Shows that Seem Better on the Cast Recording than Seeing it Live

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

I heard it often from people when they discover a show's score, they wonder, how the heck could that show close so early, not win the ____ Tony, why did it get middling/bad reviews, etc. I was wondering what shows do you think work much better as a listening experience than seeing it live on stage told with a narrative?

This happened to me with Taboo. The score is one of my favorites ever, but from everything I've heard, the show was a mess to sit through. I don't quite agree with this, but I remember hearing somebody described seeing On the Twentieth Century in the 1970s and saying it's a show where you think the score is brilliant, the singing is brilliant, the writing is sharp, and the acting is fantastic...and then you see it live and it just doesn't have that impact (they actually said something much harsher). 

I had this moment a few times and most recently, I decided to download the London Cast recording of American Psycho and really loved the score. However, this time I think I understand why it didn't receive more praise. I'm not really a fan of the movie nor of Bret Easton Ellis so I can see the material of the musical not being for everybody. I also saw how some of my favorite numbers were staged thanks to YouTube, and though I am very sure it works much better live, I can't say I was thrilled with the staging. 

[Sondheimite]

Taboo is a good example.

My go to example used to be the original broadway cast of Merrily We Roll Along.  But I never actually saw the original production live.

My go to example now is the most recent Carousel Revival.  

[Emmaloucbway]

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown!

[jkstheatrescene]

Chess.  Though I enjoy the show, especially the recent Kennedy Center version. Based on the score you'd think it would be a world-wide phenomenon like Les Miz.

[Owen22]

"A New Brain"

[Mister Matt]

Based on the original Broadway productions, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

I would also think War Paint would be in this category, except I'm not really a fan of the music of War Paint even on the cast recording. Shame because Grey Gardens is one of my favorite scores/shows ever.

[ShowToonz]

Rags

[jbp1232]

The recording of “Big Fish” is one of my favorite recordings out there, but the production itself didn’t thrill me as much.

[SomeOtherMe]

Jekyll & Hyde. I've always loved the score deeply but saw it live and didn't really enjoy it.

[WestEndGal]

Aida for me 

[qolbinau]

I don’t understand why everyone keeps complaining about the Carousel revival when nearly all of the performances seem perfect on the cast recording. But I can only take their word for it.

[Impossible2]

qolbinau said: "I don’t understand why everyone keeps complaining about the Carousel revival when nearly all of the performances seem perfect on the cast recording. But I can only take their word for it."

There was nothing wrong with the singing or orchestrations, they was amazing...the rest of it however...

[therosenpants]

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "I had this moment a few times and most recently, Idecided to download the London Cast recording ofAmerican Psychoand really loved the score. However, this time I think I understand why it didn't receive more praise. I'm not really a fan of the movie nor of Bret Easton Ellis so I can see the material of the musical not being for everybody. I also saw how some of my favorite numbers were staged thanks to YouTube, and though I am very sure it works much better live, I can't say I was thrilled with the staging."

Having seen the show live, I'm actually surprised you enjoyed the OLC as well as you did, because the Broadway cast is leaps and bounds better than Matt Smith & co. The music itself is the largely the same but tightened and strengthened by the partially live band (parts of the tracks were pre-recorded with the small rock band sitting in a box, which I could see well from my vantage point; there was even a snafu during the opening of act 2 which caused the band to get off track that made the distinctions clearer). And the dreadful "Oh Sri Lanka" was cut, thankfully. And needless to say, Benjamin Walker is a far superior singer than Smith, and in my opinion looked more like the part. But there were also some lyric and score changes that really amplified the show's themes, which makes me still peeved that they didn't get to record a cast album. 

That said, I don't think the cast album is bad. In fact AP was a success in London, compared to it being a flop after about 30 performances on BW. I think it needed a smaller, more intimate theatre to really work well, but it was at the Schoenfeld in NY. I don't know if the cast album really represents what goes on stage well, as the visuals are incredibly integral to the story. 

As for shows that have a better cast album than being on stage, Side Show is always my number one. The score is thrilling, and neither the original nor the revival staging really captured audiences.

Another one is Love Never Dies actually, for me, but it's not just the album v. stage production, but plot et all v. score. The score is absolutely beautiful, but the rest doesn't do it justice. 

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

the OBC recording of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is so much better on record than any production i have seen of this musical "flop"...this is Sondheim at his very best and the book(s) by George Furth do not do justice for the score!

[Huss417]

First two that came to mind are Rags and Steel Pier.

[yfs]

Rags for sure, and, if you're into older shows, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which sounds gorgeous on CD and is a show that just doesn't work in any way. And I would go out on a limb and say Sweet Charity -- another show that never quite works in the theater for me, but has a terrific score. 

[GavestonPS]

Sondheimite said: "My go to exampleused to be the original broadway cast of Merrily We Roll Along. But I never actually saw the original production live...."

The original Merrily--hell, even the revised Merrily--is a great example. Keep using it.

My examples of late would be The Scottsboro Boys and Grey Gardens. Great recordings, but in the former case I thought the show itself told us nothing we couldn't learn from Wikipedia, and in the latter case, I don't know exactly, but the tour with York & Buckley just seemed dull. (It didn't help that Buckley sang her part beautifully, but was up and bouncing around like she was 20 years too young and doing a concert.) I've seen a bootleg of the OBC and I'm sure the original cast was better.

 

[Lot666]

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "I decided to download the London Cast recording of American Psycho and really loved the score. However, this time I think I understand why it didn't receive more praise. I'm not really a fan of the movie nor of Bret Easton Ellis so I can see the material of the musical not being for everybody. I also saw how some of my favorite numbers were staged thanks to YouTube, and though I am very sure it works much better live, I can't say I was thrilled with the staging."

I bought a ticket to the Broadway production of American Psycho more out of curiosity than anything else (I had no prior exposure to the score) and ended up liking it a lot more than expected. This was largely due to the effective staging and a great cast, notably Benjamin Walker. I very much wish there had been a Broadway cast recording, as I like Mr. Walker's vocals much more than those of Matt Smith (although I loved Mr. Smith as an actor in Doctor Who). I wish it had run longer so that I could've seen it once more,

[another sloe eyed vamp]

Sweet Smell of Success - I didn't see it live, but the recording and score are so beautiful, I think that if the production had been anywhere near that good, it would have gotten all the awards, much better press, and been revived a few times.

[quizking101]

I feel like both have their merits.

The cast recording can be retouched and done over multiple times until it sounds exactly like the writers and producers want it to.

But with live performance, you get to enjoy not just the score, but also any vocal nuances or choices they might choose that night, or any goofs that they had.

Plus, with regard to replacements and understudies, if someone is so mentally linked to the cast recording, they might not be able to appreciate the performance going on in front of them and it invites (sometimes) bad comparison

[Dfgtoronto]

This post interests me because I have had the experience more than once of liking but not loving a show in the theater, and then later on, falling in love with it after listening to the recording a few times. Hearing the recording enables me to catch and appreciate things I might have missed, and having the images from the live performance in my head has helped to bring the recording to life each time I listen to it. Having said all of that, I don't think the problem is with the production. I just think I need time to absorb a show before I can fully appreciate it. It's the same for me with classical music. Years ago after seeing the show Amadeus, I randomly bought a recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto 23. After listening to it a few times without being terribly affected, I suddenly got the chills and thought to myself - this is the most beautiful piece I've ever heard. My dad on the other hand knows instantly if likes something or not.

[Br0adway]

Hamilton for me.

But if we’re going like live better than cast recording: Once On This Island. However, since seeing the show, the cast recording is now one of my favorites.

[bwayphreak234]

Bandstand.

[SomethingPeculiar]

MACK AND MABEL and NICK AND NORA by all accounts (I saw neither...but both have wonderful albums)