Erik (The Phantom of the Opera) took roughly four hours per performance to put the prosthetics on in the original London productions. On Broadway, it was cut to roughly three, and over the years has been reduced to 45 minutes. More than one Phantom has described make-up disasters onstage. Michael Crawford recounts a story where he pulled away from the kiss at the end only to see that "[his] lower lip was now hanging off Sarah [Brightman]'s face!". To cover the flub, he pulled her back for another kiss and "took back the lips" and kept that side of his head turned away from the audience.
Toys in the Attic (play) Broadway production was directed by Arthur Penn, who later recalled the rehearsal period was difficult. "Actors were fearful of Lillian. She was very judgmental." The playwright would sit in the darkened theater, coughing whenever she disapproved of something. Penn finally told her, "Go home and fire us all if you don’t like it. But don’t sit there coughing. It scares the hell out of them." Not helping the situation was the fact "both Jason Robards and Maureen Stapleton were drinking considerably." Produced by Kermit Bloomgarden, the play opened at the Hudson Theatre on February 25, 1960 and closed on April