If you want to wish an actor a good show, there are more ways to do it than saying, "break a leg." Check out these additional theatre expressions that wish someone a good show. His performance of Richard III was so captivating that he didn't even notice his own broken leg - and he finished the entire show! the literal broken leg - One theatre legend comes from 18th-century actor David Garrick.wishful understudies - Edna Ferber's A Peculiar Treasure from 1939 recounts the way understudies would sit in the back row "politely wishing the various principals would break a leg." That way, they'd get to act the part instead.A very good show would certainly result in lots of bowing! curtsies and bows - Some believe that "break a leg" comes from the way actors' legs bend when they are curtsying or bowing at the end of a good show.When they'd make it on stage, they were known as "breaking the leg line." breaking the leg line - Early actors would line up in hopes to be chosen for that night's performances.A great show meant that at least one chair leg would be broken by the end of the night. breaking a chair leg - Later audiences, including audiences in Shakespearean plays, would stomp their chairs.By wishing an actor to "break a leg," they meant that the show would be so successful that an audience member would stomp so hard they'd break their own leg (perhaps not literally). clapping - Ancient Greek audiences stomped their feet instead of clapping. When actors really wanted a successful show, they'd wish for the worst possible outcome. wishing for the opposite - An ancient superstition claims that if you really want something, you need to wish for the opposite.There are many possible origins to "break a leg" in the history of theatre. Bernard Sobel's 1948 Theatre Handbook and Digest of Play explained that actors never said "Good luck," only "I hope you break a leg." Although it was the first time the phrase appeared in print in the theatre world, it certainly wasn't the first time actors said it to each other.
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