Some unexpected drama occurred at the Spring Awakening performance last Wednesday evening, when the sold-out crowd, which included Jerry Seinfeld and Sarah Jessica Parker, witnessed a sadomasochistic blooper. During a scene in which a teenage boy whips his girlfriend with a branch, the switch snapped in half and went flying, hitting the head of an elderly woman sitting in Row F. According to director Michael Mayer, this wasn’t the only time the branch had snapped—though it’s the first time it struck a premium ticket-holder. Mayer says a stronger prop can’t be substituted: “It can’t be too thick or it’ll hurt, and it has to be thin enough so that it makes that nice whistle in the air.” Luckily, the smacked woman was fine; at intermission she bragged, “You’re just jealous because you didn’t get hit by the stick!” Mayer plans to offer incentives if this happens again. “Maybe he or she can redeem it and get something like a cast CD. Or sell it on eBay! You can’t ask for a sexier piece of wood. Wait, I think what I just said was really gross.”

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Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Emma Rosenblum
• Table of Contents: Jan 22, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!