Shows where your opinion changed?

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 3:09am

Hello all,
Are there any shows that you have seen twice where you changed your opinion of the show upon your second viewing of it, whether it was the same production twice or two different productions?

For me, it was THE GLASS MENAGERIE, as I always found it to be pretentious and boring until I saw the broadway revival and it blew me away.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 5:03am

This has happened to me a couple times. Ghost Broadway made me like the show after not liking it nearly as much in London. Seeing Priscilla on B'way was WAY more enjoyable then London (Which I still loved)- I think it was the changes that made it better to me.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 10:28am

Oklahoma!

I had seen the movie (which is very flawed) and a community theater production, and I just found it boring and pointless. My opinion didn't change until PBS aired that London revival with Hugh Jackman in 2003, and I enjoyed immensely. The actors and director really made the difference although the second act still drags when Curly and Laurie get married. Jud's death at the wedding and the makeshift trial is just silly and seems like a different story, and it really brings the show to a halt.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 10:31am

"Sunday in the Park With George." Third preview (baffled indifference, at least to the second act) vs. 14 months into the run (moved to tears). And then the revival with the imported British stars. Nothing less than thrilled, first moment to the last. Now I watch the original production and cast on the DVD with awe, through more tears. Sometimes, it takes time.

Updated On: 8/4/14 at 10:31 AM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 11:01am

I have only enjoyed several Sondheim shows after becoming familiar with the score. On first hearing, I did not appreciate them. I hated A Little Night Music the first time I saw it, and it is now one of my favorite shows ever, in multiple different productions (although i thought the recent Broadway production was weak, what i could see of it due to the darkness).

Disappointed in Company the first time, and now I like it immensely, although It will never be one of my favorites because i think that George Furth's script is terrible to the point of embarrassment in a couple of the vignettes. Also did not like Sunday in the Park the first time, mainly because of the original Act 2. I have since seen at least three different productions, all of which I enjoyed much more...and totally loved Act 2 of the most recent

Conversely, I loved Spring Awakening the first time but was bored the second time, although part of that was due to a much too old Melchior in a production that I saw in Washington. I was very surprised at that reaction, since I loved it the first time.

Updated On: 8/4/14 at 11:01 AM

[Movidude742]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 11:34am

Hands on a Hard Body. I saw the 2nd preview and there was a fair bit of bloat to it and moments where the pace really slowed things down. I didn't dislike it, but I knew parts were not working.

I got a comp to later preview and they changed a song, and cut a scene, turned another song into a book scene, and it turned into a really enjoyable show. ended up seeing it a few more times including closing night

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 12:17pm

Matilda. I didn't care for it at all the first time I saw it. But I didn't have good seats and I couldn't hear well and figured I would give it another chance since so many people loved it.....and I liked it more the second time when I sat much closer. That said, I was invited a 3rd time and here I am a number of times later.

I think Matilda is a show that the more you know before hand the better, because then you can appreciate the intelligence behind it and the clever writing and dialogue ..which is often lost first time out. I also feel that I can now just sort of tune out the elements that I don't care for because I know they are coming and I can look past them awaiting what I do enjoy. The cast changes each time I see it also so I enjoy seeing what diff actors bring to the show...some are truly worth the return trip for sure.

I don't think anyone should HAVE TO work this hard to enjoy a show mind you (and that's a flaw in itself for Matilda IMO)...but in my case, that was the way it was.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 12:33pm

I didn't really understand Sunday In the park with George at first, but once I did I absolutely loved it. I still have problems with Company. The music is wonderful, but George Furth's book is confusing and horribly flawed in places.
I had to see Evita three times before I enjoyed it and it still has it's flaws.
I actually didn't like POTO as much the second time I saw it. The music seemed repetitive all of a sudden. Beautiful... but repetitive.

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 2:47pm

OUR TOWN: The first time I experienced this, I just DIDN'T get it. I was IN it, and I still didn't get it. It took seeing a really well-directed production, staring, of all things, Middle Schoolers(!) to change my mind. What can I say, they were talented kids.

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 3:06pm

When I saw BKLYN:The Musical, I thought it was a really bad show.

The more I thought about it, I realized it left me traumatized and scarred for life.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 3:56pm

Legally Blonde. I thought the Broadway production was cute and okay. When I saw it in London, it was fantastic and became one of my favorites.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 3:59pm

I saw the original cast of the Lion King and grew to hate it by the end. Everybody loves the opening and I loved when the father's head appeared in the sky. But I just hated everything else about it.

Then the tour came through town and somebody gave me two tickets he couldn't use and I wouldn't have taken them at all but my boyfriend wanted to see the refurbished Opera House so we went. I still think the endless material with the little kids should be cut in half at least, but the rest of it was pretty good. Homophobic villain and all.

[Alix]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 4:18pm

Positive change: The Threepenny Opera. I saw the 2006 Roundabout production (I know, I know) and knew basically nothing about the show before I went. I was confused and really didn’t like much of anything about it—with the possible exception of Brian Charles Rooney as Lucy, who was fascinating. I later learned a little about the show’s history, which made me appreciate it more, and discovered the 1994 Donmar Warehouse cast recording, which I love (mostly because the translation is much better). I saw the production at Signature Theatre (Arlington, VA) earlier this summer, which also used the Donmar translation, and thought it was fantastic. I now count it as one of my favorite shows.

Negative change: Rent. Ugh. It makes me sad. Rent used to be easily my second-favorite musical—saw it on Broadway many times and on tour once, listened to the OBCR constantly in high school, and now I find everything about it annoying. I think the movie ruined it for me.


Updated On: 8/4/14 at 04:18 PM

[mjohnson2]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 4:37pm

Alix, If you wanted to see a truly fantastic THREEPENNY, you should have seen the one at BAM in 2011. It was directed by Robert Wilson and was truly amazing.

[Alix]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 4:39pm

^^ Wish I had.

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 5:45pm

SITPWG. I was 16 or 17 when I first saw the PBS version. It struck me as being very okay. I truly didn't understand the hype. It had a few nice songs and lot of blah, to me. Fast forward to June 2006. I had been out of undergrad for about a month. I was in London with family as a graduation present and I found myself at a crossroads: try to make a living in the arts as a dancer or hang up my shoes and get a stable job.

My parents opted to go see Phantom and I went alone to see Sunday, which the concierge at our hotel told me was "life changing." His exact words. Something about watching that show, in that state of mind, at that time in my life all made sense. I understood the struggle and joy the story was telling. It clicked. I ended up sitting in my sear crying a few minutes before I left because I was just moved by the beauty of it all.

Ever since then, it's made sense and I understand what people saw and thought. And no matter what, the song "Sunday" moves me to tears. Such a beautiful song.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 11:13pm

Les Misérables for me. I saw the show in London and was bored out of my mind, but then I enjoyed the show more for whatever reason when I saw the US tour. (I know, blasphemy. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself.)

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/4/14 at 11:40pm

I would agree somewhat about MENAGERIE - it's not a text I personally have much love for, but the recent revival was about as stunning an interpretation as I could ever hope for. I find that text holds me at a distance, which I think is deliberate, it's a cold, alienating story... but that Gentleman Caller's scene was as vibrant and electrifying as any scene in all of NY theatre last year.

When I first watched BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, I took a friend as a gratitude for having taken me to LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage. I found that, as two fans of JRB, we were generally more optimistic than the rather ho-hum audience reception we felt around us. We acknowledged there was work to be done, it was early in previews, but we thought there was promise if they just sharpened the story down to its main parts and deepened the characters. When I went back with comps towards the end of the run, I found to my dismay that, while they had tightened the show, they had done no deepening of the characters at all. They still were gloriously-voiced cardboard cutouts of human beings to my eyes. The music I had already taken to, and on second viewing I was able to view the show the music serves and realize that my ears had deceived me; there was less there than the sum of its aesthetically pleasing parts.

[ZiggyCringe]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 3:01am

"Woman on the Verge...."

I saw the original production early in previews, and thought it was a mess. It wasn't until the OBC came out that I realized it was one of the smartest scores ever written for the Broadway stage. I'm really looking forward to the London production.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 9:13am

Les Mis.

I saw the fourth performance of the OBC after it opened, and I was bored to tears. The guy next to me fell asleep and started snoring! The only person who had any real energy and was interesting on stage was Frances Rufelle. Everybody else sounded good, but was pretty much dead. It was slow and ponderous. And slow. And also slow.

About 15 years later, I figured the statute of limitations was up, and I tried a touring company in L.A. I had a friend in it, so I wanted to see her and say hello. Plus the ticket was free, so why not?

I liked it so much better. I began to see a little of what the fuss was about with a younger cast with more energy and passion.

It's still not one of my favorite shows, but I don't think it's terrible anymore. I also thought the film adaptation was very good.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 9:27am

The truth is that my opinion of a show always changes, at least marginally, based on seeing multiple productions. Sure there are some plays and musicals that I love or don't at the core. But I never have precisely the same view of the material when I've seen multiple takes on it.

For me the biggest change was The Real Thing. The Irons/Close to Dillane/Ehle differential was a 180. In the original I didn't like any of thee people (Cynthia Nixon the sole exception, and she had one scene) and couldn't have cared less about how they felt about each other, let alone whether they could trust those feelings. In the revival, I fell in love with everyone on the stage and couldn't help caring deeply about their falling in and out of love with each other and their wondering what if anything was real.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 9:49am

Les Miserables.

Blame that monstrosity that is currently taking up good space over at the Imperial.

[hanschens]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 11:05am

I'm another one for Les Mis.

I used to adore the show (and have seen it more times than I'm willing to admit) but the last few times I have been to see the show I have been left feeling absolutely nothing and wishing that I could have gone to see something else. Saying that, I didn't find the current revival completely awful, but I can count the things I liked about it on one hand.

I don't what has happened to change my mind. It could have been the previous two London casts (who were horrendously subpar save for a few cast members), the movie ruining it or if I have just simply seen it too much.

[James885]

Posted: 8/5/14 at 11:10am

Wicked. First time I saw it on tour, I was blown away.

When I saw it again in London a few years later all the flaws in the story and in the score were much more apparent.

[hanabana]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 12:36pm

This does not really count since I only saw the show once, but I completely changed my opinion about Once after seeing the show. I listened to the cast recording, saw the promotion clips, and the Tony performance, and did not think the show would be interesting at all. I had no desire whatsoever to see the show, and thought it would be a very generic love story. Then, last weekend, I finally decided to go and check it out. It was amazing, I loved the show and thought it was very engaging. And now, I am appreciating the cast recording so much more. I would happily go back to see it again.