You know it when it hits you. That feeling in your gut that says, "Seeing this show one time is NOT going to be enough!" Sometimes it happens during the curtain call. Sometimes it strikes during an 11:00 number or big finale. Other time it's obvious at intermission, or during the first act, or even when the orchestra strikes up the first notes of the overture. And for me, it's happened more than once that a show lodges itself in my heart before I even get to the theatre -- when the cast album precedes it, for example, and I know that I'm going to get stuck on the production like a schoolgirl with a crush on the captain of the football team.
I've written before about falling in love with a show so hard it feels like romance. And just like with dating, the more time you spend with your love, the better you get to know it. This often inspires a deeper, stronger love; but it can also occasionally lead to burnout, or realizing "hey, its been grand, but I think it's time for me to explore the idea of seeing other shows." Today I'm examining the concept of being a "Repeat Attender" -- dedicating ones time (and funds) to visiting to same show on Broadway over and over (and over and over and over).
There are shows I've gone back to multiple times, even in the double digits. My top shows (in terms of attendance) at the moment rank like this: Spring Awakening - 14 times; Rent - 8 times; Hair - 6 times; Next to Normal - 5 times; Memphis - 4 times; [title of show] - 4 times; Wicked - 4 times; and so many "3 times" that it would take up the rest of my column to list them. I know that compared to the average person, or even the average theatre-goer, this is intense! But believe me, I don't even hold a candle to those superfans who keep returning again and and again ad infinitum. There are fans who dedicate their very lives to seeing a single show as many times as humanly possible.
There are certain shows that seem to attract the passionate followings. Every time I waited in the rush line at Spring Awakening, I saw the same kids and overheard everyone comparing their stats. On closing night, my 14th time seeing the show, I felt like I'd been there the fewest times of anyone in the theatre! I met fans who had seen that show 30, 50, 75, 100, 150 times. I remember one performance where the cast actually presented a cake to a fan who was seeing the show that night for the 100th time (and it had only been open about 5 months). She was, I remember hearing, the same woman who had been in the audience at The Wedding Singer on Broadway almost every night for the duration of its run.
In the Everyday Rapture concession line the other day, I met a woman who loves -- and I mean LOVES -- Sherie Rene Scott. She told me she was seeing the show for the thirtieth time. The show has only played about 75 performances, including previews, so she has been there for almost half of the performances! I was impressed, and told her so. She shook her head: "It's never enough. I saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels a hundred and eight times and even that wasn't enough." My friends, this is fandom. (I resisted the urge to ask her if she was BroadwayisLuv09@earthlink.net.)
But nothing compares to the legendary story of Joel Torrance, the famous fan who saw Rent over 1,100 times. For over a decade, Joel camped out for rush tickets and/or entered the ticket lottery (the cheap-ticket policy changed halfway through the run) almost every day. Obviously, he got picked often. He became friends with other Rentheads and was interviewed by TV news and industry outlets. He is still referenced in articles about the dedications fans feel toward Rent and Broadway in general (case in point, I'm talking about him here!). I wonder if anyone will ever beat his record...
The kids are out there, trying, though! I was known to lurk at the Hair lottery a couple of times a week (did you see me?), and I saw some of the same people entering their names in almost every day. I guess we have to find a show that has such a rabid following, and also runs a decade or more, before anyone will have a solid chance.
As for me, I can't imagine ever seeing a show that many times. I love my Broadway (understatement of the year), but I can't even listen to the same cast album every day for a month without feeling like I need a sold break. It's sad to say, but I managed to burn myself out on Spring Awakening -- in addition to the 14 viewings, I also listened to the cast album hundreds of times over the two years the show ran. Now, while I still love it, I have trouble connecting the way I did the first ten times or so I went; I overindulged and haven't yet recovered. I think I would have gone the same way with [title of show] if it hadn't closed when it did. When I fell in love with Hair, I forced myself to indulge in moderation (see the show every other month at most, listen to the album no more than three times a week)... and it worked! The show closed and I was able to enjoy it just as much as I did the first time.
