Does frequent theatregoing cause more critical/discriminate taste?

[quizking101]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 7:36pm

One thing I have noticed in recent times is that I'm becoming more critically aware and discriminate in the shows I go to see. Why I've never noticed before is because this year has been my biggest year of theatregoing (9 shows).

Have any of you recognized yourselves becoming more critical as patrons as you see more and more shows?

[Gary Indiana]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 8:02pm

For me the answer would be yes and no. I've been a very active theater goer for about 13 years now, but before that I used to see 2 or 3 shows a year. I would say that as I've seen more shows I have become more critical about what I enjoy since when I was seeing fewer shows the thrill of being in a theater and seeing a live performance heightened my enjoyment, whereas now my enjoyment is based more on the merits of the actual performance. I have also become more discriminating about what I will spend money on. That being said, in some ways I have become less discriminating. If I have the opportunity to see a show for free, or at a very discounted rate (such as Roundabout's $10 previews), I'll see almost anything. In the past when I was seeing less shows, I was less familiar with discounts, so these opportunities didn't happen as often, and I was more likely to see a big name touristy show than a lesser known show.

So basically, I'm more critical, but I'm only more discriminating if money is involved.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 8:10pm

Of course it does. Not in the sense that it has to attune you to objectively "good" or "bad" (though it does for some people, but I know of plenty of avid theatergoers who think poorly received fluff shows are the best thing ever and hate "serious" and often well-recieved theater), but that you just gain a better sense of what you like and don't like. The more you see, the more you learn, in whatever way works for you.

Updated On: 10/5/10 at 08:10 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 8:15pm

I was at one point about 15 years ago but I am not now. I go into every show with an open mind. Even shows that I don't particularly want to see. I have come out of a lot of them actually liking or loving them. "In The Heights" was the most recent show. I did not care for the score and wasn't looking forward to seeing it. I fell in love with the show and now own the OBCR, which I listen to a lot.

I think I got critical after I studied acting back in the 80's. I had a hard time not picking a show apart. it took me a while to stop doing it.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 8:18pm

Just wait until you start seeing revivals of shows you've already seen.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 8:22pm

And that's happened to you like, what, twice? I mean, God, you're positively ancient.

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 8:25pm

Gary, you raise some very interesting points.

I'm an old-timer, and my theatregoing goes way back. I fell in love with the theatre when I was a youngster, but since I had no independent income, or the ability to go alone, I relied on the kindness of my parents and relatives, and am grateful to them to this day for letting me experience those wonderful moments. I didn't see that many shows then, and yet I felt pure joy when I did see them. And I feel, perhaps immodestly, that even at a young age, I was pretty discerning as to what was good.

As I got older, I ended up seeing many more shows, to the point where I was seeing over a hundred a year. I saw many good ones, but never did I enjoy them even a fraction of the amount I did when I was young. I don't really think it was a question of discernment. Perhaps I became jaded from having seen so many shows, maybe it was no longer a special, exciting experience. And maybe when one is young one just has a more enthusiastic attitude towards life in general. It could be a combination of all of these things. And yet, I do believe the shows themselves were better back then.

[ooliveros]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 8:47pm

Yes it does, especially if you've seen productions in the United States and Asia.

[wexy]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 9:23pm

of course it does.You get to the point where you know if something is going to be successful or not. You can tell if the actor is having is having an off performance or nailing it.
Since 1988, I've been going to 20-25 performances a year,
On, off, and off off. You learn just like anything else.
You can sit there and think 'this is amazing" or 'this is the most pretentious piece of crap i've ever seen."

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 10/5/10 at 9:24pm

At least thrice, actually

[singtopher]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 11:00am

I've often thought that getting a degree in theatre is the worst thing I could have done for my theatre going.

I like what After Eight wrote. I think it is some combination of the more you go, the less special it feels, the more you have to compare, and that you become more attune to what you like.

[Sauja]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 1:19pm

AfterEight, your comments are really interesting. I saw my fist show at 14 and was blown away (it was The Who's Tommy--was it a great show? I don't know. But I LOVED it). For a long time, when the lights went down in the theater, I felt a little flutter in my heart. I was just so enthusiastic about what I might see. And I'll never forget the intensity of my enthusiasm when I first saw Bebe Neuwirth come up on the elevator for "All that Jazz."

I don't feel that level of excitement at the beginning of a show anymore. I've seen too many bad things to be that excited. I don't go in expecting to be dazzled, so a show has to work a lot harder to win me over.

I too saw over 100 shows last year, and I'm on track to do the same this year. That initial level of enthusiasm has fallen by the wayside. I actually remember the first time I saw a show and didn't love it (Phantom) and the sudden fear I had that I had become jaded and would never love shows again. That ended up being (thankfully) hopelessly naive. What I find that initial enthusiasm has been replaced with is an intensity of satisfaction when a show does end up being brilliant. For better or worse, it's happened more for me in the past year with plays than musicals (I think this is the material I've seen, not a reaction to the format). But the thrill of being deeply moved by shows like Ruined, The Brother/Sister Plays, Angels in America, or the revival of Ragtime...I just find it all the more rewarding for breaking past my critical boundaries and transporting me. It would be lovely to be able to feel that every time I go to the theater, but experiences can only be new so many times.

[Weez]

Posted: 10/6/10 at 2:07pm

Yes it does. This is by no means negative, but yes it does. I get chatting with people, and they say they like theatre, and I ask them about it, and they just mean they've seen three musicals in the West End in their entire life, and they thought We Will Rock You was the VERY VERY BEST. I just smile and tell they they ought to see Wicked or Legally Blonde sometime, but there is a part of my brain going "oh you poor little deprived chicken; your mind is going to be BLOWN if you ever discover theatre properly!".