Courting The Obsessives

“The commercial theater increasingly relies on repeat visitors. Surveys conducted by the producers of ‘Les Misérables,’ ‘Miss Saigon’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’ suggest that 40 percent of the audiences for those long-running musicals had seen the show before. For most, that probably meant returning one or two times, to take a friend or to see a new performer in a familiar role. But among repeat customers there is a repeat elite – ‘Rentheads’ at ‘Rent,’ ‘Q-Tips’ at ‘Avenue Q’- who demonstrate an extraordinary level of commitment to their favored entertainments.”