Are you more of a musical, or Play person?

Way more of into plays than musicals. I'll even go a step further and say that the best stuff is off- and off-off-Broadway. Among the 40 or so shows I've seen in the past year, the best stuff was off-off-Broadway: "1969: The Second Man" at NYTW and "Hitler's Tasters" at IRT Theater.

Definitely musicals. Especially with my local theater scene (Northern California), my bar for being interested in shows is much lower with musicals than plays. It's not really about the quality of either - I just prefer the medium of musicals. 

That being said, the Berkeley Rep production of Angels in America was one of the best things I've seen all year.

I started as a musical person, as I got into theatre through choir. Now that I'm in college, I'm a playwright, and I read a lot more plays than I listen to new musicals. However, 90% of music I listen to is musical theatre.

Bwayfan292 said: "I’m more for musicals. But these last couple of seasons I have had a more enjoyable time at the theatre with plays. One of best experinces last season was actually the pariasan woman. Not a lot of people enjoyed it, but I had a blast.

But my answer would be I am more of a musical person."

I pretty much came here to make this exact comment. I used to only see musicals with a handful of plays scattered in, but recently I've seen way more plays because there are so many great ones to choose from and I haven't been drawn to as many musicals. 

I still love musicals and I'm excited for a few in the next few months, but if you looked at the shows I bought tickets for in advance (rather than doing digital lotteries for) it's all plays.

haterobics said: "I try to decide based on quality, and whether they sing and dance is sort of just there or not.

But when a musical nails it, it's quite the synchronicity of so many things perfectly lining up that it can move me beyond what a play firing on all cylinders can do."

 

This is exactly how I feel as well, in fact I would have said almost exactly the same thing if you hadn’t said it first :) 

I have no preference between the two. Musicals, when done really have, have the power to tap into a deeper well of emotion, but it’s very difficult to achieve that level of quality. Plays, for me, tend to be much more reliable - not that I haven’t seen many god-awful plays, but I’m less skeptical going in because it’s just easier to write a good play. 

It’s funny. My play-oriented friends are always surprised when I tell them I came from a more musical theatre background. Meanwhile my musical theatre friends are always surprised to find out about my love of plays. 

 

Updated On: 11/14/18 at 05:14 PM

I'm a musical person, by far

I do have a few plays that I adore and are very close to my heart and I would do/see in a heartbeat. But in general I am not attracted to a play as much as a musical. 

Broadway Joe said: "I prefer a good play over a good musical any day but I would rather see a bad musical over a bad play lol"

I know what you mean. I love a good play, but a bad play is a much tougher watch than a bad musical.

Overall, I'd say I like both a similar amount for different reasons, but going to see a musical is usually a safer choice, especially if I want to see something with my parents. You usually get to know some of the songs in a musical before you commit to going, so get a feel for whether or not its your thing, and you can find out more of the plot without ruining the experience.   It's much harder to judge whether or not you'll enjoy a play without going to see it.