I do apologize to bwayphreak234 for the manner in which I snapped at him. As he alluded to, my prior history is definitely not one of being aggressive or unfriendly. I’m the embodiment of mild mannered Clark Kent - geekiness, glasses, and all. So this was not where I wanted to leave this thread, comparable to the ‘going to bed mad’ at each other aphorism. I am truly sorry, and my apologies to all who read it.
In response to Elfuhbuh, go back and read the original post. It is fairly concise in what I asked for. Then read Post #8. It embodied everything I had asked for: if you’ve seen Quentin Oliver Lee (focus was on Lee) since November, how’s he doing as the Phantom, and how is the production holding up under him. The answer in Post #8 was to the point, with the good and the bad, and fairly balanced. That’s all. It wasn’t a one-sided opinion solely comparing it to the Broadway version.
There’s something about the anonymity of posting on a forum that allows us to talk at each other, and not to each other. We can’t see each other’s faces and hear the tone of the voices in a post. Being humble, gentle, and kind seems to have taken a back seat to being ‘as a matter of fact’ opinionated and absolute in those opinions. It’s a ‘my opinion is right, and yours is wrong because I hated it and you didn’t’ world. How did we get to this point?
CATSNYrevival said that it is impossible to start a thread on the current tour “without talking about how awful it is compared to the original.” Why? There are perhaps hundreds of thousands of people who have seen the new touring production and really enjoyed it. They’ve also never seen the on-Broadway version, so we are all content and happy with what we have seen. Why jump on this thread with such contempt and ill will as to trample what someone has enjoyed? It’s easier to step away from that thread than to start an argument by contrasting to two. Leave those of us who have seen the new show and enjoyed it with that: the thrill, pleasure, and joy that we left the theater with when we saw the show. But it’s some people’s first instinct to ruin that.
That’s what I don’t understand.
We have a commonality amongst us, a love for theater. Our love for theater varies with the style, genre, and characterizations of the show and it’s cast’s performances. I mean, just look how the “My Fair Lady” thread went with the current adaptation and cast. We have to be able to ‘agree to disagree’ even before that first impulse to post a negative reply, which is sometimes a knee-jerk reaction. Sometimes we have to just let it go.
I discussed this with my neighbor across the street - a lover of fine literature, great movies, and theater. Her reply to me was to let it go, that all of you were just Broadway snobs. I don’t actually believe that. At all. I know that most all of you are good at heart, and in normal life away from this forum are probably wonderful, thoughtful, kind, gentle, and giving. And I as a novice have received a lot of amazing advice from you. I think your vast knowledge and history of attending performances for decades is simply amazing. Of that I am truly jealous.
Thank you for listening.
Updated On: 10/1/18 at 07:46 AM
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