Term of the Day: flop wall

flop wall--the wall in Joe Allen's that has posters of famous Broadway flops, including "The Moose Murders," "Kelly," and "Carrie," among many others.  Joe Allen's is a restaurant on 46th Street's  Restaurant Row that is famous with the Broadway community.

Vaudeville Term of the Week: second banana

second banana--a comedian in a vaudeville or burlesque theater who plays a secondary role. An actor who plays a secondary role to the leading man. A sidekick. "Tony Roberts has had a brilliant career playing second bananas, to Woody Allen in 'Annie Hall' and Al Pacino in 'Serpico.'"

Term of the Day: mope

mope--constant complainer, depressive

Term of the Day: self-inflicted wound

self-inflicted wound: when you hire a bad assistant on a show, it is a self-inflicted wound, that gets all pussy and gross.

Reining in The Occasional Whiny Musician: "You took the gig--shut up and play"

"You took the gig--shut up and play"--a musician friend told me that sometimes you have to be blunt with whiny fellow musicians...stop complaining about the quality of the conductor or your other bandmates and just play your book.

Sarcastic Backstage Banter of the Day: "I Smell Tony"

"I smell Tony"--when an actor does something really great or really horrible, another actor may say, "I smell Tony," meaning they would be up for a Tony Award.

Term of the Moment: to gaslight someone

to gaslight someone--to make a stagehand go crazy by repeating the same prank over and over again, possibly coordinating with other members of the backstage crew. Taken from the old Hollywood movie "Gaslight." "We gaslighted the young stagehand by having multiple members of the crew tell him the same piece of misinformation."

Term of the Night: wardrobe malfunction

wardrobe malfunction--to steal the term from the Janet Jackson--Justin Timberlake stunt at the 2004 Superbowl, when a costume opens up and reveals more that it should. "The Velcro on the actress' rip-away skirt gave way early, revealing her legs before the bit was supposed to happen."

Term of the Moment--Straight White Way

Straight White Way--after the success of "Spamalot" on Broadway, the New York Times wrote on April 10, 2005 about the phenomenon of straight men flocking to a Broadway show without their wives. It is a rarely repeated demographic on Broadway. The term is a satire of "Great White Way."

Sarcastic Term of the Day: slinging steel deck, waist deep in mud

slinging steel deck, waist deep in mud: when a stagehand is whining about the long hours they are working at their cushy Broadway theater job, you can say, "It is not like you are slinging steel deck, waist deep in mud."