the moonlight and the light from your car and nothing else. 😅
I love the design and direction of this musical so much. It takes a really complex story and score and breaks it all down into really digestible and effective sequences. Even if you don’t actively notice it and point it out, it’s designed to help your brain understand what’s going on
I absolutely love the way the orchestra is incorporated in this musical, most musicals have them in the orchestra pit, and thus they feel separate, but this one makes the orchestra feel like a part of the storytelling (adding to the comfortable, intimate vibe of it) (also something I appreciate in Hadestown)
I was born in 2003 and when we watched this movie in high school it was probably the closest I’d gotten to feeling like I understood what happened that day from an emotional standpoint
Every musical you've watched so far had live musicians. The overwhelming majority of staged musicals have live musicians. It's rare to have any kind of pre-recorded music in a musical unless it's used for a specific effect within the show.
Yep, almost all have live music. Six also has the band on stage like Come From Away. After you finish you should watch the gander ripple effect documentary. You get to be introduced to the people that this is based on. These are real stories, its soooo cool!
This part kept giving me goose bumps. Yeah I'm definitely gonna get emotional. Man this is all put together so well. Thank you Salvo for taking us on this journey with you. This is very diff to see from this perspective. What horrors so many went through. Esp when u think how many planes were immediately grounded & how many towns accepted flights like this town in Newfoundland. I'm in awe. Looking forward to Part 3. Thnx again .. Peace Out ☮️❣️🙂
The majority of stage shows have live musicians. There was controversy around a musical called CONTACT (I think it debuted in 1999 or 2000) because the show had no live musicians - it was all "canned" (recorded) music. I recall that the director of the show explained that the specific music being used in the show needed to be those recordings because they evoke specific feelings. (Example: This song isn't in CONTACT but it wouldn't be the same to hear "Hotel California" by Eagles as having a live band playing it in a theater.) So you watched the 10th anniversary concert of LES MISERABLES, the film of the revival of MISS SAIGON and the Manila production of MISS SAIGON. They all had live musicians.
Definitely. Most have live music, or at least most elements are live music. I remember an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda somewhere saying that they had to fight to use canned music for Bring It On because stylistically that’s the appropriate music for cheer team/ dance squad.
One of my favorite musicals, saw the touring show in Nashville. Took my best buddy with me to see it. I tear up at different points in the musical, but especially when Kevin is talking about being in the gas station. You’re not there yet, but just the words he says hits hard. Glad you’re watching.
This started out as a college project that got some government funding. The reason there was such a big airport in such a small town is that it was a regular refuelling stop for trans-Atlantic flights before airplanes were big enough to carry enough fuel for the whole flight.
Looking forward to part 3 (and hoping you also watch the behind the scenes documentary...which deals more with the real people being portrayed...and more)
Generally speaking Broadway Musicals have all live music. Well almost all. Some times there will be a brief recorded section for a comedy drop in, or a prerecorded vocl because of the staging. Like chunks of the title song of Phantom of the Opera is prerecorded. And in Rock of Ages there were a couple lines that were prerecorded because of a surprise entrance in front of a speaker that would cause feedback if done live. Plays tho can have prerecorded underscoring. Going back to Miss Saigon, they had most of the orchestra in the pit, but had a second room just for the percussion, and I got to see the show from there one of the times I saw it. . There were fewer performers on Broadway than in London doing the percussion and there was almost more choreography in that room than on stage as they moved from drums to chimes to wood blocks and everything else. Oh one last thing, The conductor is playing the piano, so is behind them and to the right. But there is a small video camera on them and a couple flat screen TVs mounted to the front of the balcony so they can see the conductor and get their cues and stay in sync
And if Ganger is ever torn down, it would be a short sighted crime. It should always be maintained as the last resource because you never know. 9/11 is the example.
Thank you for this musical. It is coming to an end and I did not get to see it. 9/11 was such an an ing(not in a good way…although 9/12 was a day that we were United as one-unlike today). But thank you for doing this. And yes, music is live. Last version of Rent had the musicians on stage. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar a couple weeks ago snd the musicians were on stage also.
All the music is indeed live. When I saw it in London one of the musicians collapsed and the show stopped for 20 minutes and then just got going again.
When you’re done watching this you should listen to the Come From Away episode of the podcast Broadway Backstory. It really explains what went in to creating the show and you get to meet some of the real life characters.
There's also a great documentary about it called "Gander's Ripple Effect: How a Small Town's Kindness Opened on Broadway." Not only do you get a lot more of the stories but the production put on 2 shows in Gander before opening on Broadway. Seeing the cast interact with the people they are playing is just incredible.
I am rewatching this reaction again. The touring group is just about finished in Massachusetts. It will be back in Massachusetts next year and the prices for next year are are already over $200.
All of the music is live in this production. Some shows do use a click track of prerecorded instruments that supplement live instruments. Also, musicals may prerecord "vocal sweeteners" for the chorus parts if there are large dance numbers.
Thank you for this great commentary and super relatable reaction video. I super appreciate that you're not throwing around a zillion technical terms and two lifetimes of Musical Theatre sayings!!
I hope that sometime soon you will react to the musical 1776. Just about the entire Broadway cast recreated their roles for the movie version. Really great to see.....Don't wait until July 4th to see this if at all possible. William Daniels as John Adams and the rest of the cast is exceptionally good!
I’m new to your channel and I am enjoying your reaction. If anyone doesn’t know the story by now, I can show a whole bunch of videos who helped people. The difference with gander is they did not have to do that. Some people came there and they immediately came to their rescue. They couldn’t help the dead. They could help the people who were forced down with no idea where they were. Gander really showed up. They cared for these people for days and did not ask for anything in return
I’m sure there are exceptions but most musicals on Broadway have live musicians on or under the stage. Hell, Once has its cast play the instruments. Just depends on the show.
I RALLY felt compelled to mention this, because I’ve JUST NOW realized it. There’s an upcoming song (not sure when) called Prayer. It’s one of the most moving songs I’ve heard because the characters are united in both their need to hide for SURVIVAL, but also their need to pray to a single God. It’s such a simple song, but there’s so many profound layers to unpack!
The way they use the stage and the lighting is AMAZING!! And yes musicals have live music. Most including Les Mis and Miss Saigon would use an orchestra “pit” - a space under the stage with some open space between the stage and the audience, with a short wall on the audience side of the space…. So sound can travel, but most view of the orchestra is obscured. This show is a little different in that they use a band (a fiddle, Irish instruments, electric guitar/bass, drum set vs strings/woodwinds/brass/percussion) - and the band is ON the stage. There’s a couple of really cool scenes coming up where you see them more prominently!!
The band in this show is a different mix of instruments than you usually see -- usually older shows have a traditional orchestra, and newer ones might have something more like a rock band, or ones with a more pop sound will have a keyboardist mixing in those sounds, but you'll see a few Celtic instruments in the mix here, which they did to mix in some of the Newfoundland folk music. You'll see them better in one of the songs that's coming up.
Due to Broadway union regulations, there must be a certain amount of live musicians which caused problems for shows like American Psycho that had electric scores that didn’t need live musicians.
"Creating a lot with not that much to work with". Yeah, I've seen other people complain that the whole production is done with a couple tables and a bunch of chairs; that it's low-budget, community theatre on Broadway, and that's tacky. Well, it was developed at a community college in Canada. Here, theatre productions are expected to be just that, with very few exceptions. Oh, and playing multiple characters is routine, too.
If you're going to post a reaction, at least minimize your face and show the entire vid that you're reacting to. The viewer cannot see most of the scene you are reacting to.
Most musicals the musicians are typically under the stage in what is called an orchestra pit. They got creative with the storytelling and staging in this so they could be on the stage.
The orchestra is live for a Broadway show. Usually in an orchestra pit, but I think that you are right that they floor covers the orchestra, although some Broadway shows have had the orchestra live from another location. Then there are the musicians on stage playing folk instruments. Rent also featured a band on stage.
orchestra on stage seems to be more of a trend since 2015 or so
Those few seconds at about 5:16 gets me, when Capt. Bass is calling her husband finding out who was on the other planes. And when she says "Charles, are you sure?" And cries. She was talking about Capt. Charles Burlingame, the captain of American flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon. They were friends and had been together recently in London. So besides dealing with her crew and passengers, Capt. Bass was also dealing with her personal loss of a friend.
The song "Costume Party" where the plane people are waking up the next day always hits me like a ton of bricks. I saw Come From Away on tour three days before losing my home to an F3 tornado. The song's lyrics ran through my head the next day as I tried to wrap my mind around this life altering experience.
That line of the musical near the end of this reaction gives me chills - “I know Gander is not New York”. Just. The way this musical tells us who Hannah is waiting to hear from. It’s everything you said about how terrible it is not to hear from a loved one, compounded by a thousand because Hannah knows that her son was very much in danger, being a firefighter in NY, and she hasn’t heard from him. And I love the absolute anguish in her voice as she sings her part in this
Yeah 😭
As Beulah helped Hannah through it, a few years later Hannah helped Beulah through the death of her firefighter son too. They’ve remained firm friends.
I think that is one of the most respective thing the musical does. It doesn't pull the focus to the events unfolding in new york. You don't have a hashing out of the details, instead they keep it just focused on Gander.
"Who am I if I don't feel like the me from yesterday?" had to be the line that really hits home. September 12th, 2001 felt like being on a different planet compared to September 10th.
24 years later that is still true.
"Be anxious for nothing" that's when my tears start
As a 30 year theatre professional, I am really appreciative of the design elements you are seeing!
I can't wait til you get to Jenn's song Me And The Sky. I love her song and also i learned a lot about the real pilot Beverly Bass.
On Broadway in NYC, the music MUST be live for a musical. It's a union rule. The touring version of Come From Away also has live musicians. I've seen it both on Broadway with this cast and with others on tour - they are equally good. If the tour comes your way, try to go.
My mom was one of the bus drivers for plane people(not in Gander but one of the next closest airports) and it's something she'll never forget. She knew what was going on because she was at home in the morning before work. While on her usual run, she got called to return to dispatch immediately. For the passengers she picked up at the airport, no one knew what was going on. Mom wasn't allowed to fill them in and on the planes back then they had AirPhones on the seatbacks, but they had been switched off. A few were upset that they were not being sent on to their destination and wanted to get on another plane right away. "I have a very important meeting. I must get to it". That all changed pretty quick when they were dropped at hotels /other drop off points and saw the TVs. She would accompany them inside and their jaws would drop when they saw the news on TV.
5:52 pretty much every broadway show has a live band that plays every night. Usually they're under the stage so the audience doesn't see them but some shows put the band onstage. Having a live band is crucial because sometimes actors will switch up timing or have to wait for applause so the conductor watches them via a screen and the actors can see the conductor via a screen as well.
I was just in Gander to see Come From Away there. I was staying in a town 20 mins drive from Gander (many small towns around). At night the road between these towns are literally pitch black with only the moonlight and the light from your car and nothing else. 😅
I love the design and direction of this musical so much. It takes a really complex story and score and breaks it all down into really digestible and effective sequences. Even if you don’t actively notice it and point it out, it’s designed to help your brain understand what’s going on
This is one amazing play. So incredibly well done. I have seen it 3 times and it never gets old. I pick up more nuggets each time. Always cry.
The orchestra is all live!! Aren't they amazing?❤❤❤
I absolutely love the way the orchestra is incorporated in this musical, most musicals have them in the orchestra pit, and thus they feel separate, but this one makes the orchestra feel like a part of the storytelling (adding to the comfortable, intimate vibe of it) (also something I appreciate in Hadestown)
Yes indeed!! 🥰
If you get a chance to see this live, do it. Such an amazing show.
The play got recognized for its choreography and deserved it too!
This makes me cry. So glad you are doing this.
Agreeed!!!❤❤
I was born in 2003 and when we watched this movie in high school it was probably the closest I’d gotten to feeling like I understood what happened that day from an emotional standpoint
Every musical you've watched so far had live musicians. The overwhelming majority of staged musicals have live musicians. It's rare to have any kind of pre-recorded music in a musical unless it's used for a specific effect within the show.
Yep, almost all have live music. Six also has the band on stage like Come From Away. After you finish you should watch the gander ripple effect documentary. You get to be introduced to the people that this is based on. These are real stories, its soooo cool!
I do understand the moose stuff in Alaska we also have moose come into yards or on the roads.
This part kept giving me goose bumps. Yeah I'm definitely gonna get emotional. Man this is all put together so well. Thank you Salvo for taking us on this journey with you. This is very diff to see from this perspective. What horrors so many went through. Esp when u think how many planes were immediately grounded & how many towns accepted flights like this town in Newfoundland. I'm in awe. Looking forward to Part 3. Thnx again .. Peace Out ☮️❣️🙂
Also this musical makes me cry all the time.
I love this musical so much. Every time Jenn sings I'm crying.
The majority of stage shows have live musicians. There was controversy around a musical called CONTACT (I think it debuted in 1999 or 2000) because the show had no live musicians - it was all "canned" (recorded) music. I recall that the director of the show explained that the specific music being used in the show needed to be those recordings because they evoke specific feelings. (Example: This song isn't in CONTACT but it wouldn't be the same to hear "Hotel California" by Eagles as having a live band playing it in a theater.) So you watched the 10th anniversary concert of LES MISERABLES, the film of the revival of MISS SAIGON and the Manila production of MISS SAIGON. They all had live musicians.
Definitely. Most have live music, or at least most elements are live music.
I remember an interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda somewhere saying that they had to fight to use canned music for Bring It On because stylistically that’s the appropriate music for cheer team/ dance squad.
One of my favorite musicals, saw the touring show in Nashville. Took my best buddy with me to see it. I tear up at different points in the musical, but especially when Kevin is talking about being in the gas station. You’re not there yet, but just the words he says hits hard. Glad you’re watching.
This started out as a college project that got some government funding. The reason there was such a big airport in such a small town is that it was a regular refuelling stop for trans-Atlantic flights before airplanes were big enough to carry enough fuel for the whole flight.
Looking forward to part 3 (and hoping you also watch the behind the scenes documentary...which deals more with the real people being portrayed...and more)
Loving this show and your reaction to it, can't wait for part 3!
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been wanting to see the play the musical, but I haven’t been able to find it except for your postings.
Generally speaking Broadway Musicals have all live music. Well almost all. Some times there will be a brief recorded section for a comedy drop in, or a prerecorded vocl because of the staging. Like chunks of the title song of Phantom of the Opera is prerecorded. And in Rock of Ages there were a couple lines that were prerecorded because of a surprise entrance in front of a speaker that would cause feedback if done live. Plays tho can have prerecorded underscoring.
Going back to Miss Saigon, they had most of the orchestra in the pit, but had a second room just for the percussion, and I got to see the show from there one of the times I saw it. . There were fewer performers on Broadway than in London doing the percussion and there was almost more choreography in that room than on stage as they moved from drums to chimes to wood blocks and everything else.
Oh one last thing, The conductor is playing the piano, so is behind them and to the right. But there is a small video camera on them and a couple flat screen TVs mounted to the front of the balcony so they can see the conductor and get their cues and stay in sync
The budding relationship between Nick and Diane is such a refreshing part of this story...I was soooo vested in the 2 of them!
And if Ganger is ever torn down, it would be a short sighted crime. It should always be maintained as the last resource because you never know. 9/11 is the example.
Autocorrect strikes again.
Thank you for this musical. It is coming to an end and I did not get to see it. 9/11 was such an an ing(not in a good way…although 9/12 was a day that we were United as one-unlike today). But thank you for doing this. And yes, music is live. Last version of Rent had the musicians on stage. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar a couple weeks ago snd the musicians were on stage also.
your reaction to realizing the stage has a turntable was so funny 💀
There are some great TH-cam clips with Alex Lacamoire doing a tour of the orchestra pit under the Hamilton stage.
Awesome reaction. Really hoping part three comes soon!
All the music is indeed live. When I saw it in London one of the musicians collapsed and the show stopped for 20 minutes and then just got going again.
When you’re done watching this you should listen to the Come From Away episode of the podcast Broadway Backstory. It really explains what went in to creating the show and you get to meet some of the real life characters.
There's also a great documentary about it called "Gander's Ripple Effect: How a Small Town's Kindness Opened on Broadway." Not only do you get a lot more of the stories but the production put on 2 shows in Gander before opening on Broadway. Seeing the cast interact with the people they are playing is just incredible.
@@margaretjames6494 I’ll have to check that out. Sounds like something I’d like.
I am rewatching this reaction again. The touring group is just about finished in Massachusetts. It will be back in Massachusetts next year and the prices for next year are are already over $200.
All of the music is live in this production. Some shows do use a click track of prerecorded instruments that supplement live instruments. Also, musicals may prerecord "vocal sweeteners" for the chorus parts if there are large dance numbers.
Thank you for this great commentary and super relatable reaction video. I super appreciate that you're not throwing around a zillion technical terms and two lifetimes of Musical Theatre sayings!!
I hope that sometime soon you will react to the musical 1776. Just about the entire Broadway cast recreated their roles for the movie version. Really great to see.....Don't wait until July 4th to see this if at all possible. William Daniels as John Adams and the rest of the cast is exceptionally good!
One of my favorites!
I’m new to your channel and I am enjoying your reaction.
If anyone doesn’t know the story by now, I can show a whole bunch of videos who helped people.
The difference with gander is they did not have to do that. Some people came there and they immediately came to their rescue. They couldn’t help the dead.
They could help the people who were forced down with no idea where they were.
Gander really showed up. They cared for these people for days and did not ask for anything in return
I’m sure there are exceptions but most musicals on Broadway have live musicians on or under the stage. Hell, Once has its cast play the instruments. Just depends on the show.
The UK version of Amelie is another example of where the cast are also the musicians
John Doyle’s revival of Sondheim’s classic Company(available in full on TH-cam) has the actors performing the orchestrations!! It’s spectacular!!!!
All of the actors on stage play multiple characters in this show.
I RALLY felt compelled to mention this, because I’ve JUST NOW realized it.
There’s an upcoming song (not sure when) called Prayer. It’s one of the most moving songs I’ve heard because the characters are united in both their need to hide for SURVIVAL, but also their need to pray to a single God.
It’s such a simple song, but there’s so many profound layers to unpack!
they didn't pray to a single God though, they all prayed to THEIR God.
@@kawaii33366 K
There are a few other shows that have the musicians on the stage, it's pretty cool.
The way they use the stage and the lighting is AMAZING!!
And yes musicals have live music. Most including Les Mis and Miss Saigon would use an orchestra “pit” - a space under the stage with some open space between the stage and the audience, with a short wall on the audience side of the space…. So sound can travel, but most view of the orchestra is obscured.
This show is a little different in that they use a band (a fiddle, Irish instruments, electric guitar/bass, drum set vs strings/woodwinds/brass/percussion) - and the band is ON the stage.
There’s a couple of really cool scenes coming up where you see them more prominently!!
The band in this show is a different mix of instruments than you usually see -- usually older shows have a traditional orchestra, and newer ones might have something more like a rock band, or ones with a more pop sound will have a keyboardist mixing in those sounds, but you'll see a few Celtic instruments in the mix here, which they did to mix in some of the Newfoundland folk music. You'll see them better in one of the songs that's coming up.
This show was set up to be preformed at any Canadian community college. Works better on the world stage!
Due to Broadway union regulations, there must be a certain amount of live musicians which caused problems for shows like American Psycho that had electric scores that didn’t need live musicians.
I hope you watched this several times now. You’ll catch sometime new everytime.
"Creating a lot with not that much to work with". Yeah, I've seen other people complain that the whole production is done with a couple tables and a bunch of chairs; that it's low-budget, community theatre on Broadway, and that's tacky. Well, it was developed at a community college in Canada. Here, theatre productions are expected to be just that, with very few exceptions. Oh, and playing multiple characters is routine, too.
👍
Maybe that’s what the Bible is for international translation if you’re a Christian or Catholic.
JESUS I really wanted to see this but could not with all the stopping...
If you're going to post a reaction, at least minimize your face and show the entire vid that you're reacting to. The viewer cannot see most of the scene you are reacting to.