Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Day 447: Know the Show

Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of knowing the audience. Today, this is a public service announcement to the audience to know the show. Don't assume anything about the show you are going to see, otherwise, you might be sadly disappointed. For example, don't go see The Sound of Music and expect to see a live form of the film. The stage show and film are different in several ways. The same applies for Carousel and other popular movie musicals. If you don't know the basic plot of a show, read about it online or somewhere before you go. That way you aren't trying to absorb to much in your one viewing and you aren't completely confused. I went to the fox theater in Atlanta once to see oklahoma and people were talking all through intermission trying to figure out what had happened during the last fifteen minutes of the first act because they didn't know the show. More recently, people came to see The Wiz, and they were expecting The Wizard of Oz. They are NOT the same. The Wiz, simply is a African-American adaptation of the novel with Motown style music. Dorothy is not white, she doesn't sing Over the Rainbow, and she doesn't wear ruby slippers. Not knowing the show can also result in walkouts. If you go to see a show that has thematic material or language that you are uncomfortable with you should find that out especially if you are taking kids. The theater should put out a warning if it's a show with mature content. Be an informed and proactive audience member. Know the show because if you go and don't know you might go.

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