The pianist fell ill. An audience member finished the score.

A live performance of the La La Land score at Sydney's Darling Harbour Theatre stalled at intermission last week when the concert pianist fell too ill to continue. The interval stretched from 20 minutes to 40, and the audience knew something was wrong. Backstage, calls went out for a replacement. None came. So Oscar-winning composer Justin Hurwitz walked out alone and asked the 2,500-seat hall whether any trained pianist could sight-read the score cold. "I figured nobody's as close as they say they are," Hurwitz told ABC Radio. With a nudge from his friend Scarlet, audience member Sterling Nasa raised his hand. Nasa, the bagpipes tutor at Scots College, had studied piano but never played this music. The hardest moment was a John Legend synth solo, which he chose to improvise rather than read. It worked. Backstage after the final bow, both men shook hands in disbelief. Hurwitz said his head was "spinning."