Do you buythe cd before seeing a show?

[Jera]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:57pm

Do you usually listen to the cd before seeing a show, or do you like to see the show without hearing any of the music?

For example, I am debating whether I should get the Forbidden Broadway SVU cd before I see it this summer.
jera

[Bothered and Bewildered]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:58pm

Not really. It ruins the show for me, because I already memorized half of it. It ruined Wicked for me.

[Juliet2170]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 2:59pm

i never listen to the CD before a show. its pretty hard with all the gossip around here!

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:01pm

usually, most of the time because on college student finances my odds of seeing the original cast are low at best.

[Aigoo]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:02pm

I like knowing the lyrics to the songs. And EXACTLY what people say in movies. My friends get pissed off at me because of the constant subtitle-age.

[Phantom487]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:03pm

DO NOT BUY "FORBIDDEN BROADWAY SVU" BEFORE SEEING IT!!!! It will ruin all the jokes!!! Buy it at the show when you go... they sell it at the theatre.

[Jera]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:04pm

I like knowing the music. I have to listen to the soundtrack a few times before it really moves me to tears...

After I have an emotional attachment to the show, I go see it and it is so great!

jera

[ikmbway]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:04pm

it depends. If i dont know im seeing something than obv. no or if its in previews (i saw wicked in previews and bought the cd later on) I listened to Rent before i saw it and knew the ending. It all depends on the show.

[Mark2]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:04pm

There have been times that I'm glad I didn't hear the soundtrack beforehand and discovered some new great show that stayed with me long after I bought the record. Then there have been times where I wish I had heard the songs first so I would of known what the heck was going on up there!!

[zepka102]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:05pm

i think the only one i bought beforehand was wicked... and it really didn't ruin ALOT for me... i was still surprised by the ending cuz i thought the finale was different than how it played out

[Juliet2170]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:18pm

if people have a hard time knowing what's going on in a show if they haven't heard the songs before...then the show should brush up on its presentation. not listening to the CD is a good way to judge if you truly like the show going in blind
Updated On: 4/17/05 at 03:18 PM

[FabalaCohen]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:39pm

Eh...50/50. I got the Titantic and Rent OBCRs before seeing the shows, and I enjoyed only one of them after seeing the show (Titantic was a disaster onstage when I saw it, pun intended). Everything else, I've gotten recordings afterward.

[yodamarie78]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:46pm

I generally like to get the CD first so that I will already have some idea of what's going on and know most of the lyrics to the songs. Also that way when I leave the theatre and have the songs stuck in my head all the next day I will know the words and not have to sing the same line over and over... "Ruprecht's all about sunshine and sodapop..."

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 3:48pm

For a show like FB, you are best seeing it fresh so the jokes work. But, If you hav ethe cast recordings of most current Broadway shows you will know what is being parodied and that makes FB twice the fun!

For new musicals (or even older shows that are new to you) I think you enjoy the show more knowing the score in advance. Seeing a show cold you are trying to take in so many elements all at once. Today's scores are more complicated and less repetitious than older shows. How many people here first hated the score when they saw the show and then grew to love it when they heard it a few times on the OCR?

At one time it was suggested sending a demo or OCR of the songs to the critics with the press kits so they would be better prepared to evaluate the score, but no practical means of doing this has yet come forward.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 5:26pm

I see most shows in previews, before a cast recording is made, so my answer would be no. I pretty much buy every cast recording, though, with very few exceptions (I cannot bring myself to buy BROOKLYN).

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 5:32pm

90% of the time I buy the obcr before I see the show. I like to get to know the show a little so I can truly appreciate the show.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 6:09pm

always!! i never get to see BWY shows since i'm in NY!! so i have the cast recording til the tour, except for MILLIE, I loved it so much when i saw the tour i bought the cast recording!
ric

[justme2]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 9:23pm

I don't buy the CD for the following reasons:

Listening to the CD beforehand will cement in my mind how the song should sound. Many times, the cast I see with the show is not the original cast, and will sound different. I don't want to be dissapointed that it's not the same. When I buy the CD afterwards, I am already prepared to listen to another voice interpret the music.

I like going into the show and watching the songs,scenes,emotions,etc unfold for the first time. If I have heard or memorized the CD beforehand, I will tend to be waiting for the "big moment" to come around.

Many times though, I end up having to buy a CD of the show before a tour gets to SF. That's the only time I'll purchase in advance.

[Juliet2170]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 9:36pm

i agree with justme2, waiting for the "moment" to come around is annoying as hell and i can't help myself if i listen to the CD beforehand

[jjdude2000]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 9:53pm

For FB:SVU, you should probably see the show first, IMO.

[mollyllom]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 10:39pm

I sort of wish I had listened to the RENT soundtrack a little bitbefore seeing the show. At the intermission, I was so confused so my friend who was already acquainted with the soundtrack explained to me what had happened. Nevermind that I thought Joanne and Collins were the same person for all of Act One (the actors had the same hairdo is my only excuse)

[Dreamcatcher]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 10:40pm

Yeah I usually have to because I don't live anywhere near New York so there's no way for me to go see the show. If I had the choice to see the show then I would definitly wait to buy the CD but unfortunately, if I find a show I'm interested in, the only way I have of hearing more of it is with the cast recordings or other audio bits online. Although I try to listen to alot of the different casts as to not become biased and close minded with one particular cast.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 4/17/05 at 10:48pm

I used to listen to the music first, considering it was years later that the shows would actually tour. Now living in the city I have tended to see the shows first, but I'd really like to already have the music to most of them. I also have the "Ruprect's all about sunshine and sodapop" stuck in my head.

[mikewood]

Posted: 4/18/05 at 12:55pm

I did once, and I kicked myself ....hard...for doing it.

Miss Saigon.... so not to ruin it for anyone else...KIM DOES WHAT at the end?

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 4/18/05 at 1:24pm

I also make it a point to never buy a CD before I see a show. First off, my enjoyment of the CD isn't as great as shows I've seen, because sometimes I don't know what's going on. I don't like to know what's gonna happen in a show beforehand, and like others said, recordings are recorded and are probably the best of the actors' performances. i find if I go back a second time after listening to the CD, I'm slightly more disappointed with performances b/c I'm so used to the CD, at least I have that first time to truly appreciate it. And I love to see a show cold turkey first, buy the CD, and then see it again.