Why do we "turn" on the most popular shows? — Page 3

For the most part, we on the board like things that are more deeply theatrical, well-written and meaningful. To us, shows like Phantom, Cats and even Wicked, now, are fluff with no meaning, and even lacking in some basic good qualities of a Broadway musical (solid book, good lyrics, etc.)

I agree with you that in this type of community - you'll find people that are not your traditional theatergoer (or "mainstream" audience.) I've been seeing shows for 26 years now, and I tend to think I'm one of the people who like look for deep, theaterical, well-written, meaningful shows. However, the second part of your thought is one I may have to disagree with. Whether or not you feel a musical has a solid book, good lyrics, etc. can often be so subjective that it's impossible to claim that a musical doesn't have the above elements. There are the productions that are clearly not going for the deem/meaningful thing, but there are other shows that people attach that label to that I would say don't fit into that category. Just my opinion.

I have to say I love Wicked. It's one of my favorite scores - I love the lyrics - and it was incredibly meaningful to me. Do I think it's some life-changing piece of theater? Of course not. Does that mean I have no taste and I'm giving praise to a show that doesn't deserve it? Some will say yes and some will say no. Doesn't make either of us *right*. It just means we have differing opinions.

Updated On: 3/9/05 at 07:37 AM

in my opinion, the average theater goer wants to be able to go 'Ohhh and Ahhh" at a show. The don't want to think about it. They simply want to be entertained. So shows like POTO, Producers,Wicked....and I suppose Cats (never saw it, don't want to) do just that.
Those of us with more interest in the theater sometimes want/need/whatever to be challenged by it. Urinetown challenged me.
And as others have said, we become "uppity" about our tastes. There is nothing wrong with Wicked (which I FINALLY get to see next month, YAY!)pRODUCERS, POTO, etc........but it's purely entertainment........no challenge, at least for me.
Titanic also challenged me.....now that I think about it, as did Into the Woods...

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Well said Mister Matt.

Speaking personally, I have never turned on a show when it has become too popular. There are a few shows, Wicked being the most recent, where the hype has gotten so out of hand and the fans so unrealistic and out of touch, where I've wound up turning on the people themselves. I never had a real problem with Wicked, just thought it was fun for a mediocrity. Some of my favorite shows are rather mediocre. Then the Wicked mania started to build, growing to its height at around the same time I moved out to NY and discovered BWW. After a few months of honestly trying to communicate with these crazed shills online and offline, I found myself bashing the show severely, even though I kinda liked it.

When it's easy to pinpoint the things you hate about people (these shills) it's easy to figure out their soft spots. So if there are 50 irritating posters who all claim Wicked is "the greatest/most beautiful/ smartest/ etc" I'll wind up replying with 50 reasons and examples of this not being true. And we all know that, in their heyday, the worst of these manias is easily going to top 50-100 irritating uninformed posts in an evening. It was barely a conscious decision that I now disliked the show, it started as an attempt to inform these folks and, when that proved impossible, an attempt to be an a**hole to them so they'd leave.

Is this petty of me? Yes. But I'm someone who values the promotion of good musical theatre more than I value my own betterment. So, if you've been wondering the same thing, thinking that everyone turns on a show simply because it's popular, I'm saying it isn't always the case. If I see flaws in something, I may still enjoy it. But the flaws are still there. I'm not going to suddenly decide that it's too much to forgive, but if the fans of the show are actively making my life unpleasant, I'm going to fight back with what I have. And I'm not being overly-dramatic here. Between BWW, school, and the kids I teach and direct shows for, I would sometimes wind up explaining to 15 different people in a day why I don't think Idina is a genius or why I didn't have the CD on my iPod.

In cases like this, I'm not going to have a lot of reason to focus on anything but the negative side of a show- if only to avoid fueling the flame; to get people to stop asking me the same annoying questions and to stop making the same ridiculous claims about what shows I'll remember in 30 years.

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