Why do we work so hard to setup an opinion of a show before we see it?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:20am

One of the things this new age of technology has done for Broadway is helped people discover more information about a show than ever before.

There's nothing wrong with finding out information, but not to an extent where it sets up an opinion for the show in which you haven't seen.

ESPECIALLY for shows that haven't opened yet or are in previews. Look what happened to HIGH FIDELITY. Not saying that this was the only reason WHY it closed. Also not saying it was an exceptional show. I was there closing night. It was OK. Certainly not the best, but nothing bad, neither. It should have had a longer run.

I can see this happening to LITTLE MERMAID, especially with Disney's disasterous TARZAN to make up for.

There are countless threads on theatre boards asking how it will be staged, which songs are cut, where you can listen to demos, casting, etc. People are turned off by the fact that they have heard the show is a roller-blading concept, that Sherie Rene Scott has been cast as Ursula, that the set might look TARZAN-ish, that the flying might be "defying gravity"-ish, etc.

I, too, am curious about how it will be staged. And there is nothing wrong with trying to find out this information on the Net. Nothing wrong with finding out casting, neither. But why let it go beyond that?

If it seems they are going a different route with the Ursula character, why dismiss it as a bad move? It might work, and it might work out better than the film character.

If they cut songs from the film, why cry over it? If they deem a song to not work on stage, good for them. To me, it shows they care about the story.

Don't get so worked up off of a show in which you haven't seen yet, kids. It kills me that there is a "fan site" for MERMAID already when the show hasn't even begun rehearsals. Why set your hopes up so high? The only place it can go is down, if not stay the same. If your expectations are at a 10, what are the chances Disney can make the show an 11?

Also, personally, I don't want to see a song list before I go into the show. I don't want to see pictures or read a detailed show synopsis. The only information I want is a cast list and GENERAL reviews ("yeah, it was good" or "it was OK" or "I didn't like it"). When I go into a show, I want to experience everything for the first time. I don't want to know what songs are coming up, which to expect being cut, which to expect being "amazing," etc. When I saw WICKED, I had heard at the end of Act I that she flew upward during this amazing song. Can you imagine how more breath-taking that moment could have been if I hadn't known it was coming? (I was actually disappointed, slightly. It was a tad anti-climatic).

So in regards to MERMAID and other productions, can we just let the creative teams and casts do their jobs and wait to see what they have in store for us? If you want a true, legit, magical experience in the theatre - go in not knowing what to expect. If the show turns out being good, you'll have one of those great, rare theatrical experiences that we hear about from the golden age where the internet wasn't there to ruin it for us.

::steps off the soap box::

Updated On: 3/26/07 at 12:20 AM

[PersonofInterest]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:24am

I think BWW should give you a column. You have very good insights. Keep it up!

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:25am

It saves time....?

[B3TA07]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:29am

That's nice.


What song is rumored to be cut?

[Elphie4ever]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:29am

i totally agree with you
with video hosting sites such as youtube it sort of spoils the whole broadway experience and the element of suprise/ suspense of a musical. I wish i could say the same thing when i watched wicked this coming weekend.. ehhh i kinda listened to most of the songs already, but thats not the point....

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:31am

Cause we have nothing better to do?

[LoringsGuy]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:41am

I think, in a way, we do ourselves a disservice by obsessively tracking every step of the creative process in the making of a stage or film musical. As previously stated, by the time the finished product is presented to us, there is nary an element of surprise left. Before the Dreamgirls movie came out, I devoured every article I could find on it, listened to the soundtrack non-stop, and read all the reviews on opening day. When I finally saw the film a couple of days later, it was almost inevitable that I felt a little let down. I'd read and heard so much about the movie, I knew practically everything that I was going to see/hear before it happened. I have a feeling that had I gone into it not really knowing as much about it as I did, I would've found it to be much more thrilling. I've since vowed to avoid reading too much about something I'm interested in beforehand so there is still an element of surprise and delight.

[allvocal]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 1:09am

I personally... listen to what all of you say.. I study it.. I let it sink in... and then I go see the show and make up my own mind. yep..hmmm.

[allvocal]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 1:09am

Double post.. I hate myself
Updated On: 3/26/07 at 01:09 AM

[allvocal]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 1:10am

triple post!! wow I rock.
Updated On: 3/26/07 at 01:10 AM

[WordedGrace]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 2:26am

It's called mob mentality... We see something that everyone is pouncing on and beating down we seem to all want to jump in and be heard. It's not right but it's the freaking human nature/pack animal thing.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 3:18am

well people look at message boards as their place to be heard so most will milk it for all its worth in sharing the most minute details of any theatre they see.

the readers well... curiosity kills the cat, if the information is out there, people will read it. hopefully, theyll see a varied response to particular show and then think about whom they usually agree with or which comments make the most sense and decide for themselves what to see, even if the element of surprise is gone.

but one could also point out that shows dont exactly discourage this behavior. If they did, Legally Blonde wouldnt be having a video blog type deal with broadway.com

[Scaulter]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 6:21am

Reviews of shows definitely determine for me whether to see a show or not. Also, commercials make a difference too. And seeing the Tony Awards helps too. From those, I determine what to see and what not to see. It also depends on who is it a play, who wrote the play, etc.

I remember I had tickets for a musical that I asked to get for my birthday and I saw the commercial for it on TV. I told my mother I thought it looked bad. And naturally, she said wait until you see the show. It was bad.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 7:17am

B/c it's a theatre chat room and everyone wants to have an opinion. Sciology 101.

[April Saul]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 7:30am

For me, the answer to your question was obvious! Because I can't afford to see every show, I read about them on the boards to help make a decision about which ones to spend my money on. Not that this is a foolproof method, but the buzz on a production at least helps a bit on where to put my entertainment dollars, which are NOT unlimited! As a result, I try to see a lot of theater in previews; once reviews are out, if they're really good, it's usually more expensive and fewer good seats. It's not that I want spoilers, or savor a rush to judgment or a condemnation of a show before it's out. I simply am looking for any info that will help me decide which show to see, and boards like this at least give me an idea.

Posted: 3/26/07 at 7:36am

i work hard to NOT set an opiion before a show.
i dont read reviews til *after* i see it.

of course it doesnt help when people title their threads "such & such SUCKED"...because you cant avoid reading that.

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 7:50am

I agree about not being able to see every show. Unfornunately for me, I like almost everything, which makes it even stranger that I dislike certain shows..."well, that's another story, nevermind, anyway"...couldn't resist!

back to the point, I don't pay much attention to opinions of people on this board (save a few, Micheal Bennett is one I do like to hear) instead I focus on their descriptions, and it helps when these websites put up a video preview. I like to see footage from shows, see song lists, etc. because I get excited about broadway! And I don't get to the theatre very often (I'm a poor college student)!

I do agree we shouldn't hate a show from others' reviews. I think we should go to every show expecting to LOVE it, because don't we all love broadway? I really want EVERY show to succeed...I know that's not possible, but optimism makes for a better theatre experience IMO!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 8:26am

There are many plus and down-sides to message boards, Hook. You've hit the biggies - negative buzz brings down a show, message boards ruin the show for others.

Negative word of mouth on a message board doesn't close a show. A message board is a certain niche. Shows close because people don't want to see it and don't buy tickets, as you well know.

Message boards are the most valuable in providing insight to the creative teams during the preview period. I remember reading various articles where shows were changed for the better after the creatives read comments on message boards. Grey Gardens was one of them, I believe. While they took the message board chatter with a grain of salt, they figured out what had to be done.

[winston89]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 12:19pm

I also think that some of the promo stuff that comes out has something to do with it to. I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard someone hear ' omigod you guys' and right then and there think that LB is going to be the greates show since who knows. One thing I also feel is a factor is just like that poster who mentioned the dreamgirls movie. That people WANT these shows to be amazing and think that they will be so much so that they act like they came out before anyone even saw anything even an out of town preview.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 1:33pm

Capnhook, AMEN, and thank you for a thought-provoking post and, for once around here,was not critical of everything and everyone. Quite refreshing.

[misschung]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 2:58pm

Agreed, very well said.
The performing arts has been, and will stay partly a "who's who" scene - and I mean that not only for the cast but for the entire production - set, effects, costumes, score, etc. I can't tell you how many times I have heard reviews and opinions of shows that were so detailed that I was sure the person(s) had seen it in previews - only to realize that the show hadn't even opened yet.

There is this phenomenon surrounding shows that becomes so intense that the actual performance is like, secondary to the expectations formed beforehand. I'm not saying anyone is bad for doing this, but it is strange.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 3:09pm

The internet has doubtlessly played a huge role in hindering the creative process, because it's so easy to spread information around very quickly when things are going wrong. It's also probably lost a lot of shows better chances than they ended up getting because it can be vicious. Yet to me, more often than not, this doesn't happen to shows that truly deserve a chance. I know that's a matter of personal opinion, but I really do think an absurd amount of inexcusable crap ends up on Broadway. With some ideas, a reasonable amount of experience probably does grant people the authority to be able to throw in a fair guess, and I don't see the need to allow everything the benefit of the doubt just so I can feel like I did the nice thing for the creative team in giving it a chance. I don't really believe in, nor do I see the logic behind, blindly supporting all theater just because it's theater under the assumption that we want the art to thrive. All theater is not created equal; if everything is afforded an equal chance, and the crap isn't weeded out, how will the art form ever evolve?

But as for why we work so hard to form opinions of shows before we see them... I think it's pretty simple. With ticket prices as high as they are, people have to be discriminating. They have to choose wisely; not only can you see less with the rising prices, but you want to feel like you're seeing something worth the high prices. People can't exactly afford to just give something a chance for the sake of not being closed-minded.

Updated On: 3/26/07 at 03:09 PM

[CapnHook]

Posted: 3/31/07 at 1:29pm

Bump. Same for upcoming movie musicals.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 3/31/07 at 5:10pm

>> re: Why do we work so hard to setup an opinion of a show before we see it?
Posted On: 3/31/07 at 01:29:06 PM

Bump. Same for upcoming movie musicals.

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Uhm, Capn, love ya like a sister (and you know I do), but, uh, in light of this thread, what's wrong with this picture?

[BobbyErikValjean]

Posted: 3/31/07 at 6:02pm

I agree competely. Pre-judgements killed poor Lestat, they shouldn't kill anything else.