(no subject)

[heidi]

powersh20works posted, in a reply to the previous post in my LJ:

Come to think of it, I didn't fully like Sweeney until I saw a live production. There's quite a bit of stuff I haven't liked until I saw it on its feet. Conversely, though, there's been much that I liked upon hearing that I didn't like live. Any similar experiences?

In my "grown up" years, I've only listened to three cast albums that I hadn't already seen the show for:
Assassins
The Life (which I'm not sure ever made it to Broadway anyway)
March of the Falsettos (which I didn't see, technically, as I saw Falsettoland (with the amazing Mandy Patinkin))

And I loved Assassins on cd and on the stage (college performance, technically) and I adored all of Falsettoland, which was terrific as March is really only about half of it.

When I was younger, of course, I listened to my parents' soundtracks for A Chorus Line, Grease and Saturday Night Fever before I saw them on stage/in the movie theaters. Hearing A Chorus Line in context changed the way I thought about the songs - I'd heard it when I was 6, and didn't see it until I was 16. A totally different universe! Grease I saw only a few months after first hearing the songs, and since I'd listened to it on 8-trak, I initially heard them in such a different order than they were used in the film. But as the first time I saw Grease, I saw it from "Sandy (Stranded At The Drive-In)" onward, and then immediately saw it from the begining, I think my view on Grease will always be a little out of kilter. I mean, I knew they were back together in the end before I really saw how/why they broke up. And, again, I was six.

I didn't see Saturday Night Fever until I was 19 or 20, at college, while quite tipsy, and I've never really enjoyed it. Love the music. Not so much about the film, probably because it was such a slice of the times - and given that I was, you guessed it, SIX - I sort of missed the times.

Anyone else want to answer the question?

Comments

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

Let me preface my comment by saying: there are very few musicals that I don't like. The newer ones, like Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You, that are just compilations of previously released rock songs, no. Those hardly even count, in my book. (Although I will say that I do like the re-staging of The Who's "Tommy" as a musical. Haven't seen it, but have the cast album.)

When my parents got tickets for Les Miserables and Phantom (which were sold in packages, with a "to be set" date for Phantom depending on how long Les Mis ran), they got the original cast recordings for both, so that I'd know the music when we went. I loved both of them at the time (although I've since gone way off Phantom.) Context: I think I was ten when we saw Les Mis, which may account for the fact that I burst into tears the moment Javert appeared on stage, and didn't stop until after the performance was finished. (When, before seeing it live, I had finally listened to the fourth "side" of our cast LP, I had burst into tears at "Dog Eat Dog". "Turning" and "Empty Chairs" still make me cry, but Javert doesn't scare me any more.)

I almost always listen to albums before I see a show - although I didn't for "The Secret Garden", because I think it was out here almost before the CD was. We were at a preview, and they hadn't sorted the sound out yet. I bought the Broadway cast album (with Mandy Patinkin) purely for "Lily's Eyes" and I'm glad I did, because the music really is beautiful, The sound had been so bad at the performance we couldn't tell just how lovely the music was.

Interestingly, I've already decided to go see The Producers when it comes out next year, even though I haven't heard a note of the music. But it's had such good reviews, and has such an amusing plot, that the decision to go see it is almost a no-brainer for me.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

I've spent all these years thinking I was the only one who sobbed through lesmiz, which I've seen, I think, 17 times. However, I cried when Fantine died and didn't stop until about an hour after the show. And that was even with the cadbury flake my dad got me at intermission - we saw it in london.

I remember waiting for secret garden to come out on cd - i'd worn down my videotape from the tonys and trekked to nyc to see it a second time because I just had to hear it again. I love quartet, too, and of course wick and... Oh, everything.

And, of course, if you go back to the book, one must wonder if jkr took her lily's green eyes from the book, or perhaps just the description of the blond-haired, grey-eyed, pale young rajah - for Draco. Well, minus the curls, that is.

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

one must wonder if jkr took her lily's green eyes from the book

Certainly! While reading the HP books, and fic, these days, I often find myself humming "Lily's Eyes"...it can get most distracting.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Or for those who ship snape/lily and see the whole lovetriangle thing going on... Can't you just see Dr Craven being so horrible to Mary and Colin the way Snape is to Harry?

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I've listened to a lot of cast recordings (grew up on them) but I never really liked Damn Yankees (saw it with Jerry Lewis as the Devil, and though I can't stand him, he was hysterical) and Godspell until I saw them. No idea why.

[airemay.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I didn't fully like Sweeney until I saw a live production. There's quite a bit of stuff I haven't liked until I saw it on its feet. Conversely, though, there's been much that I liked upon hearing that I didn't like live. Any similar experiences?

I wasn't really fond of the music from Producers. Although it was so popular and I kept hearing it over and over from my friends (I must have heard Springtime for Hitler a million times), it never grabbed me the way other shows do. I don't really know why. I didn't have the cast recording before I saw it, and I still don't have it. However, when I saw it, I was very impressed. The lyrics are very witty and creative. So many of the tunes are catchy.

Someone to Watch Over Me is one of my favorite songs in musical theater. Not only is it in my range (for the most part), I just love it. I had downloaded some of the music as it was a possible choice for a school musical. Sure, the music was good, but I wasn't all for it. I saw the production that my friends did and I liked it a bit more. It was interesting seeing how everything fit together. Still, I wasn't all that passionate about it. Then, my school did Crazy for You as a musical theater entry for a theater festival. We didn't do the whole show, obviously, but we did do about 10 minutes of things. We sang about 4-5 songs. I really fell in love with the show then.

Thankfully, I haven't had the problem of not liking a show live, as I haven't seen that many that I listen to faithfully. The only thing I can thing of is an very amateur production of Les Mis. It was awful and it made me hate the show. I need to see it professionally now so that I can erase that first impression.

[bowdlerized.livejournal.com]

Hmm, for me it seems to be more the opposite. Something will sound good on CD, and then I'll be really disappointed by a weak book. Examples would be nice, I guess: Blood Brothers, Flower Drum Song. Never do I want to see either of those shows again, though I don't mind listening to the cast albums.

I do agree that Sweeney Todd is much more impressive on stage than on CD, though I love it either way. :)

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

I got the soundtrack for My Favorite Year because I was curious about what they did with it. It had a very short run on B'way, but did have Tim Curry! And I practically have the movie memorised.

Oy. Oy veh iz mir. Pardon the expression, but what a dog. They gutted the plot.

Oh, and Mamma Mia! might be collected rock songs, but it does have a nice fluffy plot and the performances are wonderfully energetic. It's really worth seeing -- the familiarity actually adds to the fun since you have half the audience humming along.

[zorb]

I can think of times it's gone both ways. The problem is that I get too attached to my first exposure to the show, so that if things change in the second one, it just doesn't feel right.

I saw the film version of The Scarlet Pimpernel in my French class in middle school, and after the musical came out, I fell in love with the songs. When it came here and I finally got to see it onstage, I was slightly disappointed - I think we got an abridged version, and the changes in lyrics and style threw me off.

Oliver! worked the other way. I'd only seen the cartoon version (with the cat *grins*) and I hadn't read the book, and when I heard the songs, I wasn't too excited. Seeing it onstage in, oh, seventh grade, changed my mind because I got to know the characters better.

[praetorianguard.livejournal.com]

The music is generally determinative for me, especially since I've directed enough to revisualize a stage production. But if the music is bad on the disk, I'm not going to like the show.

There are a couple shows with passable music that I liked much better after seeing them (Assassins, Scarlet Pimpernel) and one with passable music that I liked much less after seeing it (Jekyll and Hyde), but generally, what I think of the music is what I think of the show. Particularly since I dislike musicals in which the music doesn't advance the plot. :D

[rachet.livejournal.com]

I remember the first time I saw Saturday Night Fever. It was only about two years ago or so. And I wanted everyone to DIE. I hated all the characters. The only part I liked was the dancing.

[sundancekid.livejournal.com]

I didn't get Rent until I'd seen the show. I'd only heard a couple of the songs and I'd read a summary, but I have to see a show to really understand it. Loved it once I saw, though.

And I watched the movie of Jesus Christ Superstar this week, after hearing all the music, and didn't like it as much as I liked the music, partly because it is the most dated movie of all time.

I haven't seen nearly enough live musicals. But I've already bookmarked the Dallas, Austin, and Houston pages on broadwayacrossamerica.com, so... :D