(submitted by Linda)
Hi again, I was the Stage Manager for Best Little Whorehouse in Texas for a local community theatre out in Long Island,
N.Y. We had a large and talented cast and went through 2 months of intense rehearsals heading toward a 5 wk. run. The
first two weekends went over without a hitch. Everything fell into place and we had sold out audiences. Well, week
three...we come into the theatre about 2 hours before the show was to go up on a Friday night. We all started noticing
little flies flying around. Well, it was Summer and we really didn't think too much of it. The show starts, and all that
the cast sees from the stage are people in the audience fanning themselves (or so we thought). We thought that maybe it
was too hot in the theatre but quickly realized that they were fanning away FLIES!! Fruit flies to be exact. As the
singers on stage were in the midst of their numbers, flies were going into their mouths. You
cannot believe what went on. The show was scheduled to be video taped that evening and when the videographer got the tape ready, he made a section at the end, of outtakes of flies
going into the actor's mouths, the audience fanning themselves...it was priceless. Anyway, back to the show. When we
finished the show, we apologized to the audience and went furiously around the theatre trying to find out where the flies
were coming from Low and behold, we found, in the corner of the dressing room, a bag of half eaten bananas that must have
been there for weeks. How gross was that? We immediately got rid of the bag, and started to spray the theatre. The next
day, Saturday, I was first to open the theatre. It looked like the problem was solved. The first actor to walk into the
theatre (who by the way was the sweetest and calmest gentlemen) quickly ran up to me, pointed his finger angrily at me and
said, "If I see one fly...I'm OUTTA HERE!!." Anyway, I had wanted to make an announcement that since this was a "Texas
Ranch", we wanted to create a realistic atmosphere (and flies were the natural way to go!