Do people treat you like an oddity...

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:33am

... because of your love for musical theater? In my life I have had no one with whom I could share my love and passion for Broadway and musicals in general. There are a couple of relatives I take, or rather drag, to shows. They don't care for musicals and I know they're just humoring me when they join me. When I meet new people and they ask me what type of music I listen to, I'm hesitant to reply truthfully because I don't want to scare them away or be the brunt of their ridicule. (That's been my experience.) The truth is, that's all I listen to. In my CD collection I only have musical shows and nothing else, the reason being the songs speak to me (especially the poignant ones) and they're cleverly written, too. Pop, Country, R&B, etc. don't possess the witty rhymes or the beautiful music. This passion, for which I no longer have shame, is one more thing that alienates me from the other "normal" people. I've always been introveted to begin with, but add being gay (I have met other homosexuals, but we had nothing else in common) and a love for musicals and you've got yourself a reluctant loner. Are there others who have found it difficult to relate to people, or had difficulty having others relate to you, because of your love for musical theater?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:39am

Yes. Occasionally people driving by will throw eggs at me when I'm in line at the box office.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 4:16am

Is this true, Lizzie? Or is that your dry humor again? If it's true I apologize for my suspicion. Either way, I value a sense of humor, so I'm not offended if you are kidding.

[Pip-boy]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 4:24am

I am also fairly introverted and used to have difficulty finding folk to go with me to the theatre, so I would often go on my own to see things. At first I felt very self-conscious about that, and almost embarrassed, but looking around the theatres and seeing so many others who were clearly there on their own certainly helped get rid of those feelings.

I am lucky nowadays that my boyfriend loves musical theatre, so much so that we are travelling again to NY (from London) to cram in a whole week of shows on Broadway. Oh, and maybe do a bit more sight-seeing, too! There is also a small group of us who are close friends who go to theatres both regionally and in the West End which really makes for a nice atmosphere when discussing what we've seen etc and that sort of came about my me suggesting we try the theatre instead of the cinema which we used to go to every now and then. They now suggest it more readily themselves which is good.

[BrianWilsonFan]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 6:06am

Are you kidding? A Brian Wilson/Beach Boy fan with a love of the musical theatre, i've had more glazed looks and seen the whites of more eyes than i care to remember and i go back a bit...

My family and friends have the strongest eye rolling muscles of anyone i know!

[greencup]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 7:31am

I've never really had that problem. Most of my friends are people that I have met doing shows and they've become like family, so the majority of the people I hang out with are involved in musical theatre and share the same love for it as I do. My other friends aren't as involved, but they support me. They may not own all of the obc recordings, or know the names of all the big broadway actors, but they make an effort to at least act interested whenever I'm talking about something theatre related. Haha. I guess I have great friends!

[smiles]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 8:57am

yeah I've expereienced my fair share of weird looks........mostly because the closest broadway theatre is a ten hour drive away, so not many people care about them. I want to go to NY in a few years and see a bunch of them......I just have to find friends who loves musicals a third as much as I do (or who wouldn't mind being dragged along!)

[Katurian2]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 9:02am

haha- No kidding. That is understatement. I say Patti LuPone is my idol and hero, and a chorus of "Who?"'s ring out from my friends. Pathetic. And when I wear my Wicked shirt with "Defy Gravity" on it, people think I'm some kind of porn star.

[FranklinShepard-Inc.]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 9:06am

lol, I'm no oddity and no, if people don't agree with my taste in music, they don't treat me bad for that, just don't show too much interest in it.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 9:40am

"Pop, Country, R&B, etc. don't possess the witty rhymes or the beautiful music."

Yeah, something tells me you've really done an exhaustive search in other genres. Toby Keith, registered Democrat, wrote, "I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm good once as I ever was." That's just as witty as Sondheim.

Here's a clue. Stop positioning yourself as an outsider and a weirdo and a "reluctant loner." Stop dragging people you think are "humoring" you to shows they don't want to see. Learn to be able to go -- and more importantly -- enjoy going to see shows you want to see by yourself. When you can stand to be by yourself, you might attract other people who want to spend time with you.

From what I got from your post, I certainly wouldn't have any desire to be your friend.

And more importantly, BROADEN your horizons. There is oh, so much more to life than musical theatre.

[astonishing1985]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 9:46am

Uh, yeah. I grew up in a city in the middle of nowhere where there is no musical theatre so I could never talk to anyone.
Thank god for the internet :) and my boyfriend who actually likes taking me to Broadway shows and doesn't mind talking about it either :)

[Becky2]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 9:53am

I like such a wide variety of music that I get strange looks just for that. I listen to industrial, metal, Broadway, opera, classical, indie, reggae, punk... It's an interesting mix.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 10:15am

Namo, I could not have said it better!

[stephz]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 10:26am

I have never had a problem with this. I am lucky enough to have two amazing best friends who are just as obsessed with I am. When I tell other people that I love musical theatre, they actually get interested and want to know more about it.

[livelife]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 10:46am

my friends arent really into musical theatre, i once wrote to andrew lloyd webber after i went to nyc at christmas, and i got a reply, i told my friend if she had heard of andrew lloyd webber and she said "yeh he's dead isnt he?" ....lol

Posted: 4/5/06 at 11:25am

My friends lovingly refer to me as having "Broadway Tourettes"

[jasonf]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 1:55pm

I don't have any friends who are 1/16th as obsessed with theatre as I am, but my friends like going to shows, I can plan trips with my students to shows (advantage of being a teacher), and I have plenty of other interests that I can talk about with people. I know when to bring out the Broadway guns, and when to keep them silenced. You'll learn...

[Jade]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 2:52pm

Katurian2, I totally get what you're saying about the Wicked sweater. The one time I wore it, I was treated to an entire day of people using it as an excuse to stare at my chest.

Anyway, on to the topic at hand. I don't know anyone who loves musical theatre as much as I do so in that respect, yes, I do feel like an oddity. It's actually got to the stage that when I meet anyone new I don't talk about musicals at all for fear they'll instantly dismiss me as a freak. It's only after someone has got to know me that I start going on about musicals. I tend to see shows alone, because I'd rather do that than drag someone along and spend the whole time worrying that they're bored and that they'd rather be doing something else.

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:12pm

I have been called obsessed. (Even by someone on this board who doesn't even know me!) But I don't really get looks. It is almost the opposite. With the work I do here at our theatre complex and my "love" (not obsession) for theatre, everyone comes to me for advice on what to see or if they want tickets to a show or want to know where to sit in the theatres here. It's rather nice but they don't realize that I don't have as much pull at the complex as they think I do! I don't work there (I am a volunteer Chairman) but most think I do.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:23pm

Well, considering the amount of time and money I devote to musical theater, I would consider myself a more than healthy fan, but I have had similiar obsessions with a number of things in my time on this earth. People may also think I'm strange because I read excessively, or watch a lot of cartoons, among numerous other things.

In other words, any facet of your personality that plays so big a part of who you are that another person may not relate to will cause them to find you strange. It is up to the other person to be mature and perhaps even open to the interests of another person, although not everybody is going to or has to like the same things.

So don't sweat it, whoever you are that worries about being an oddity because you like something millions of other people in the world like, but doesn't necessarily have the mass popularity of American Idol.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:26pm

FindingNamo, thanks for the feedback. I will evaluate all that you said. Maybe I should have written, "In my opinion, Pop, Country, R&B, etc. don't possess the witty rhymes or beautiful music." The way I initially wrote it, stated it as fact, when it is actually only my opinion. To be clear, I have listened to those types of music, but they just don't do it for me, so it's not like I haven't tried. By the way, is Toby Keith really a Democrat?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:30pm

yes...but only on bww.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:32pm

um, yes...outside of bww.

[ThePinballWizard]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 3:34pm

I have occasionally felt like that but it's only been mainly with people who don't have an understanding of it. I told them it's just like having an high interest in sports, cooking, or whatever floats their boat. A great example: I took my partner (who has no experience with musical theater) to see SWEENEY TODD. Keep in mind, Sondheim is a like wine. For someone who is not in musical theater, it is an acquired taste which indeed grows on you. In any case he loved it and was enraptured by it. So much so that he wanted to see Into The Woods, which he also loved. So I think it's just a matter of understanding.

[greencup]

Posted: 4/5/06 at 4:52pm

Thank you Namo! I'm so tired of people feeling sorry for themselves. Get over it! Who cares if people don't share the same intersts as you....the world would be a pretty boring place if everyone liked the same things. And you know that if everyone started getting into theatre, you would find something else to get obsessed with that few people like, so you could go back to your self pity "I'm too cool for the masses" jargon.

Ok...that was a little harsh, I suppose. Sorry.