Does listening to a cast recording before seeing a show take away from the experience of seeing it live?

[bwayballerina]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:30pm

The reason I ask the above question is that I just got two cast recordings for my birthday- Mary Poppins and Company (couldn't be more different, I know). I'm visiting New York at the end of the month and am hoping to see both shows. At the same time, I don't want the shows to be spoiled or otherwise ruined- I want to get the full experience of seeing them live for the first time. Should I hold off on listening to the cast recordings, or certain parts of the cast recordings? I'm already fairly familiar with the general premise of each show, but I don't want to go in knowing the whole story or expecting certain performances to be exactly what they were on the CD.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:39pm

Personally, I find that I enjoy shows more when I know a little of the score before hand. There is a certain thrill you get not knowing anything. I saw Piazza having not heard the score before hand or knowing really anything about it except that Matthew Morrison was in it and I loved it, but hated not knowing which song was coming next so I would be looking at the program from time to time.

[mattonstage]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:41pm

Unless there's a very important plot point given away in the music, I always enjoy knowing a score before seeing a show. And nothing ever impedes my enjoyment of live theater.

[BDavis0092]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:42pm

I usually listen to at least some of the music before I see a show; however, I saw the second preview of Drowsy not knowing anything about it and I've enjoyed that show more than anything else I've seen.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:42pm

I find that the less I know about a production, the more I enjoy myself at the theater. If you have the OBCR or first revival recording of Company, then I see no harm in listening to this one. Similarly, if you've seen the movie Mary Poppins, the OLCR won't ruin your experience.

[broadwayjavajunkie]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:43pm

I like to listen to a recording once, to see if I like it, to see which songs I like, and then I'll go see the show. The shows that I have not enjoyed as much have been the shows that were scratched by the number of times I played them.

[alastor]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:45pm

I have the same question-I want to take my friend to see Jersey Boys, but should I let her listen to my copy of the soundtrack beforehand? I know that the Jersey Boys soundtrack kind of gives the plot away in the beginning.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:47pm

I try to never listen to a cast recording before. One reason is yes it takes away from the show when I see it live. Another reason is that I have no Idea who is singing and why they are singing, nor can I imagine them singing...so I don't really like listening to it. After I see a show I usually always buy the cast recording of the show just because...well I don't know why...

[B3TA07]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:47pm

The only time the CR effected it for me was the first time. Being young and naive, I was pissed they didn't sound like the CD! Haha.


Sometimes I get annoyed by the staging of things, too. I seem to imagine things when I listen much more creatively than some directors.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:49pm

I always hate cast recordings when I first listen to them - then I see the show and love them. It's bizarre. So I've just learned not to listen to cast albums before I see shows, not because I think it will dampen my enjoyment of the show, but because the show will enhance my enjoyment of the cast recording.

[ashbash1990]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:51pm

Nothing (for me at least) can take away from the magic of a live performance... even when I am intamatly familiar with the recording I always love it about 10 times more live...

[Piercemn]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:54pm

Keep in mind that the album is usually recorded in a studio, so the show will be different. They don't always put all the music on a recording, either. There could be dialogue between verses, too.

I can tell you that a show in a Broadway house sounds different from anywhere else. I have seen hundreds of shows on tour and Crazy for You at the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul was a completely different show from the one I saw on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre.

Be prepared to be dazzled. Everything you think will be wonderful when you listen to the CD, and the moments when you envision stage movement will sometimes surprise you, because it will be exactly like you imagined. Enjoy both Mary Poppins and Company. I saw MP in London twice. I'd see it again.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 10:57pm

I always like to listen to the recording before I see the show. I think it helps me remember the entire experience better if I know what is going on.

[sweetdisaster]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 11:03pm

I usually listen to a few songs on a cast recording before seeing a show so I'm somewhat familiar with the music, but I always like that aspect of surprise when seeing it live for the first time. Without seeing the show before listening to the recording, I find it so hard to envision what the staging's like. I always ended up focusing on how different it is from what I'd thought instead of the show itself.

[broadwaybaby086]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 11:20pm

I like to go in with a blank slate- the less I know, the more I will be surprised and open to what I am about to see and hear. That being said, some scores may need a listening (some Sondheim, other particularly dense composers), but I still like going in fresh. I hate knowing the score and anticipating the next song.

Does it take away from the experience? It depends on your preference, I suppose.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 3/5/07 at 11:24pm

It really depends on the show I think...Avenue Q might not be such a good idea to listen to, because there are so many jokes in the songs that might seem old if you've heard them already. I wore out my Jersey Boys CD before seeing the show, but that had no affect on my enjoyment of it, I loved every second.

And then there are some CDs that I just can't get into til I see the show, like Spelling Bee and Light in the Piazza, which I couldn't really listen to before I saw them and now I love both.

[altoid06]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 8:41am

Personally, I don't think it does. Actually, I find I enjoy the show more if I'm familiar with the cast recording. Especially shows like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, because it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me before I saw the show, but then I understood all the songs as I was watching. I like knowing what songs are coming up. In the same sense, live theatre is completely different from listening to the cast recording in your car. You get that connection with the performers which makes for a completely different feel to the songs and the show.

Neither show that you are discussing should be very affected by you listening to the cast recording. However, you could always open one and not the other and see which way you prefer. :)

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 8:58am

Growing up with non-theatre going parents (my first tour was "Mamma Mia!" my senior year of High School), I HAD to get the cast album if I wanted exposure, and some shows aside, it doesn't usually ruin me to have heard it first. And, in some cases, like most of Lippa's and JRB's scores, they make me actually LIKE them.

[JBSinger]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 9:39am

I would hold off on listening if you could. I am so seldom surprised when entering a theatre, I want the experience of seeing something for the first time completely unexposed (if I can). I remember seeing the (mostly) original cast of Into the Woods and so many of the jokes in the songs fell flat for me since I had been listening to the album for several months by that point. The thing for me now is that I live in FL, so the cast album is my only outlet, but when I lived in NYC, I would try to avoid listening to the CD until after I saw the show live first!

[ccpdramaking]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:15am

I listened to the soundtrack of Spring Awakening before I saw it, and I think I enjoyed it more knowing the music beforehand..

[James885]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:32am

I almost always have the CR before I go see the show. I find that it doesn't really spoil the experience for me. For one thing, I almost never get to see the original cast in a show, so even though they're singing the same songs, it's a whole different sound. And as someone else aleady said, everything sounds different in a theatre than it does in a recording studio.

As for spoiling the plot, many recordings purposly omit dialogue that occurs during the song so as not to give any of the plot away. Personally I like it when shows include lots of dialogue on the recording. It helps me to get a better sense of the show.

[bwaymizfit2]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 10:41am

For me, I always enjoy shows more when I'm familiar with the music. The first time I saw Les Miz and Phantom (not at the same time), I was only vaguely familiar with the music. I enjoyed both shows immensely and began to listen CRs obsessively afterwards.

Some years pass and I get to see both shows again. This time, however, I bawl. The 2nd time I saw Les Miz, I have never cried so hard in my entire life. I was just flooded with emotion. In the years between viewings, I had grown really emotionally attached to and had a deeper understanding for the music.

That being said, if I'm ever seeing a show that I already know the music to, I always refuse to listen to it for about 1-2 weeks before hand to renew some freshness.

That's me

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 11:14am

If you are really attached to movie music from Mary Poppins, you may find the show disconcerting, because all of the songs have been re-arranged and re-orchestrated. The London CD will give you a version that is far closer to the current broadway show.

I had not heard the London CD before seeing it on broadway, but knew that I should expect essentially all new songs.

I do like to listen to the cast recordings before I see a show that I am unfamilar with before I pay a few hundred dollars to make sure I like it. But, otherwise I will gamble up to a $100 on a show based on reviews or recommendations. (I have buy 2 or 3 tickets)

[seymour krelborn]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 11:17am

Personally the music will make or break a musical for me. So, if there is a cast recording available I will absolutely listen to it beforehand. I don't want to shell out 100 bucks for a show that I'm going to hate the music.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 3/6/07 at 12:11pm

I never listen to a CD before seeing a show. If its an original show, I want to be completely surprised; if its a revival that I already know the music to, I don't want to hear the new arrangements or cast before seeing it. I decide AFTER I see a show whether or not I want the CD. Unfortunately, this season there have been very few shows that I have wanted the CD for. I think In The Heights might be the only one! Can't remember the last Broadway CD I bought. I used to buy CDs (and records before CDs) to absolutely every show that had one, but I don't do that anymore. Now I just buy the ones that I will actually listen to!