Do you like to listen to the cast recording before you see the show?

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 2:50pm

Personally I don't like to. I like to be surprised at the show. Unless it is a classic than everyone knows the music so it is ok.

Also if the original cast is still there than I will because if there not there I might get disappointed by the current people's voices.


What are your thoughts?

[Rentaholic]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 2:52pm

I don't listen to the cast recording before ever since I ruined 98% of the jokes in Avenue Q for myself.

[skb2010]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 2:53pm

Well, I think it's better to see it first, but for people like me in the boonies, it's not realistic. BUT I did see Jersey Boys before listening to the recording, and I thought it was fantastic, and it was fun having the experience of something BRAND NEW to me to listen to at the show.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 2:57pm

Updated On: 5/6/09 at 02:57 PM

[antiandrewx]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 2:58pm

I like to go in totally blind. Not even knowing what the show is about (except for the basic story).

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:00pm

I like to be familiar with the music to a show before I see it, but usually don't listen to the recording within a few weeks of seeing the show. I'm really bad at comparing CD to show esp. if not seeing the same cast.

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:01pm

I guess I'm the odd man out - I like to go in with a pretty good knowledge of the show, so that there won't be as much information to process and I can focus on the minutiae of the individual performances.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:04pm

I like to listen to the music first. But for about a whole week before seeing the show live I do not listen to the music at all.

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:09pm

"I guess I'm the odd man out - I like to go in with a pretty good knowledge of the show, so that there won't be as much information to process and I can focus on the minutiae of the individual performances."


I like to know the story and what happens but I do not like to listen to the music... I'm not trying to insult if thats what you think.

Updated On: 4/13/08 at 03:09 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:12pm

It depends for me. Wicked was released about 4 months before I saw it on Broadway and I had to hear it. Probably because the show was just so, pardon the pun, popular. It didn't ruin anything. It actually made me more curious about the show. For most others I don't listen before I see a show (Like Curtains, Annie, Sweeney Todd - Original cast) or I can't because I see the show before the cast recording is out (Like Color Purple, Spring Awakening, Drowsy, Caroline or Change, Sweeney - revival)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:17pm

It depends on the show. If it's been around FOREVER I've probably heard of it. If I don't know too much about it and haven't heard much of it and know I'm able to see it soon, I'll stay ignorant because I like to go in cold.

[pattilupuppy]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:20pm

i saw xanadu before listening to the soundtrack... loved it of course

[puppetman2]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:22pm

Since we don't get shows here for a year or more, I have always listened to the recording before seeing it. In our theater it is often not possible to really hear the lyrics and concentrate on them so previous knowledge is a definite plus. I could never have enjoyed Drowsey Chaperone half as much if I had not been familiar with the music.

[aliciag]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:28pm

Before moving out here I had definitely listened to the majority of shows before seeing them. But now, if I am pretty sure I am going to see something, I try not to listen to the music or know much about it beforehand. I think it makes, for me at least, for a much more enriching experience. It is fun for me to be able to take it all in at once as far as what I'm hearing and seeing.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 3:29pm

I prefer to, it gives me a chance to kinda know what's going on.

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:01pm

I usually know everything about a show before going to see it. Just recently thought I went to see 2 shows without any real knowledge about the shows, aside from the basic story. It was a different experience but I really liked it. I just live so at away and I only get up to NYC like 4 or 5 times a year and usually I just can't wait.

[insertclevernamehere]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:03pm

I don't get to NY often so most of my knowledge of Broadway comes from cast recordings. Then, if I am fortunate enough to see a show, I usually have the cast recordings to back me up. However, I saw Hairspray and The Drowsy Chaperone without knowing anything plotwise or musically, and those are my two of my favorite theatre memories. I just like seeing a show without thinking "Oh, so those two sing that love song together later and he dies and she has that great number in Act 2 etc etc"

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:05pm

I usually know everything about a show before going to see it.

I used to be like that, but I'm so huge on researching stuff (anything, not just musicals) that if I see a show and know too much about it, all I can think about when I'm actually seeing the show is everything I've learned about other casts, interviews I've read, what city they're going to be in next if it's a tour, etc etc etc. I had to stop myself. It's easier to relax that way. And actually observe what I'm seeing.

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:08pm

right, since I live in NYC and i get to see most shows that I want to, I personally like to be suprised. Sometimes when deciding if I'm going to see a show at all I may want to hear some of it to see if I think I'll like it.

I know a ton of people who were very dissapointed with Avenue Q because they had heard the album and weren't suprised by anything since almost all of the humor is in the songs.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:09pm

LizzieCurry-
I do the exact same thing. But that's also part of the fun for me. I like being an encyclopedia.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:10pm

"I don't listen to the cast recording before ever since I ruined 98% of the jokes in Avenue Q for myself."

Oh, I TOTALLY agree with this. I was so mad at myself for spoiling so many of the jokes in Avenue Q by listening to the cast recording.

[dshnookie]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:26pm

I havent seen that many shows but for the most part I've listened to at least the first act of the OBCR before going in. Chicago I saw after I had seen the movie so I was already a little familiar with it. For Wicked and Legally Blonde, I only listened to the first acts to see if I liked the music and left the second acts for the theater. Some shows I've seen where the OBCR wasn't released yet, like Xanadu and Little Mermaid. I think the only two shows I went in completely blind were Mamma Mia and RENT, and when I saw RENT a lot of the words I just couldn't make out, but I did see it back in my early teens. Listening to the OBCR after really cleared it all up for me.

[Mealz1042]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 4:31pm

seeing spring awakening without having heard more than the broadway.com opening night video clip was definitely a great choice on my part. Same thing for bare, which I saw in Long Island last(?) weekend. I find it so nice to just be open to something new and exciting. I saw Next to Normal barely even knowing what it was about and I found that amazing too.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 10:45pm

Nope.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 10:47pm

I try to because when I'm familiar with the music the scenes stick in my head better and I'm more likely to have more memories from the show after =)