Show Reviews: Would you rather...

[GreenFinch27]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 5:30pm

I'm writing a thesis that involves these chat boards. I was wondering if I could get some insight on how seriously you take reviews and comments about shows on the boards? Would you be more willing to trust a review on here than a professional journalistic review? Any thoughts are appreciated!
Thanks!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 5:38pm

Why not bump your old thread? 

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1099512#4899274

[GreenFinch27]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 5:40pm

LizzieCurry said: "Why not bump your old thread? 

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1099512#4899274

 

I am new to this and didn't know that was a thing! Haha thank you!

[Mike66]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 6:25pm

GreenFinch27 said: "I'm writing a thesis that involves these chat boards. I was wondering if I could get some insight on how seriously you take reviews and comments about shows on the boards? Would you be more willing to trust a review on here than a professional journalistic review? Any thoughts are appreciated!
Thanks!

 

"Over a period of time, I find whose "tastes" seem to resemble mine.  For example, I never was an Isherwood guy -- nothing against Charles, but he seemed to like shows  that I didn't.  I'm much more a Brantley guy.  If Ben recommends something, experience tells me that I'm very likely to like it a lot.

Same thing is true on these Boards.  Over the last few years, I've identified a couple of posters whose tastes seem to match mine.  And more than a few with whom I don't share the same views on what to see.

All of this is VERY important to me -- I don't live in NYC, and I cant see everything.  I come into the city 3 or 4 times a year and see 2 or 3 shows.  I like to sit in good seats -- so I'm spending a fair amount of money on that too. But mostly, it's time -- I want to see "the best" each year.

And since we all know there is no such thing as "best" -- I need to identify which ones I'll think are "best" -- or "best for me."  That's what the reviewers do for me.

Are there some "misses"?  You betcha.  But 90% of the time I see things that I really enjoy, both as musicals and plays, and at the end of a season there are just a handful that I regret not having seen.

I wish could see them all.  (And to see a couple of them more than once.)  But that's not what my life let's me do.  So I wait and see what my "go to guys" say, and buy my tickets then.

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 9:00pm

If there is a show I want to see, I usually see it no matter what critics say or what is wriiten on these boards. I like to make my own mind up on what I thought. There have been many times I have seen a show that got negative remarks here and by critics that I enjoyed. And vice versa. There are times when the remarks here were spot on as well as with critics. Yes, I want to see a good show but I am not going  to make a decision on a show that interests me based on other's opinions. One example is "HOTT FEET". Bad reviews and negative comments here. I flew across country to see it as I am a huge Earth, Wind & Fire fan. I did not want to miss it. I agreed with what was said about it but loved the music.So for me it was not a total waste of time and I would have kicked myself had I not seen it.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 9:23pm

There are several posters here who have prompted me to rethink my opinion of shows I found lacking in the past. ERICMONTREAL, to take but one example, has many times said, gently, "I think you should listen to that score again. It's better than you remember." In each case he has been right.

I pay almost no attention to commercial reviewers: my experience with reviews of my own work suggests they are ill-informed and rushed, and often end up reviewing what isn't there. I also think they see so much product that their views are unnecessarily jaded, even when they aren't busy building their own names in the culture. To take but one example, some make a career of liking shows nobody else likes, just so they'll get their names in quote ads.

I am far more likely to take advice from an individual whose taste I have come to trust.

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 3/16/17 at 10:35pm

I come here to look for a consensus and take a temperature on the buzz. One review doesn't say much by itself, but when dozens of people all say that "the second to last scene" doesn't make sense... then obviously the creative team should take a look at it. So I guess I'm looking for patterns. 

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 12:12am

"Would you be more willing to trust a review on here than a professional journalistic review?"

 

Any day of the week. The so-called critics of today are truly a pathetic lot. The posters on this board run rings around them.

I will add that we owe a great deal of gratitude to those here who generously give of their time and talents to post well-written, insightful critiques of shows,  to answer people's multiple questions, and to share their theatrical memories. We are all in their debt.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 5:28am

I look more to WHY a poster or reviewer praises or damns a show. If those are reasons that matter to me, reviews might sway a decision - either way.  That being given said, reviews alone seldom make the decision for me.

[mc1227]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 6:16am

I usually use several postings on here to monitor a show's development, casting, and things like that.  Unless a show is a complete pan from all commercial theater critics, I don't let their opinions influence me on seeing a show, especially if there is a performer I want to see..  I can't keep track of all the times I've read reviews by certain critics and posters on this board that were negative and I loved the show.  The same thing in reverse.  The most recent example of this was She Loves Me.  A show I couldn't wait to end was adored by most posters and critics.  So, after while, you can find that balance that works for you.  

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 9:42am

I don't rely on critics (professional or amateur) to determine whether I will see a show. Reviews are no more than someone else's opinion and one need only consider the most recent U.S. presidential election to see that public opinion of any given thing often differs wildly (and perhaps inexplicably).

Most of my all-time favorite shows were panned by critics and I would have missed out on those experiences if I'd allowed myself to be swayed by their reviews. Inversely, there are numerous critically acclaimed shows that hold little appeal for me and I'm simply not going to spend $100+ to see them.

The most consistently reliable outside indicator of quality that I've found is the Twitter comments of performers in the business when they see a show. For example, actors whom I follow have compelled me to see shows like Matilda The Musical and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I might not otherwise have considered. A few years ago while in New York, my husband and I were trying to decide how to fill an empty slot in our itinerary and we happened to walk past the Shubert Theatre, where I noticed the new Matilda marquee. Having read numerous positive Tweets from London performers about this show, I turned to him and said, "I know this doesn't look like something for us, but I have a feeling about it and I'm going to ask you to trust me". We both loved it, so much that we bought the cast recording and went back to see it again during a subsequent trip. Our experience with Curious Incident was similar.

Updated On: 3/17/17 at 09:42 AM

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 3/17/17 at 10:34am

I generally try to see most of the musicals on and off- Broadway, unless i specifically think i wouldn't enjoy the subject matter (e.g. Am. Psycho).  I also see a handful of plays that seem like they would interest me based on the subject matter or playwright.   I purposely don't read any reviews or threads about them until after i have had a chance to see them, which is only a few weekends a year.  So i usually end up reading and joining in on the threads many weeks or even months after they have opened, just to discuss with other passionate audience members.  I don't read professional reviews at all.

 On the other hand, if i decide to skip something because it doesn't seem like it might interest me, i will often browse the threads here to see if there is something i have ignored that i might enjoy.  I recently ended up seeing Significant Other that way - it wasn't on my radar until i read some raves about it here, so i ended up seeing it in my last available slot on a recent trip that i otherwise would have used for a second Sunset viewing.