Are plays meant to be read as literature?

I’ve read many plays, for classes and for fun, as literature, more like a book than like something that is meant to be performed on stage. Is this what the authors had in mind? Isn’t a play meant to be performed and seen rather than just read? Yes, I know the play must be read for staging, lines and whatnot. That is not what I am talking about.

Seems to me that a play is not meant to be studied like a novel. Wouldn’t the study of the play come with viewing it rather than reading it? Opinions?