Footlight Frenzy

The favourable reviews here (is it a cabal?) are mysterious indeed. If you really want to see this you can do so on the rarefilmm website, but don't waste your time. It is coarse, stupid, amateurish, and not at all funny. The writing is one cliche after another, and the actors seem to think it is extremely comic to shout, contort their faces, and windmill their arms about. If you want to see a funny show about a play that goes badly wrong, see Doubting Thomas, with Will Rogers. There is also, of course, Noises Off, but I don't think the movie is very good. With a good cast and direction, in the theatre, it is dangerously hilarious.

I happened to see this show in 1984, I was laughing so hard my sides and stomach ached. Tears were running down my cheeks.

The next time it was on TV I was prepared with a tape to record it. My children knew that under no circumstances should they touch that tape.

Being active in theater I could not only see but empathize with the cast and the problems that arose. I was sure the cast had gotten together one night and remembered embarrassing and heart stopping moments in shows they did. I think they put them all together and Footlight Frenzy was born.

Imagine my dismay and heart break to find that one of my children's friend wanted to tape something and carelessly taped over it. I have been trying since 1984 to find another copy. This is the first I have seen one. I do hope this will be available for sale. I would buy two, one extra just to be on the safe side.

Can't go wrong with this tape if you are looking for laughs a minute and amazing staging. Remembering some scenes still make me smile. What a pick me up.

Easily one of the funniest "plays" I ever saw. I taped it - VHS, and as soon as I get the new DVD/Tape recorder I'll try making a DVD of it. I tried having it copied commercially but the company wouldn't do it because its a commercial product. I did however copy it to another tape for my son. That worked o.k.

There isn't a dull moment in the play. Funniest line - among many: Addie (Diz White) saying she wants another baby because the first two ". . . didn't turn out very well." Cracked me up! Shearman and Diz White wrote it. I just got a copy of another of their efforts - "BULLSHOT." Detective Bullshot Crummond's investigation of a crime. Hilarious!

I remember seeing this as a "Broadway on Showtime" feature, if I'm not mistaken. I taped it, too, but over the years I've misplaced the tape. I hope that it will be released on DVD someday soon! I haven't seen it for many years now but I still remember bits of it to this day. Diz White was my favorite actress in the show, but the cast was an incredible ensemble. I used to work in theatre and always wanted to work on this production, perhaps one day that might still happen. Anyone who has done live theatre will enjoy this thoroughly, and as an actor who actually did skip dialogue, and watched our director have to rethink the play "on the fly" during a performance, it brought back bittersweet memories. The writing, casting, acting, staging, and directing was absolutely brilliant. I hope I get to see this particular production again in my lifetime!

I first saw this when it was broadcast back in 1984. At that time I was fortunate because I happened to put a tape in the VCR and had a perfect copy to view over and over.

This is about a play put on by the faculty and staff of a school to raise money to "Save Our School!" The script is written by the drama instructor, the school janitor is the stage manager and the teachers are the actors. On the night of the big performance, two of the cast call to say they won't be coming. The janitor is drafted to play the part of "Johnny Chicago" and the bulter's part is replace by a telephone. One of the actresses want's to know how to play her big love scene when she is supposed to have an affair with the butler.

Needless to say, everything that can go wrong does go wrong. From bad props, to over the top acting, to personality clashes and jealousy to dropped dialog (by leaping ahead in the script, most of act two is left out of the play, and therefor act three has to be rewritten on the fly).

I have watched this show at least 15 times and I'm ready to watch it again. It's one of the best comedies for those who like physical humor. I just wish they would issue it on DVD!