Go into show blind or music memorized?

[James Kerrigan2]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:21pm

When you see a broadway musical do you prefer going in blind or having listened to the cast album many times?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:22pm

Blind.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:28pm

Sometimes I go blind but most of the time I go into a show with at least almost or the entire music memorized by listening to cast recordings.

[James Kerrigan2]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:30pm

Same with me I usually try to go in blind but then find myself listening to the cast album on repeat there both a different experience.

I'm going in partially blind for Anastasia and Carousel having been exposed to some of the songs from the show already. 

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:31pm

Depends on the show, but have a general idea of the music so you know if you'll like it or not. Simple.

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:43pm

Depends on the show. As of lately I've been going in blind because the shows I'm seeing are in previews and have no cast recording yet.

[Danielle49]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:50pm

The less I know about the show, the more I tend to enjoy it. Take the last few Best Musicals. I waited a year for Hamilton and knew every word, leaving me less wowed than I would have been otherwise. I went into Dear Evan Hansen assuming I wouldn’t like it because I had heard tons about it and only liked two of the songs - I may have enjoyed it had I gone in blind. On the other hand, I saw The Band’s Visit knowing nothing and fell in love from the last row.

The same goes for plays I’ve read versus plays I haven’t.

[Danielle0314]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 9:53pm

Show dependent. I went in blind for Waitress and Anastasia and both shows blew me away. Aladdin, Frozen, Lion King, Newsies, Beauty and the Beast I knew the movie songs but not the added extras. Phantom, Les Miz, and Hamilton I knew all of it prior.

[yesraccoons]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 10:06pm

It can be helpful if you can’t understand what people are singing. I saw the Great Comet blind the first time and only knew the plot because my friend explained due to my inability to understand everything they were saying. I saw it second time with songs memorized and understood it and enjoyed it much more.

[green waver]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 10:45pm

   I prefer to know the score in advance.I don't like straining to catch all the lyrics, especially when they're intricate and essential to the plot. I refuse to put on the headsets. It's kind of a moot point at the last two musicals I've seen-Hello Dolly and Carousel. If you love musical theater, it's hard to imagine being unfamiliar with them. I left Carousel complaining that they omitted Theres Nothing So Bad for a Woman!

[BroadwayNoob]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 11:07pm

I have seen 11 shows and gone in to all but 4 blind. (DEH, Cats, CATCF, and SpongeBob). I really enjoyed myself more at the shows I went in to blind more because they didn't have to live up to any expectation. Also, when they start to sing a song I know I find myself tuning out since there isn't a need for me to pay attention to lyrics I already know.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 11:34pm

I have met multiple people who were disappointed in Hamilton because they went in knowing every word. I went in blind (before the album was even out) and it was one of the most insane theatrical experiences of my life. I gasped audibly when it was revealed Angelica was in love with Alexander.

I will always say go in BLIND. No matter what, it's so much more valuable to experience something for the first time in the space, live.

[Wick3]

Posted: 8/22/18 at 11:41pm

To me it depends. I normally watch a musical via rush or lottery or discounted ticket the first time I see a show and I always see those blind (when paying less than $50 I'm ok with that.)

If I loved the experience, I'd then pay full price ticket (or discounts if there are any out there) to see it again from the seat that I want to see it from. By then i would have listened to the cast album more or do more research on the show if the cast album isn't out yet; thus making the experience 'worth' the price I paid for it in my mind.

[Theatregeek811]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 12:06am

Blind! Although, I do occasionally listen to a couple of songs off the recording if I'm feeling skeptical about seeing it. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 12:43am

The first time I saw Hamilton was before I knew the music. I adored it, but there is so much coming at you, word-wise, song-wise, performance-wise-- you really had to concentrate to get the story. Seeing it again having basically memorized the cast recording was a total different experience. I could just sit back and let the show's total brilliance (and staging) just wash over me. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 9:33am

yesraccoons said: "It can be helpful if you can’t understand what people are singing. I saw the Great Comet blind the first time and only knew the plot because my friend explained due to my inability to understand everything they were saying. I saw it second time with songs memorized and understood it and enjoyed it much more."

Totally agree. The first time I saw a touring production of Phantom many years ago, we didn't have great seats and I struggled to follow the plot. I often could not understand the lyrics due to the musical style and the fact that there are so many tracks during which multiple people (sometimes as many as eight) sing different lyrics at the same time. I subsequently read the libretto and saw the 2004 film, which was disappointing, but helped me understand the story.

[robskynyc]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 9:51am

Owen22 said: "The first time I saw Hamilton was before I knew the music. I adored it, but there is so much coming at you, word-wise, song-wise, performance-wise-- you really had to concentrate to get the story. Seeing it again having basically memorized the cast recording was a total different experience. I could just sit back and let the show's total brilliance (and staging) just wash over me."

^ my best friend said the exact same thing. I went in knowing the music, and therefore the story, and he went in blind. He said he didnt really enjoy it cause he was focusing so hard on trying to listen to what was happening.

[kmissa]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 10:36am

I always go in blind. I can't imagine knowing all the songs, then I feel like I would have high expectations. 

[NievesG]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 11:05am

For me, I prefer to go in and just enjoy the experience without worrying too much. It's almost always a fun surprise anyway.

That being said, I listened the AVENUE Q recording for a long time before I saw the show off-Broadway and seeing it in person didn't diminish the music or my appreciation of it. So, perhaps it depends on the show and how one relates to it?

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 11:18am

Usually I prefer to go in blind but that was a mistake for me at Hamilton. I didn’t have the best seat, it was early on and the acoustics were a little iffy.... and I spent half the show trying to figure out what was said. I think I would have enjoyed more if I knew the words ahead of time.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 11:45am

This is a conversation I have often with my friends, and I usually tend to be in the minority, but I hate going into shows blind. Every show in recent memory that I've seen going in blind I truly have not enjoyed as much as ones where I'm prepared. When I'm seeing a show blind, I spend so much time analyzing the story and trying to understand the lyrics and plot, and I form split-second opinions that taint my experience.

For example: I loathed Mean Girls when I saw it in previews. I hated the music and the storytelling. However, now that I'm extremely familiar with the cast album and have accepted the terms of the world the writers built, I'm much more willing to enjoy it as it is. The same can be said for Dear Evan Hansen, in my case.

So, yeah. I hate going into musicals blind. Between not being able to catch all the lyrics and keep up really effects my experience. 

[John Adams]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 12:32pm

I like the thrill of hearing a score for the first time, but the drawback for me is that if I really LOVE the score, I'm far too impatient to withstand the wait for the OC album to be released. 

For that reason, my mental health is improved when I see shows that already have a cast album released. 

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 12:48pm

The only show I regret going in blind for was The Great Comet. 

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 12:52pm

This is why I like seeing a show twice. The first time, I go in blind. Then I read about the show online and listed to the music, and then I see it again with that knowledge.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/23/18 at 1:08pm

Depends.  With an intensely lyric-heavy score like Hamilton or Pacific Overtures, I find that knowing the score is a huge advantage especially if like those two shows, the score is sung-through.

If it's a more old-fashioined kind of book show with very different kind of lyrics, I'd prefer to go blind.  A Bock and Harnick type show for instance, in which the songs are contained within book scenes and the lyrics and throughline of them is transparent at first hearing.  Of course, I grew up listening to those scores long before I saw those shows, but...