Are you more of a musical, or Play person?

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 1:57pm

No judgements either way, but I was wondering where people stood on this! Lately for me I've been enjoying plays more. Sometimes for me with musicals, the music can either elevate the show and continue the momentum or it halts it. For me a play is just always non stop and I love it. Obviously both aspects of theatre enthrall me, but lately straight plays have been more my taste. How about everyone else?

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 2:00pm

I’m more for musicals. But these last couple of seasons I have had a more enjoyable time at the theatre with plays. One of best experinces last season was actually the pariasan woman. Not a lot of people enjoyed it, but I had a blast.

But my answer would be I am more of a musical person.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 2:06pm

Musicals, simply because I'm a musician and feel like I inherently understand them in a way that I don't always feel with plays. I can come out of a musical and make an educated assessment about why I liked it or not, whereas a play is more of a gut reaction. 

But I've been seeing more and more plays over the last few years, and have started to appreciate them a lot more! This season in particular... I feel like my wallet is hemorrhaging on play tickets right now, haha. But I'm looking forward to all of them. 

Updated On: 11/14/18 at 02:06 PM

[l0l]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 2:11pm

Way more of into plays than musicals. I'll even go a step further and say that the best stuff is off- and off-off-Broadway. Among the 40 or so shows I've seen in the past year, the best stuff was off-off-Broadway: "1969: The Second Man" at NYTW and "Hitler's Tasters" at IRT Theater.

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 2:16pm

I try to decide based on quality, and whether they sing and dance is sort of just there or not.

But when a musical nails it, it's quite the synchronicity of so many things perfectly lining up that it can move me beyond what a play firing on all cylinders can do.

[Kitsune]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 2:32pm

Definitely musicals. Especially with my local theater scene (Northern California), my bar for being interested in shows is much lower with musicals than plays. It's not really about the quality of either - I just prefer the medium of musicals. 

That being said, the Berkeley Rep production of Angels in America was one of the best things I've seen all year.

[JustReviewingOkay]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 2:38pm

As far as Broadway goes, I'm more of a musical person. Although locally I'm more of a play person, most likely because there aren't a lot of musicals around here. 

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 3:11pm

I started as a musical person, as I got into theatre through choir. Now that I'm in college, I'm a playwright, and I read a lot more plays than I listen to new musicals. However, 90% of music I listen to is musical theatre.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 3:18pm

I’m more into musicals being from California myself and in terms of commercialism. Never been to NYC before. I see more national tours than regional theatre

[ilysespieces]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 3:46pm

Bwayfan292 said: "I’m more for musicals. But these last couple of seasons I have had a more enjoyable time at the theatre with plays. One of best experinces last season was actually the pariasan woman. Not a lot of people enjoyed it, but I had a blast.

But my answer would be I am more of a musical person."

I pretty much came here to make this exact comment. I used to only see musicals with a handful of plays scattered in, but recently I've seen way more plays because there are so many great ones to choose from and I haven't been drawn to as many musicals. 

I still love musicals and I'm excited for a few in the next few months, but if you looked at the shows I bought tickets for in advance (rather than doing digital lotteries for) it's all plays.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 4:51pm

Musicals.  I will see a play if it is a classic or if it is a subject I am interested in.  My last trip to NYC, I only had the opportunity to see two shows.  Both were plays, since there was really no new musicals for me to see, at the time of my visit.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 5:06pm

This is an interesting question for me. It’s funny, before I lived in NYC, I would solely see musicals whenever I visited. I didn’t really keep up with the plays. Now that I live here and see pretty much every show that opens each season, I have found myself enjoying the plays more and more each season. This season and last season I have found the play offerings to be far superior to the musical offerings.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 5:08pm

I'm more of a performing arts person.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 5:14pm

haterobics said: "I try to decide based on quality, and whether they sing and dance is sort of just there or not.

But when a musical nails it, it's quite the synchronicity of so many things perfectly lining up that it can move me beyond what a play firing on all cylinders can do."

 

This is exactly how I feel as well, in fact I would have said almost exactly the same thing if you hadn’t said it first :) 

I have no preference between the two. Musicals, when done really have, have the power to tap into a deeper well of emotion, but it’s very difficult to achieve that level of quality. Plays, for me, tend to be much more reliable - not that I haven’t seen many god-awful plays, but I’m less skeptical going in because it’s just easier to write a good play. 

It’s funny. My play-oriented friends are always surprised when I tell them I came from a more musical theatre background. Meanwhile my musical theatre friends are always surprised to find out about my love of plays. 

 

Updated On: 11/14/18 at 05:14 PM

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 5:18pm

Musicals but I will see plays if they look interesting to me.

[Rainah]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 8:06pm

I'm a musical person, by far

I do have a few plays that I adore and are very close to my heart and I would do/see in a heartbeat. But in general I am not attracted to a play as much as a musical. 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 11/14/18 at 11:35pm

Before my June trip, I would’ve said absolutely musicals, but my three favorite experiences in June were plays (Angels in America, Three Tall Women, The Iceman Cometh). I saw two revivals and one new musical production and the only one I really connected with was Spongebob. Lol. Meanwhile, the five plays I saw all engaged me in some way. It was a real eye opener for me. If I was in NYC right now, I’d see almost exclusively all plays. Granted this all has to do with the lack of quality new Broadway musical productions this season. But the bonus has been that it’s exposed me to great plays. I still see mostly musicals at home and when new musicals that interest me open on Broadway, I’ll see them.

[Lauren2]

Posted: 11/15/18 at 1:51pm

I would say overall I am more of a musical person but right now I am all about the plays. There are so many good plays out right now. Have seen Harry Potter twice and I can tell you that is the best theretrical experience I have ever witnessed!

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 11/15/18 at 1:54pm

Both. Though I'm seeing all plays when I'm back in NYC next weekend.

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/15/18 at 2:10pm

Both.

For the past year or so I have seen more plays. My interest turned to off and off-off Broadway. I have seen some good stuff.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/16/18 at 11:22am

Both. Like most theater people, I got into it through doing musicals in high school and middle school, but became more interested in straight plays during my junior and senior year, and while in college I gradually segued into enjoying seeing and performing both plays and musicals equally. Now as an actor, director, and teacher in my mid-thirties, I do pretty much everything, although in the past few years I've been doing more Shakespeare than anything else, which I never predicted.

I tend to not be particularly interested in song and dance type musicals (that is, the majority of Broadway these days) unless they are particularly brilliant. I think my avatar spells out pretty clearly my preference in musical theater, lol.

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 11/16/18 at 12:15pm

I prefer a good play over a good musical any day but I would rather see a bad musical over a bad play lol

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 11/16/18 at 12:22pm

I’m more of a musical person, but this season in particular I find that I’m moreso enjoying the plays.

[Paterson]

Posted: 11/20/18 at 12:51pm

Broadway Joe said: "I prefer a good play over a good musical any day but I would rather see a bad musical over a bad play lol"

I know what you mean. I love a good play, but a bad play is a much tougher watch than a bad musical.

Overall, I'd say I like both a similar amount for different reasons, but going to see a musical is usually a safer choice, especially if I want to see something with my parents. You usually get to know some of the songs in a musical before you commit to going, so get a feel for whether or not its your thing, and you can find out more of the plot without ruining the experience.   It's much harder to judge whether or not you'll enjoy a play without going to see it.

 

 

[Tom5]

Posted: 11/20/18 at 1:00pm

I prefer the reality of plays because with a play the actors and in a sense the playwright are naked on the stage.