Despite having never seen it before, not knowing an awful lot about it and knowing only one song, the end of 'Matilda' was very emotional for me; especially as I'd taken my 'nearly-leaving-home' aged daughter for a Christmas present...likewise 'Slipping Through My Fingers' in Mamma Mia. 'Finale B' in Rent always gets me as I just want to soak up every last second before it finishes. And of course the sense of dread you get in both 'Miss Saigon' and 'Blood Brothers' when you remember what's going to happen...sniff.
I'm not really one for crying at anything, but there are a couple of musical moments that have got me in the past. Probably the one that got me the most was in Cats when Grizabella is singing the reprise of Memory, and falls to the ground. I always get a little emotional there, but I never cried at it until I saw Kerry Ellis in the role last April. She had both me and my friend in tears. Saw it later in the year with Beverley Knight, and while she was brilliant she didn't quite get me or my friend like Kerry did.
Also in Wicked I can get a little emotional during For Good, especially on the occasion I went to see the show with my best friend. We had to have a very teary best friend hug after that one!
Lastly I cried at the very end of the Les Mis movie when everyone who has died is on the barricade singing. I haven't yet made it to see the musical on stage, but I'm pretty sure that will get me!
The main ones for me are 1) Les Mis finale "...to love another person is to see the face of God" then the building up of the chorus. 2) in the new production of Miss Saigon when Kim shoots Thuy and that split second before we get her horrified reaction at what she's done and her crying out. 3)Julie Atherton ' "It's a Fine Fine Line " in Avenue Q
Definitely more prone to this as I get older. Literal, unavoidable, tears at;
Les Mis - "Alone I wait in the shadows..." and during the finale "they will live again in freedom in the garden of the lord" (an odd one given as an atheist I believe they won't - the sentiment is touching though). Empty Chairs At Empty Tables can sometimes get me, depending on the performance. I haven't seen the show since becoming a father, I suspect the all the Cossette as a child stuff might be more moving for me next time around.
Lion King - Can't make it through He Lives In You with a dry face.
Miss Saigon - I've only seen this the once, but remember welling up a lot at scenes involving the young child.
Last Edit: Mar 3, 2016 12:15:33 GMT by bulletproof
Don't think I have ever cried in the theatre or film
They are pretend
Would have had some sympathy for this position 10 years ago, but I've found both crying at fictional media and real life news events has increased as I've gotten older. Strange.
This is no doubt not a unique theory, but I've found that generally, when I really analyse it, I'm not crying for others, but for myself. Something about whatever triggers the tears resonates with something deep down. That's why it doesn't matter whether the situation is fictional - if a particular situation resonates and hits a nerve, say the fear of losing a parent, it just triggers those emotions.
Last Edit: Mar 3, 2016 12:08:19 GMT by bulletproof
I'm welling up reading this thread!! Most of what everyone else has said really - Les Mis from 'She was never mine to keep' onwards and most of the way home, Parade, Blood Brothers, Spend x 3, Color Purple I thought was named cos that was the colour of your eyes at the end. There's always a 'moment' in a Sondheim that creeps up and slaps you in the face.
"Sunday" - SITPWG "The Letter" - Billy E - way too close to home
Strangely, seeing Jenna Russell singing "Stars and Moon" from Songs for a new world, reduced me to tears. I had always only connected with it really as a comedy piece but the heart break in the final verse through Ms Russell, floored me.
I dunno if this counts, but the closing night of Made in Dagenham was incredibly moving... I am sure anyone would agree with that one. Especially the final The Letter and Stand Up.
I will generally have a bit of a cry at most things really but recently, I did have a little tear and a half during 'Kinky Boots' when Charlie leaves the voicemail for Lola.
But in all honesty, it may have been the gin.
Or the excitement from the routine with the travelator.
I will generally have a bit of a cry at most things really but recently, I did have a little tear and a half during 'Kinky Boots' when Charlie leaves the voicemail for Lola.
But in all honesty, it may have been the gin.
Or the excitement from the routine with the travelator.
But probably the gin.
How about in the finale when the kids come up and hug the dads? *wipes tear *
Last scene of Carousel, The Anthem in Chess, i know it's a ballet but the final scene in Romeo and Juliet, all of Les Miserables, Defying Gravity........
Oh, and also I cried at several points during Gypsy... Some People, Everything's Coming Up Roses, Louise looking in the Mirror before her Strip, Rose's Turn and the final scene. (to name but a few haha)
I went to watch the original production of "Ghost The Musical" for the first time on what would have been my dad's birthday if he was still alive. I couldn't remember Caissie Levy from Hair ad her voice blew me away.
Then she sat down next to the sofa and sang "With You". Easily the most emotional experience I've ever had in the theatre. I didn't move, I didn't sob. I just sat there and tears silently crept down my cheeks.
I'm not talking full on wail and blub and stuff but...most shows I've seen have caused a stifled/silent brief sobby-type cry or at the very least an eye well-up and a lip wobble!
Sometimes all it takes is for the curtain to go up...but that's unusual, to my credit.
I rarely cry, and have never cried at a live theatre show.
That said, I have witnessed people cry.
The first time was in the original production of Miss Saigon. When the little boy was revealed and at the end of the show, I have never seen people cry lime that.
When I took my parents to see Blood Brothers there was a group of students and the guy in from of use was bawling. His girlfriend was shocked.
I also saw a guy who needed consoling after the film version of Les Mis
Don't we get to be happy? At some point down the line, don't we get to relax without some new tsuris to push me yet further from you!
Who dare tell the lambs in Spring what fate the later season brings?
The graduation scene / You'll Never Walk alone reprise in Carousel For Good in Wicked Stand Up in Made In Dagenham The Letter and reprise in Billy Elliot One Day More, Fantines Death and the end of Les Mis lots of bits in Love Story (I saw it twice at the Duchess and both times I was a mess) End of Miss Saigon Life Support / Another Day / I'll cover you (reprise) and the end of Rent Finally there is a bit in The Light Princess in No H20 which gets to me everytime
Ha ha, I am sooo predictable. So many of the above! Some of them give me goosebumps and a stray tear, rather than full-out sobbing though.
Carousel, Les Mis, Sunday in the Park with George (that finale!) Even 'Feed the Birds' (can never walk past St Paul's without thinking of that one).
Did anyone mention Make Our Garden Grow, from Candide? Love that one. Cynthia Erivo has got me going a few times too. Not a musical as such but I did have a proper cry at her O2 Scott Alan concert when she sang 'Anything Worth Holding On To'. It was one of those moments when half the audience were in tears (including Cynthia herself).
Bali Hai in South Pacific. Billy Elliot, etc etc The list goes on...