When you hear someone claim that they don’t like live theater, it’s probably because they’ve never see live theater outside of a middle school production of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.” They haven’t experienced what live theater can do.
Yes, movies are amazing. I love movies (and I built my own movie theater in my basement). TV, if you know where to look, can be equally good (have you seen The Wire or Breaking Bad?). But none of these compare with the experience of really good live theater.
I believe that if you have never experienced great live theater then you are living a stunted and unnatural life. You have to go and see for yourself. That’s the only way you’ll find out. Go and see a professional, really good play. Ask around. Check The New Yorker (if you’re going to be in New York, or to see what’s playing in the theater capital of the world).
Then go, but take someone who loves the theater with you. Go with an open mind. Plan on time before the theater to have a light meal and time after for a drink or a snack where you’ll have time to talk about what you experienced. This is critical. Don’t rush out of the building and run for home. You need time to absorb what you’ve seen, heard, and felt.
And then, if you still don’t care for it, go see a movie. It’s OK. But every once and a while, try live theater again.
The How To Overcome “I Don’t Like Plays, I Like Movies” by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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No! I’ve been to many Broadway and off-broadway productions. I even helped a friend finance one. I simply do NOT like it. It is simply not my thing.
At least you’ve tried. I will point out, however, that Broadway does not necessarily equal great theater.