Do you go to a show....

Live theatre is my escape. I try to see something even if I have to repeat, once a week. I don't care if I know nothing about the play or musical. I still go.

"Live theatre is my escape. I try to see something even if I have to repeat, once a week. I don't care if I know nothing about the play or musical. I still go."

Beautifully put! I wish I had the resources and time to see a show once a week! I probably see a show a couple times a month (sometimes more).

It totally depends on the individual, partly because different people have different way of looking at situations like this, but mainly because not everyone has the same access to theatre. If you live in new York and have the time and money to see lots of shows, then you have little to lose by seeing a show you might not like. But if you're a tourist, you have to be much more selective if you want to feel like you made good use of your limited time.

Now that I go to school in NY and have lots of time to see shows (and because I'm able to rush shows) I take more risks than I did back when I took my annual theatre-seeing trips. I like to keep an open mind, and I often am pleasantly surprised. Even so, I rarely feel that my time and money are wasted, because every new theatrical experience under my belt is precious to me, even if I don't end up liking the show.

"Live theatre is my escape. I try to see something even if I have to repeat, once a week. I don't care if I know nothing about the play or musical. I still go."

I completely agree. I do the same.

Additionally, I have proven my intuition wrong more times than right when it comes to my first impression about a show. I remember when I first heard about Hedwig, I thought it sounded horrible .... well, I have changed my tune on that one many performances later!

And more recently, when I heard about Hamilton and saw the first clip, I decided not to buy tickets for the beginning of the Public Theatre run. When they extended and another block of tickets went on sale, my intuition still told me it sounded lame, but I bought tickets any way and saw it in March. It is in my top three show experiences of all time and I am seeing it again this winter. So for me, I just love going to the theatre and I try to keep an open mind, because sometimes I surprise myself and love something I did not expect to.

I'd say there are three categories. There are only a few things I know I'm going to love (e.g. The King and I). Almost everything else I'll take a chance on if I have the time and I can find a ticket for a good price even if I have my reservations. (I wasn't sure about the Side Show revival comparing their voices to the original album. The word of mouth on Doctor Zhivago was so bad. I didn't like the music for OTTC listening to the original album.) That said there are things I completely write off if I feel like I've seen/heard enough of to know I won't like it. Examples include Once, Memphis, Newsies, Gigi. I sometimes have regrets about these shows down the line but generally I don't. If I were reviewing these shows or getting comp tickets it'd be a different story but there's just too much sometimes. You can't opt in to everything.

That said, a bad night on Broadway is still better than a whatever night somewhere else.

Going in "blind" is very different than going in with the feeling its not for you.

I had no interest in Rock of Ages. Everything I heard about it said it wasn't for me. My sister really wanted to go, so I was happy to join her. Even the first few minutes of the show I was excited for the possibility. But withing 10 minutes I was in complete loathing.

When you get to see 2-3 Broadway shows a year you may be selective, and know the music and story too well by the time you see it. It's one of the downers about being an out of towner.

I don't, especially in the last few years. For me, it is not worth it to waste time and money for something I will not like.

i do research and listen to cast recordings (if available) to prepare. In May (third visit to NYC) the only new show I watched (which was the only one I was interested in) was Something Rotten, which I enjoyed a lot. There is a lot of hype with FH (which its cast recording did not do anything to me) and AAIP (I watched a similar show in Jan, was bored and left at intermission) Now I have the cast recording of AAIP and I don't regret my decision. I could not even get past the first song, I'm already bored. FH and AAIP may win a lot of Tony's this year but I'm fine with the decisions I made. And I may still catch them when they go on tour. In Iowa, we get quite a few of shows that opened the last couple of years (in 2014-2015 season, we are getting Gentleman's Guide, Cabaret, Bridges from last season)

On the other hand, I love On the Twentieth Century and has seen it 3x this year!

Updated On: 6/5/15 at 09:06 AM