Can a show be your favorite if you have not seen it?

[Over_the_Moon]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:28pm

i.e. Just listened to the cast recording a million times?

[Yero]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:30pm

I believe so, but it's totally different than seeing it live. There are many shows I love I haven't seen live, so yes in my opinion I think it's fine.

[Composer9]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:30pm

I suppose it would mean that the music is your favorite...not the show. I guess if you know enough about the show. Still, I wouldn't call a show my favorite unless I'd seen it.

[Dancinqueen123]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:34pm

If you know enough about the show, like memorizing all the lines and lyrics to the songs. There are about 10 shows that I have not seen because I live in a small midwestern town and I consider them my favorites.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:35pm

It can, but you still don't really know what you're talking about if you haven't seen it.

[pemberlee]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:37pm

If you love the music, the characters, the story, etc. then I would say that you can call it your favorite, even if you haven't had the chance to see it live.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:39pm

Sure, I mean look at "Man in Chair."

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:40pm

If you listen to the cast album every day, have seen photos and video of the production, have read the script and the liner notes and the reviews and every article written about the show, have memorized the resumes of all the stars and production team... well, yeah that's definitely allowed to be your favorite.

[TheaterAddict7652]

Posted: 4/20/06 at 11:56pm

I agree with TheaterFrenzy, especially reading the libretto. That's really important most of the time to understand the context of the songs.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 12:45am

No

[mrslovett7]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 12:51am

well before i really actually SAW Sweeney Todd I was obsessed with the music and it became my favorite and then when i finally saw it, it blew me away and i loved it even more

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 2:50am

Yes, you can. Drowsy Chaperone is an example of it.

If you have the opportunity to go to your favorite show, then you should go. But if there's not a possible way for you to see it, but you love the show and have studies & talked about it, what doesn't make it your favorite musical?

[EugLoven]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:03am

Yes of course you can!

For many of us less-fortunate who do not live at/near Broadway, our first exposure to musical theatre is by listening to the cast album.

And, with the magic of theatre, the music and story can carry us away. Others can find online media (songs, videos, photos) of the production to learn more. Or may frequent their library or bookstore to read up on the show, creative team, and other information.

I entered the world of loving musical theatre thanks to PBS Great Performances broadcasts. I saw "Sweeney Todd," "Contact," "Oklahoma!," and "Candide" on television before I'd ever seen a major Broadway production (or tour) in a theatre. It is because of the broadcasts that opened to the door to dozens of original cast recordings and I lived and loved through my iPod.

I knew what I loved and I new my favorites. And it was beautiful. So, by all means, find a devotion.
Updated On: 4/21/06 at 03:03 AM

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:08am

It cannot. I have always loved Phantom and thought it was the best. But after seeing it I was so disappointed and after seeing more and more shows (literally every show in the Westend)I thought it was so bad.... listening to the CD, looking at production pixs is so different from seeing a show live.
But CHicago didnt disappoint me :P

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:15am

Sometimes actually seeing a show on stage can either really improve your opinions of it (a lackluster score or a bad movie that comes across much better on stage) or be really disappointing. After all, you spend years imagining the show a certain way and then when you actually see it and it's not nearly up to what you saw in your mind's eye, well, that's disappointing. I can think of a few shows off hand where the ideal experience is just sitting in your room with the lights off listening to the cast recording.

So sure, I don't see why a show can't be your favorite if you haven't actually seen it, particularly if it is a show that relies on its score to tell the story. They change the books of shows all the time, and are always doing their own interpretation anyway. The music is pretty much the thing that stays the same.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 3:37am

For the people that said no, you are wrong. If you have read a libretto, heard the music and know the story you can say it is your favorite. Some shows suck on broadway because of cast, director, and production. A show is good because you understand and love it. I have seen REALLY bad productions of great shows. I read plays all the time and they are brillant. A director and/or cast can understand it, but also screw it up.

A production of a show CANT be your favorite if you have not seen it.
Updated On: 4/21/06 at 03:37 AM

[ashley0139]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 8:22am

NYC, you just majorly contradicted yourself. First you said:
For the people that said no, you are wrong (but I'm glad you are so open minded...)
and then you said
A production of a show CANT be your favorite if you have not seen it.
Those two statements are opposites.

I don't think a show can be your favorite without seeing it. I know most people disagree, but I think you can say the music is your favorite, but not she show. You don't know until you see it all staged and everything.

[bythesword84]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 8:40am

Absolutely not. This has driven me crazy since the beginning of my theatre-loving life.

If a person has listened to a cast recording but not seen a given show then he/she can say he/she loves the music. To say that it is your favorite show when you have never seen it performed in at least some capacity would be wrong.

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 8:41am

I think that the term "favorite show" is going to have different criteria for different people. And that's okay. It's unfair to tell someone in Kansas (or where ever...) that s/he can't have a favorite show because her circumstances don't allow for having seen a live production. Different life situations are going to have different parameters.

[sanda]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 8:49am

Man of La Mancha
The Secret Garden

[Holly Therese]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 8:53am

I don't think that any one should not be allowed to love a show, especially in situations involving location or finances. If someone lives in Middle of Nowhere, USA and doesn't have the money to buy a ticket to see a show, what is so wrong with them falling in love with a cast recording?

I live outside of Detroit, I when it comes to seeing shows I have to rely on travel, tours and the internet. When someone asks, "What is your favorite show?" I usually answer with something I've already seen, and something that I haven't had the opportunity to see yet, but love the recording and such.

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 9:00am

ashley, I think what NYC was trying to say is that if you haven't seen a certain production of a show (i.e. a specific director, cast, ensemble, etc. all working together), you can't really claim it as a favorite. As an example, if you never saw Adam, Anthony, Idina, Taye, Jesse, Wilson, Fredi, and Daphne when they were all working together in Rent, you can't claim that particular production as your favorite. However, you can still claim that Rent is your favorite show, if you are familiar with the show's music, story, and history.

[ohhoney_]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 9:08am

Well I just tend to specify. "Cabaret" is my favorite show I haven't seen live..."Into the Woods" is my favorite show that I *have* seen live (although the 2 times I saw it live I was dissapointed at aspects of it, and to me the DVD is perfection.)

[peggyandvelma]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 9:28am

Yes, it can. I've seen 42nd Street live but I haven't seen the umpteen other shows I love. Just because I haven't seen them doesn't mean I can't like it. I've found the book/script for shows I love like Ragtime, Crazy For You, and am currently going to grab a copy of She Loves Me. If you know the story, and love the music, then let it be your favorite. And don't let other people tell you that you can't have a favorite.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 4/21/06 at 9:34am

I think that it can be. There are so many resources available online nowadways that you can know pretty much anything you'd want to know about a show. If you've memorized the cast recording, read the libretto and all of the reviews, etc., I think that you can get a pretty good idea of what a show is based on that stuff.