How do you guys do it?- Page 2

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 2:37am

Great post, dramamama, I think that's it for a lot of us.

[onedaymore]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 4:14am

I would start by looking up current shows on Broadway, taking a look at a plot synopsis on Wikipedia, and go on youtube or iTunes and start sampling cast recordings. Like I said, if you don't know which ones to look up, start with looking up what musicals are currently on Broadway.
Also, you can look on Wikipedia's page on the whole Musical Theatre genre and see what they list for older musicals, rock operas, etc. If a name intrigues you, go for it. It's a lot of exploring. Wikipedia is a good place to start.

[AvenueQResident]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 7:23am

Reading about what happens in NY really makes me wish I could be apart of the Broadway community. It costs a lot for me to make a trip to London, but when shows like 'August: Osage County' and 'Spring Awakening' make their journey across the pond, nothing will stop me checking them out! I do love what we Brits come up with, but American theatre is always a bonus too.

(I just wish I could see 'In the Heights' and 'Next to Normal', rather than read about them!).

Updated On: 7/19/09 at 07:23 AM

[jsg03jd]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 7:38am

My love affair/obsession for all things musical theatre-related began when I was in 7th grade after seeing a college production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. Thereafter, I read as much as I could about anything theatre-related, which meant reading the NY Times Arts section. PLAYBILLS were and are also great sources of information: just look at the AT THIS THEATRE section of every PLAYBILL and it contains a wealth of knowledge. I bought and read books covering musical theatre and sometimes, "the making of" books/documentary videos of certain musicals I really dug. I also bought scores of musicals and learned (or at least attempted to learn) how to play them on the piano.

Doing shows in high school also helped me expand my knowledge, and this was before the days of the Internet. I bought recordings of the shows I performed in all throughout high school, read their liner notes and of course absorbed as much as I could about the scores, books/scripts, commentaries, histories etc. of such works. It was also back then that I began to amass my collection of musical theatre recordings by buying the "classics" and going through the same process of learning about each new show when I studied and prepared for the shows we did in high school.

When the Internet boomed, I used to love reading Ken Mandelbaum's features on broadway.com and Theater Week and I learned so much from reading his columns. He was particulary great in discussing different eras of the genre as well as writing about not-so-well known pieces.

[ASentoni]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 7:49am

I have a tendency to "organize" stuff in my brain and that's probably how I built my own personal/internal database of knowledge.

For example:
When I was young in the 70s I didn't know much about theatre - I had seen a National Tour of Annie (was stunned by it... my favorite songs were "Maybe" and "We'd Like to Thank You Herbert Hoover" (go figure.) and the only other stage productions I had seen had been on field trips to our local high school to see Funny Girl, Brigadoon, Godspell and Guys & Dolls. I was hooked. Hooked hard! I watched the Tonys religiously from 1979 on.

By 1979 or 80, my sister went on a High School trip to New York and saw a few shows (Deathtrap, Sugar Babies, Evita and Sweeney Todd) She bought the cast albums of Evita and Sweeney and I had never heard of Andrew Lloyd Webber or Stephen Sondheim at that point. I remember pouring over those recordings every chance I got and became "obsessed." Before long, I knew every line in Evita (I guess it was kind of like my "Elphaba" era - Patti LuPone had been my Idina Menzel ) I also remember thinking: "Who is this Stephen Sondheim guy?" I had no idea that you could be shocked/scared by a musical! I started doing "research" into everything else Sondheim had written up to that point. Company! How edgy and exciting it was to a 12 year old kid! How could someONE write Sweeney AND Company?! When I discovered a composer I liked, I would find everything he/she had written and dig, delve and learn.

As time did the ol' marching on thing, I took an historically organized approach. I researched which shows won Tony Awards for best musical and learned all about each one. I'd buy a cast album sometimes twice a month and "study" it. Being a total research nerd (yes, even as a kid) I loved being able to rattle off the years and Tonys ...

From there, once I had gotten all caught up and current, I started to become interested in researching shows - both plays and musicals - that opened in the same seasons. So I would learn about each nomination (for best play/musical). I "discovered" Kander & Ebb, Cy Coleman, Jule Styne, Bob Fosse, Tommy Tune, and COUNTLESS others and made connections between not only the other shows with which they were involved, but then which performer was in what show, and then what other shows did that director/performer/composer/write do... and from there ... well, it's an amazing way to fuel my passion, to do that kind of research and make those kinds of connections.

To the original poster, I'd just like to suggest that perhaps you ought to think that if you enjoyed Wicked very much, start looking at everything else Stephen Schwartz has written. Maybe you'll find a new love with Godspell or Pippin, etc. Maybe you won't, but it make spark a curiosity around what else was playing at the time of Pippin (1973): Grease, Man of La Mancha, Purlie, A Little Night Music... Try out a couple of those. You may not like ANY of them, but you'll be expanding your knowledge considerably, just by following your curiosity.

(Sorry this is such a long post)

In terms of plays, you could do this much the same way. Have you ever seen a play? Did you like it? What was the name of the playwright? Get thee to library and read all of the other plays from that playwright, then expand by season or actor or director.

I admit that this approach may not work for you/everyone/anyone, but, as I said, my natural tendency to organize and research helped me fuel my passion for all things theatre. It's hard sometimes to feel the love for something so strongly but not know how to go about expanding it. This might be one way you could go about it.

~Adam

(PS: Do you think I felt awkward in any way, singing the score to Evita while at Boy Scouts summer camp?? .... pretty clueless, wasn't I?... But I actually got my fellow scouts to sing "Peron's Latest Flame" while we were hiking...)

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 7:52am

This board obviously doesn't have a good reputation. People here are mainly snobby and nasty but I keep posting. The reason is because I get all my theater info here. If you just keeping posting and reading about it you will learn about all these shows. I can probably recite a good 15 shows. The way to do that is to just listen to the music, once I listen to the music maybe 3 or 4 times I can probably memorize it. I have a very strange memory, I can never remember any of the important stuff. But if you keep posting here and except new unknown shows into your music collection you will begin to learn about new shows. Also if you see a bunch of revivals it helps too. But I actually learned a lot from [title of show], it had lots of mentions of other shows and actors (where I found out who Alice Ripley was)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 8:42am

Chita ^ its funny that you say you learn of shows through other shows....I've long said anything I know about History is defintiely linked to shows I've done and therefore had to research...but that's true of many things.

I learned a lot about psychology through directing a piece about high school shootings, I learned a lot about Alzheimer's for the same reason.

You learn about theater and you learn about life and the world around and before us.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 1:00pm

I used to listen to Broadway radio stations and find new showtunes that way, then order the cast recording. Just by listening to the cast recording and reading the libretto (complete one if possible), you can learn a lot about shows. Unfortunately, the site that used to host a lot of complete librettos seems to be gone now. There are some books you can buy that are anthologies; that's how I got into Floyd Collins, actually.

I also used to make a LOT of runs to the library where I would just grab any cast recording that I'd heard about or that even looked interesting.

Or, you just Google the show. There tend to be a lot of fanpages and even Wiki articles can help. Online communities such as this one are also good because people teach you a lot.

There are also a lot of books about shows that you can buy. I know a lot more about Miss Saigon than some other musicals because it is my favorite musical and I've read everything that I can about it.

Finally, the Tony Awards! The Tony Awards used to be my way of learning about new shows before I joined here. You watch it, you see what looks good or interests you, and then you go on a cast recording-buying spree.

Updated On: 7/19/09 at 01:00 PM

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 1:04pm

Read this site and playbill A LOT.
Surround myself with people who know their theatre.
See ANY theatre I can.

[mariusmyhomeboy]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 2:18pm

I was like that when I was a freshman in high school. The only shows I cared about were Rent and Wicked. I didn't start really getting into theatre until my senior year of high school. For the longest time, I was afraid of theatre because I was convinced I couldn't do it. (I got over that by taking a Musical Theatre class. Performing helped me appreciate theatre a lot more.)

My advice to you is to just jump in. You like Phantom; explore other shows by ALW. Find another show that you like and just go with it.

Whenever I read about a show that I've never heard of, I look it up on wikipedia. If the synopsis sounds interesting, I check out the cast recording.

Updated On: 7/19/09 at 02:18 PM

[geniuswithADD]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 6:10pm

Sporkgoddess- Actually, watching the Tony's is what got me to get Next to Normal, Hair, and Shrek. Thanks for the advice everyone! I guess I just need to get out there and read! I wish I could get cast recordings easier, though! I'll just have to buy them online (ewww) haha. I might be asking lots of questions on this board and reading a lot! So hopefully you'll all see me around!

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 6:58pm

Let's not forget plays here, geniuswithADD. I know it doesn't seem as fun as listening to a cast recording or watching videos on the site that shall not be named, but read up on your plays as well. Shakespeare, Edward Albee, David Mamet, Neil LaBute, Sam Shephard, Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Sarah Ruhl, Tracy Letts, Eric Bogosian, etc. Read, read, READ! If you have a passion for theatre and you really want to broaden your theatrical horizon, don't just limit yourself to musical theatre because it's more "mainstream."

Also, for cast recordings, listen to BroadwayWorld Radio on this site. It can expose you to shows you didn't even know existed.

Updated On: 7/20/09 at 06:58 PM

[geniuswithADD]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 7:03pm

I didn't even know there was a radio on this website! haha. That's REALLY good to know. Thank you so much!


How do you get the radio to work for mac? I don't have windows media player or realtime....

Updated On: 7/19/09 at 07:03 PM

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 7:09pm

You should look into getting RealPlayer.

[chenothegood]

Posted: 7/19/09 at 9:38pm

This probably isnt too shocking but my first real Broadway show exposure was to Wicked, they were the first tickets that i ever bought and i became obsessed haha! I would look up a lot of stuff on youtube and then find out about the different performers who had been in the show and read about them and the other shows that they had done and so that became kind of a waterfall effect. Like for example Wicked stared Idina Menzel and Julia Murney at one point (seperate times i know) and so i found out about Lippa's The Wild Party( just one of the many examples). That was about 2 1/2 years ago but i feel like over that time i have aquired an extensive amount of knowledge on many other shows and performers and have also since outgrown my obsession with Wicked haha.
The internet has been my best resource. None of my friends or family members are really into theatre, and i dont perform either so everything i know i have learned from various places online... sad i know! but its probably your best bet! If you're really interested learn to use Google and Youtube, they will become your best friends! :)

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 12:03am

ASentoni: "(Sorry this is such a long post)"

Oh, stop it. That post might be the best thing I've ever read here!

Please, go on.

[chiuptown]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 12:34am

i think this is a wonderful thread and can't wait to read every word. right off the bat, read the ny times every day. read the new yorker. go to any theatre you can afford and negotiate. it will happen.
i went to bdwy my first time at 16 in 1970 and saw hair, 1776, purlie and the last of the red hot lovers. i was hooked. an older friend introduced me to follies, and i was lost. i listened and loved increasingly , follies. i had a dictionary and looked up words i didn't understand and asked relatives about references i had no idea about. it all became clearer and more interesting. i loved it, and then had to explore every show that caught my eye or ear. and i still go at it the same way. listen and listen and read the script and the reviews and the commentary and love it or leave it. its very fulfilling.

[dramadude2]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 12:44am

If you have sirius/xm radio, tune in to channel 77 Broadway's best. Seth Rudetsky is one of my favorite people ever. In addition to playing full cast albums amongst random Musical theatre, there are interviews and witty banter.

[dramadude2]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 12:44am

If you have sirius/xm radio, tune in to channel 77 Broadway's best. Seth Rudetsky is one of my favorite people ever. In addition to playing full cast albums amongst random Musical theatre, there are interviews and witty banter.

[Rebecca5]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 6:58pm

Yep, my first musical experience was Wicked. I discovered Rent because Idina was in both of them. I also got a little obsessed with the German language version of Wicked. Willemijn Verkaik is their Elphaba. She was also in Elisabeth, a very well known Austrian musical. Then I learned about Pia Douwes because she was the first Elisabeth. Pia was in Broadway's Chicago about 5 years. Ruthie Henshall was in London's original Chicago cast. Ruthie was also in the TAC of Les Mis. Rebecca Caine was in the OLC of Les Mis and the Canadian Phantom of the Opera. Same with Colm Wilkinson. And the cycle continutes. I usually learn about new musicals becuase I'm familiar with someone in them.

Someone mentioned researching more of Stephen Schwartz's works. I definitely recommend that. I read a lot of other musical theatre forums and there are a lot of shows I'm unfamiliar with. I probably own about 12 cast recordings. And that doesn't really bother me.

I would go to your library and check out a few cast recordings and just listen to them. If you like the music, read more about it. And let the obsession begin.

[saveusmike]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 8:51pm

I actually got into broadway shows by a very bizarre/cool way..

I was in Times square meeting a friend at Olive Garden and this man and his wife come running up to me.
he said "kid are you gonna be in town next week?"
I immidiatley thought he was gonna try to sell me something but I didnt wanna stall so "Yeah" just popped out.

He handed me a envelope and explained how he had a ticket to shrek the musical but had to go back to california or whatever and he didnt want it to go to waste.

I took it and thanked him emmesnly.
I will admit I wasnt looking foward to is 100% but I wound up loving it and then after having so much fun at that show I just started seeing more and more
6 months and 40 shows later I have learned so much about Broadway present and past and I love it!

Just look up diffrent shows on wikipedia, youtube, etc.. Its really easy to get into.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 11:44pm

I'm gonna agree with the folks who say they learn the most about Broadway through this site. I used to be a bit of a Wicked fan, hence my username, which I have come to absolutely hate. But seriously, BWW has opened my eyes to so many wonderful shows. If it weren't for the site I would never have discovered Side Show, and that would have just been utterly unacceptable. :)

[yay_gerb]

Posted: 7/24/09 at 11:52pm

saveusmike thats kinda crazy, but an awesome story to tell! i'm the same way. i started going to theater last summer and have been to 102 shows(on and off bway) since. it is really an great and friendly community to be apart of. and just to echo what everyone else said, wikipedia, google, any broadway show fan sites, bww, playbill, broadway.com, but especially this board. i've learned most of what i know from this board.