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Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but I always seem to enjoy
a musical more when I walk in knowing some of the music. This was
really brought home to me a couple of weeks ago, when on a trip to New
York I saw
Avenue Q,
Spamalot,
Mamma Mia and
The
Lion King. I've listened to the cast albums of three of the four,
missing only the latter. And enjoyed three out of four. Which may be
familiarity, or it may be that, impressive staging and costumes aside,
I'm not much impressed by Disney's approach to theater, no matter how
fabulously successful it is.
What's interesting is that listening to the album before seeing the
show doesn't spoil it. In all three cases, in fact in nearly every
case I can think of, hearing the songs in context makes them richer
and more interesting, indeed even more entertaining. Even a number
like
The
Internet is for Porn, which is both funny and true on record, is
worlds better when it's both seen and heard. Which is my way of
encouraging you to both listen to and see this
Rent-meets-Sesame Street (but definitely
not for children) production. Puppet sex has to be seen to
be believed, especially when the puppets only exist from the waist
up!
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