NBC Nightly News has spoiled the ending of THE BANDS VISIT

Isn't this show based on a movie? If memory serves and I am right, then the ending is already out there. So, nothing to be spoiled.

I see your point completely, but for my circumstances, I have a different POV. Due to my inability to get to NYC on a frequent basis, as well as the incredibly high costs of transportation, hotel and ticket prices, I will probably only get to see this show once.

I absolutely DO agree that this song is an emotional highlight, and (for me) I'd like to experience it multiple times - to a point that I feel like it's ingrained in me - that I haven't missed an emotional moment of it due to my naivety of the material. Once it's passed - it's past.

I think the best way to describe it is to compare it to award winners who try to convey what their experience of winning was like. Sometimes they say things to the effect that the emotion was so high, they can't remember the details of the moment; that it was all a blur. Live performances can effect me in that way.

For me, watching the video makes me want to see the show even more. Nothing compares to a live experience, and I feel better knowing that when I actually DO see the show, I'll be a bit more connected to the moments onstage, because I'm not as distracted (overwhelmed?) by the hyper-emotions of a single, uninitiated viewing that might make the experience a blur for me, too.

Updated On: 11/14/17 at 11:34 AM

If the creative team believed that televising this moment nationally amounted to a "spoiler," impeding audience enjoyment of the production, do you think they would have agreed to it?

TFMH18 said: "Only tangentially related, but I am already wondering what the show will perform at the Tonys (I KNOW it's early). This seems like the obvious choice, save for the fact that it doesn't feature Shalhoub nor, much more importantly, Katrina Lenk, on whom I'm putting my (again very early!) odds on for a Tony nomination and actual win."

I can see them leading with "Omar Sharif" into "Answer Me." I think Katrina Lenk will stay fresh through the next seven months and win the Tony, so they ought to highlight her.

...there's not really a lot to spoil with this show. It's not dependent on big twists and turns and unexpected swerves. If you think revealing that the Telephone Guy's girlfriend ends up calling is a major spoiler after the show spends a lot of time setting that up, then I have some bad news for you regarding those guns that Hedda Gabler toys with at the start of that play.

If you want to go in totally unspoiled for something, then don't engage with any discussion or material about it beforehand.

Rainah said: "oooof. As someone who hasn't seen the show at all... that is their 'big' 11 o'clock number? I am assuming it is a lot more impactful when you have all the setup and the pov in the audience but as someone who's not seen anything about the show... this does not make me want to see it, in fact it does the opposite."

I can't speak to how other people received it, but when I saw the show, it reminded me a lot of the finale of Great Comet - it's hard for me to describe why it moved me, but I felt completely carried away by it, by the beautiful harmonies and the feeling of oneness. I don't quite have the right words for it, maybe someone else does, but it was incredibly impactful from my perspective.

Rainah said: "oooof. As someone who hasn't seen the show at all... that is their 'big' 11 o'clock number? I am assuming it is a lot more impactful when you have all the setup and the pov in the audience but as someone who's not seen anything about the show... this does not make me want to see it, in fact it does the opposite."

This video was actually a hundred times more impactful for me compared to when I left the theatre bored out of my mind a few weeks ago.

oncemorewithfeeling2 said: "I can’t put my finger on why, but I felt this very distinct peace [...] "

It's interesting that you used the word 'peace', as I feel that, too in listening to "Answer Me". I think "Answer Me" has a lot of similarity to Rufus Wainwright's "Vibrate" (in musical structure and coincidentally, its theme regarding phone contact):

...and also to Ravels' "Boléro":

I find all three to be relaxing and peaceful - maybe because of the repetition (only slightly varied, yet builds) of so few chords(?) I dunno.

And that crescendo when everyone sings, "...with the world around me" - gets me every time I hear it! I can't wait for the OC release.