Why I'm becoming perturbed with "What should I see?"

People are considering only the mainstream, when they've already been exposed to it/seen the shows before. People really need to begin broadening their horizons. Theatre is becoming so constricted that I feel within 20 years from now even an out of the ordinary production of SWEENEY (such as the current production) will be inconceivable to produce or will fail immediately because it will be too out of the mainstream. Hell, even "Waiting for Godot" is tame for some of the material out there. But it never receives any attention. Why can't audiences face the unfamiliar like in the old days?

Oh God look at me, an 18 year old talking about the old days...

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not only that, but it would be great if posters read the FAQ before starting another "what should I see" thread. although, it could use an update or two...

Isn't that why BWW has a fantastic feature of video previews - WHAT SHOULD I SEE? Watch the feckin videos!

Regarding prices, I recently wrote a paper on how this is leading to the downfall of theatre. Unfortunately it's hand written, so I can't put it in it's entirety here, but the gist is that the audience is getting older and older because parents cannot afford to take their children to shows any more. And the adults only go to the shows because they were able to attend them as children. The audience of American theatre is dying quickly. Also consider the fact that so much funding comes from individuals who donate money to the arts. And how old are thaty, 70, 80, 90? When our generation reaches that age will they really care enough about theatre to make such donations?

I could go alot into the use of special effects in theatre resulting in the death of live performance as well, but I don't really have the time to do so. Keep the feed back coming, I appreciate it.

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Sweeney Todd is doing great, Tony winner Patti Lupone stars in the Broadway production and the musical is by Sondheim, what is not mainstream about it?

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I couldn't agree more with you Allmylife

You guys can't forget that alot of students use this site and they are investing alot of money to go see a show. I'm from a middle class family myself and I will so myself be on here asking all of you fellow New Yorkes "What Should I See"...I live ALONG way from New York and I want to invest my hard earned money into good shows. To tell you the truth if I didn't know much about "Bernardo Alba" or even "Sweeney Todd"...I probably would go see something "commercial" like "The Lion King", "POTO", "Beauty and The Beast", and "CHICAGO"..you know stuff that people know.

Students come and ask "WHAT SHOULD I SEE" because you guys give GREAT informationon on shows that we normally wouldn't see. Then we can do some research on the show and get more info. Sometimes your opinions count.

Don't bash people that say "What Should I See"...tell them what they should see and encourage them to support theatre..because thats whats really needed, support for theatre period.

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Necromancer07707, you are a very wise 18 year old.

I totally agree with your opening post, and I love your signature as well.


Peace,
Faith2 a.k.a.
Joyce from Chicago

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"Hell, even a play like Equus would be nice as long as it challenged the norm."

Have you seen Well? Who is your audience? It sounds like you forget that many many many many theatregoers do not attend strictly to be artistically challenged or enlightened. They go to be entertained. Especially when they are paying $100+ for Broadway, which is a commercial business. Your idealism is admirable, but not very realistic.

"The audience of American theatre is dying quickly."

People have been saying this for nearly 100 years. Where is your justification to back up that statement? If that were true, there would be a sharp decline in ticket sales and theatrical productions, which there isn't. It sounds like the audience for shows you want produced is dying quickly, which is not exactly true. They are just attending more Off-Broadway productions rather than Broadway. Regionally, there is a lot of new and challenging work as well. Theatre is theatre, be it The Lion King or Endgame or Riverdance. And Broadway itself was born from shows designed strictly for entertainment and escapism, not for artistic challenge.

"Also consider the fact that so much funding comes from individuals who donate money to the arts."

Yes, much funding for non-profit companies comes from individual contributions and many of them are elderly. But far more comes from corporate sponsorship, not from individuals. This is 10 years' experience in both marketing and development in major non-profit arts organizations talking. Not to mention the fact that board members, who also make considerable contributions, are usually considerably younger than the retirement age.

"Who even has a clue as to what the verfremdungseffekt is?"

Unless you're a theatre student, why would they know? I'm willing to bet that the majority of audience members who first viewed Threepenny Opera or Mother Courage and Her Children in the US didn't know the meaning of the word either. It's not like the programs come with textbooks. People who want to know more will research it themselves. And some people do.

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I've asked for help on occasion, )only because I was trying to cram as much as possible into my NYC trip)---those posters that live in NYC would know which shows have matinees on off days, etc. I would hope that we as a group don't get so bored/blase that we couldn't or wouldn't offer an informed opinion to someone who is sincerely looking for advice.

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if someone posts a 'what should i see?' thread, you should either

a- ignore it

or

b- help that person find a show they might not otherwise think to see. you can't complain about all the good, non-commercial shows failing when you won't even try to introduce them to other people. theatre snobs are by nature an esoteric group, but that does not entitle us to be rude. when a tourist goes to buy show tickets, the list of choices is long and confusing. why is it wrong for an outsider to ask for a bit of explanation?

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I think there are two different sides to this. One is if your just going by yourself and just want to know something to see, I find that a bit stupid. But if you're going with kids where the number of shows would be restricted due to content, I think it's ok, because every kid is at a different maturity level, and if you really don't know anything about a show, then you probably should not just go into it without knowing anything.

Oh, and sorry for this rant that may not make sense, I am half watching Veronica Mars right now.

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