At last night's opening of Memphis the Musical, the strong cast had just finished up its third song of the night, "Scratch My Itch," and was in the process of changing sets when everything stalled and a voice announced, "We are experiencing technical difficulties."
Most everyone thought it was just part of the show -- in addition to the onstage action there's a lot of televised-on-a-screen moments as well -- and laughed. We'd already seen a quick change from a white DJ to a black one in 1950s Memphis, so Art Attack and others just thought this was, well, part of the plot.
But then, alas, the curtain came down and the lights went up. And we waited.
Some of the audience was able to see progress, or its lack thereof, by watching the suspended TV monitors that hang about halfway up the length of the theater (facing the stage), where a guy in a hat was at a keyboard, talking by phone to presumably the God of theater glitches.
It was less than ten minutes by Art Attack's watch before the all-clear was issued and the musical resumed. Checking with a show spokeswoman this morning, we were told there had been a technical error, and, as a result, they had to reboot "the automation console."
We assume they'll be fine-tuning all day today, to make sure there's no more interruptions.
Memphis runs through October 30 at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For tickets call 800- 982-2787 or visit www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/houston or www.thehobbycenter.org.