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| When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? | |
| Posted by: mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| For almost all of us, it's been more than 3 months since we've been to the theater. The last time I went 3 months without going to the theater was in 2006, so 14 years ago. I was not as hardcore a theater fan then as I am now. But even before I became hardcore and went all the time, I was a subscriber to a local theater and saw other shows as well; I went at least once every few months for the past 14 years. When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? I'm guessing that for some, it's been quite a long time. |
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| re: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? | |
| Posted by: NewsGuy 11:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| Sadly since August 2018 caching the final performance of Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler. Took an assignment which took me out of town - expecting to be back in the spring of this year right around Tony time looking to let it rip and take in a show each day until I caught up on everything. Now I'm fully remote and not even sure when/if I can get back to NYC let alone the theater at this point. It's all missed dearly so each day I have a glass wine and think of good things and times to eventually come. And then repeat this process another 5 or 6 times until I go to bed. |
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| I think after I saw a preview of "Dance a Little Closer" | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 02:10 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 02:02 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: re: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - NewsGuy 11:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I was so depressed about a show with what seemed like it had everything going for it. A Charles Strouse + Alan Jay Lerner score and book by Lerner, based on Pulitzer Prize winning "Idiot's Delight", starring Len Cariou, fresh off of "Sweeney Todd", Liz Robertson, Lerner's latest wife, who had apparently been excellent in the London "My Fair Lady" and George Rose. Well, aside from what was clearly a lovely title song, and a nice duet for gay lovers on ice skates (one was Brent Barrett), there were lots of problems. Cariou was in bad voice, probably from doing too many 8 times a week performances of Sweeney; it's one of the greatest male performances in a musical I ever saw, but nowadays it's done in opera house maybe no more than 2-3 x week as it's heavy, vocally punishing sing, especially the brilliant way Cariou performed it. Robertson had no stage presence at all and was just kind of ... there, and you know the show was bad when even George Rose came off not that well. It's actually a nice score, but it was buried in an update to the world being on brink of World War 3, and it was just all wrong, plodding and heavy-handed. It opened and closed opening night. It just left a sour memory, so I didn't want to go to the theater for a few months after that. | |
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| re: I think after I saw a preview of "Dance a Little Closer" | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 07:16 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: I think after I saw a preview of "Dance a Little Closer" - PlayWiz 02:02 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| Wow, that is really shocking. I only know Dance a Little Closer from its cast album, which is actually quite good. When I listen to the recording, it's hard to understand why this musical closed after just a single performance. There is way too much talent and good things in it that it doesn't deserve the fate of disasters like Portofino, Café Crown, Buttrio Square, and similar really bad musicals. | |
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| re: I think after I saw a preview of "Dance a Little Closer" | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 07:52 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 07:51 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: re: I think after I saw a preview of "Dance a Little Closer" - BroadwayTonyJ 07:16 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| The recording is very nice, and even while watching it, I could hear some lovely songs, but the execution and writing of the show really was deflating to experience in performance. Any show that made George Rose look bad was bad. It was referred to at the time as "Close a Little Faster", btw. | |
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| re: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? | |
| Posted by: danr 08:14 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I went about 10 or 11 months, because I was dealing with some personal stuff, but also I'd just gotten so tired of being distracted by foul-acting audiences. | |
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| First half of 2011- major knee injury, couldn't sit that long in such tight places. | |
| Posted by: Esther 05:38 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| Before that was in the 80s before I started going to the theater on a regular basis, | |
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| 30 years | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 05:36 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 05:30 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I met my partner in 1989. He re-introduced me to theatre. We started off my seeing the tours that came to Chicago: Les Misérables, Phantom, Cats, and others. By '91 we began going to regional theaters like the Marriott Lincolnshire, Bailiwick, Candlelight, Pheasant Run, and others on the average of at least 1 show per month. Over the last 20 years (or more), we've been seeing 1 or 2 shows per week mostly in Chicago plus in addition as many as 5 or 6 trips to New York per year. | |
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| 40 Years. | |
| Posted by: portenopete 05:17 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| By the time I was 15 I was a regular theatregoer who subscribed to a regional theatre and would regularly attend summer stock and occasional trips to Broadway. By 25 I was making annual trips to London and seeing at least two or three shows a week on average. I've maintained that for the last thirty years, so I would say it's been since the late 1970's that three months went by without my seeing a show. Of course I've enjoyed NT Live at Home and other streaming services which makes up somewhat. A friend in London who is a critic is in his late 80's. 70+ years of theatregoing, 50+ as a critic. 200+ shows a year. 10,000 shows? (Remarkably, he seems to be surviving!) |
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| re: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? | |
| Posted by: MattPhilly 04:47 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I think it's been at least 20 years since I went that long with absolutely no theatre for this long a stretch. Maybe even longer. My last play in NYC was Hangmen on Saturday March 7, matinee. I mulled over seeing an evening show, but decided I'd just head home. Small regret! |
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| re: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 04:05 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I had three kids in under five years, twenty months between the first two. There was a long gap there. I should have been at the Geffen tonight, to see Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the Scottish play. Sniff. Laura |
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| re: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 02:31 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - mikem 02:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| Over 60 years | |
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| re: 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? | |
| Last Edit: Dale 03:05 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| Posted by: Dale 02:58 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: re: When was the last time you went 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - NewtonUK 02:31 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| Never... even when I was flat broke I managed to go ( saw "The Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby"standing room ). I saw 18 shows ( including two operas ) in 2020 before things closed in March, but that's 18 more than some folks have seen in their life. I may be on pause for 3 years but grateful for what I have seen! Hey, at least I caught Laurie Metcalf's Martha! PS: Sorry but seeing a play online is television.... |
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| I disagree. | |
| Posted by: dramedy 04:00 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: re: 3 months (or a prolonged time) without going to the theater? - Dale 02:58 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| A taped stage production is not television. Are the decade of NTLive movies? Movies and tv are shows written for those medium and are constructed differently, filmed differently and acted differently. Yes, viewing live vs taped is different but I don’t consider it a compete metamorphosis of the stages show. |
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| re: I disagree. | |
| Posted by: ryhog 09:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: I disagree. - dramedy 04:00 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I agree and disagree with all of you. I agree with the sentiment that a taped performance is not a substitute for the live performance, and I'd also say that anything you watch on television is television. But I also think we spend too much time trying to fit square pegs in round holes and applying labels that are unnecessary. I want to be back in a theatre as much as anyone but I am not going to say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed taped or filmed shows during this pandemic. That said, I look forward to the time that I can revert to my unfaltering belief that taped or filmed stage shows are the devil's work. And let me add that I have cherished the best of the live (or nearly live) readings with which we have been graced over these last few months more than the filmed stage shows. | |
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| I disagree again—just not as strongly. | |
| Posted by: dramedy 11:00 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: re: I disagree. - ryhog 09:10 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I prefer a taped version than the stage readings. If you eliminate the one person shows (like Streisand and Bette Davis plays) and the few with married couple, the multi cast rarely work. It’s better than nothing—usually. There have been several that I just stopped watching and I know don’t watch ones of shows Ive seen already. And any physical interaction really shows the problems—fuddy meers and gov inspector. Tartuffe did a better job with “sets” and hiding under furniture. As ntlive. There have been a few of those plays which I clearly enjoyed in a wide movie seat With plenty of leg room and would have hated in a cramped theater seat. Hansard is a prime example of that. |
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| re: I disagree again—just not as strongly. | |
| Posted by: ryhog 02:50 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: I disagree again—just not as strongly. - dramedy 11:00 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| A few more back and forths and you will have me sitting in your lap in a cramped theatre seat. And no, I have no idea what that means... |
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| You read me like a book | |
| Posted by: dramedy 03:25 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: re: I disagree again—just not as strongly. - ryhog 02:50 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| The best proposition I’ve had all year. | |
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| I agree with "I disagree"! | |
| Posted by: portenopete 05:23 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: I disagree. - dramedy 04:00 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| I was knocked out by the NT Live ANGELS IN AMERICA. Ditto by the Roundabout SHE LOVES ME on Broadway.com which I watched with about a dozen friends in my basement and which we adored. Seeing it in a theatre with other people is communal. Seeing live actors reacting to a live audience is not television or a movie. Those kind of blanket pronouncements are so irritating! Okay, for YOU it's not ideal! Don't imply the rest of us are so insensitive or moronic not to notice the difference. I'm lucky to be able to see a lot of NT stuff live in London, which makes me feel more conversant with the theatres and the space, maybe, when I encounter it in recordings? But those programs have been godsends to people who can't afford or find time to travel to see things. |
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| I don't think you're insensitive or moronic but... | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:10 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: I agree with "I disagree"! - portenopete 05:23 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| ...shows broadcast on TV are TV. Laverne & Shirley was filmed in front of a live studio audience. Doesn't make it theater. It's awesome that you were knocked out by a filmed version of ANGELS IN AMERICA. Doesn't make you insensitive or moronic that you loved it. It's very possible you might've liked it LESS in the theater. I don't believe theater is intrinsically better than television. I'd much rather watch "Succession" than HEAD OVER HEELS. | |
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| re: I don't think you're insensitive or moronic but... | |
| Posted by: mikem 11:54 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: I don't think you're insensitive or moronic but... - KingSpeed 05:10 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| There are two aspects of live theater that are missing from the pre-recorded broadcasts. One is that the show is not happening at the same time you are watching. The other is that it's not happening in the same room as you're in. I'm finding that both aspects are important to me, but particularly the first one. There's something about the actor experiencing his journey at the same time you're experiencing it. I'm fine with watching someone submit the best take, but it feels different to me than what I get out of going to the theater. | |
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| Prose vs plot | |
| Last Edit: dramedy 03:36 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| Posted by: dramedy 03:34 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: re: I don't think you're insensitive or moronic but... - mikem 11:54 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| I love a plot and i have a book club friend that loves prose more the plot. Probably one reason I don’t like poetry much. I’m an observer in theater. I like the journey of getting from a to b. A cerebral experience. But others (and I suspect you) just want to be part of it. There could be no plot but you want to be the actors in emotion of what happens to the characters. I think that perspective probably requires more live in person performance. |
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| re: Prose vs plot | |
| Last Edit: mikem 04:41 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| Posted by: mikem 04:40 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: Prose vs plot - dramedy 03:34 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| dramedy, that's an interesting and perceptive way of looking at it. For me, part of what I miss about the theater is leaving having FELT something. That doesn't mean I have to feel the same way as the actors/characters do -- sometimes the characters make me feel the opposite of what they are feeling -- but that emotional response is something I don't get in the same way from the movies or television. I certainly enjoy movies/TV and taking the cerebral journey, but, as you said, that heightened emotional response comes from being in the same room, not just with the actors but with fellow audience members, having a shared experience. It's interesting because I'm generally much more plot-driven. When I read a book, I generally focus on the plot rather than the elegance of the language. |
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| re: I don't think you're insensitive or moronic but... | |
| Posted by: ryhog 03:01 pm EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: re: I don't think you're insensitive or moronic but... - mikem 11:54 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
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| funny, I would reverse the order of importance. I also note that your primary objection can be overcome by watching a live performance. | |
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| Me, Too | |
| Posted by: Whistler 04:42 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
| In reply to: I disagree. - dramedy 04:00 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| Actually, I far prefer to watch recorded performances in my quiet, comfortable home, far from commutes, security checks, rattling candy wrappers, spilled drinks, cell phone noises and lights, crowded bathrooms, and the admittedly very occasional seat-humping patron. I can see the actors' faces and hear their voices more clearly, too. | |
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| That's television, not theater. | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:11 am EDT 07/01/20 | |
| In reply to: Me, Too - Whistler 04:42 pm EDT 06/30/20 | |
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| And there's nothing wrong with that. | |
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