AP Article on 'Loyal Fans'

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 9:27pm

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12754423&page=1

While I'm sure these people are so excited to be in an AP article, I'm just skeeved.
Updated On: 1/28/11 at 09:27 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 9:33pm

Updated On: 1/27/11 at 09:33 PM

[binau]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 9:36pm

"Ahlers saw "Next to Normal" 58 times before its Tony-winning star, Alice Ripley, left the cast (she's now starring in the national tour) and he lost interest." - says everything

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 9:38pm

Updated On: 1/27/11 at 09:38 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 9:51pm

I agree.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 9:55pm

Ok I'll say it. I am friends with Nick and Tracy. They are anything but creepy. They aren't stagedoor stalkers or creepers. In fact, they don't stagedoor at all. They don't crave the attention of actors. They aren't wannabe actors, they are successful and hardworking people. Broadway is a hobby for them, just as it is for myself and many others on here. We aren't all aspiring actors and/or creepers at the stagedoor.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:05pm

Then maybe it was worded wrong. It wasn't made clear that Ahlers was seeing the show just for Ripley. I was under the impression until they said he lost interest that he just loved "the show".

I can't see doing this, but people do. The only show I think I would have seen more than 3 times would have been "Caroline or Change". I have seen Wicked 3 times. Once with the original cast, the second time because I organized a group of 50 people to see the 1st National tour and had to be there. The third was because I was doing an article on the show. I did see "The Wiz" 3 times because I loved the show and took other people to see it the 2nd and 3rd times.

Updated On: 1/27/11 at 10:05 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:12pm

Then maybe it was worded wrong. It wasn't made clear that Ahlers was seeing the show just for Ripley. I was under the impression until they said he lost interest that he just loved "the show".

That's just not true though. The writer didn't word it properly. Nick loved Jessica Phillips. He was not a fan of Mazzie's performance, so instead of paying to see a performance that he did not enjoy, he stopped seeing the show.

[Ziggurat]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:13pm

Ok I'll say it. I am friends with Nick and Tracy. They are anything but creepy. They aren't stagedoor stalkers or creepers. In fact, they don't stagedoor at all. They don't crave the attention of actors. They aren't wannabe actors, they are successful and hardworking people. Broadway is a hobby for them, just as it is for myself and many others on here. We aren't all aspiring actors and/or creepers at the stagedoor.

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxJyPsmEask



Updated On: 1/27/11 at 10:13 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:17pm

As a person who works in the theatre, I thank these people for their support.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:18pm

The media. They never report things correctly.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:20pm

Why is anyone acting shocked? We all know there are gads of people that get obsessed with one show or another.

(The only ones that weird me out is serial, serial audience members. The ones that must always be obsessed with a show, and when that one closes, they find another. But to each his own.)

[PurpleFanta]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:20pm

Nick and Tracy might not be stagedoor creepers, but that can't be said for some other people in that article. I saw N2N plenty of times, but I did want the "friendship" of the actors like many others seemed to.

[steven22]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:21pm

One of the girls mentioned/pictured in the article I met at the stage door. She is obssesed with ntn, as am I. However, she is creepily obsessed and her entire life revolves around ntn.ehhh

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:24pm

Updated On: 1/27/11 at 10:24 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:24pm

Nick is wonderful and not creepy in the least.

Personally I can't imagine seeing either Next To Normal or Wicked that many times, but I saw THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW upwards of 70 times so I'm not one to judge anyone seeing something multiple times. Not everyone who goes to the same thing over and over again is creepy.

But some definitely are.

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:26pm

Sometimes these people really are creepy.
Two years back at ROCK OF AGES, there was a whole family of creepers who just saw the show for the 23rd time (together).
They even had a thick scrapbook with every production shot and signed item they've gotten at the stage door.

I found something extremely wrong with them....

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:26pm

I can't imagine seeing any show as many times as these people have. The most I've seen any show is 2x and that was because I took different friends to them. I loved next to normal but there is no way in hell I could sit through it 20+ times. I'd rather spend my time seeing different shows. That's just my 2 cents though.

Also if this is true...

""I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone full price," says Ahlers. He gets his tickets in the "Wicked" lottery rush — 25 front-row seats sold before each performance for $26.25."

He must have been extremely lucky to win that lotto that many times, I wonder how many times he actually lost as well. Crazy if true.
Updated On: 1/27/11 at 10:26 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:35pm

I said something negative about the showto a Facebook friend, that I think I met on here, and she got extremely, out of control, upset with me to the point that I had to click on that unfriend button.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:37pm

Nick is anything but creepy. Some of the other people mentioned (however briefly) in this article, however...are.

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:39pm

"Stemple notes that one theater message board even had a thread about "competitive crying" at the performance."

..heh.

[binau]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:46pm

Oh wow, Nick is a member here. I remember reading his thoughts about Mazzie in N2N etc...and think the quote I quoted doesn't capture what is actually going on.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 10:59pm

Is Nick not adamgreer?

[HummingAlong]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 11:03pm

I know there were a few girls who have seen the show MORE than 105 times (unless they fluffed the number, which is entirely possible) - and they were kind of creepy. I'll admit I'd caught enough performances and even stage-doored a few times, but on the final night, one of the girls actually tried striking up a conversation with one of the actor's brothers. There didn't appear to be any relationship there and the brother looked super skeeved-out by her behavior.

It was the most uncomfortable moment I've witnessed in a while. Signatures be damned, we walked away right then and there.

I'm all for supporting the actors, following their careers, and maybe even saying an innocent thank you once in a while. But when you've got into your head that you look cool acknowledging the actors' families when they have no clue who you are, you've gone way too far in my book. (I guess I wonder if the FanGurls did that kind of crazy stuff simply to out-fangurl each other.) Believe me, I understand loving something so much and wanting to learn as much as possible about it and keep all the little pieces of it as close to you as possible. I'm sure we've all had runs like that, or seen productions where that's been true.

But if you need that for yourself, for goodness' sake, don't let everyone else see. Yikes.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/27/11 at 11:03pm

As a few people have already figured out, my real name is Nick Ahlers, and I was one of the people quoted in the article.

That being said, it's time to clarify a few things...

-I knew as soon as I saw the "he lost interest" line that people were going to have a field day with it. In truth, that was very close to what I actually said because I was trying to be vague with the reporter so as not to say anything disparaging about Mazzie in the AP article. I loved Alice Ripley's performance, but I'm far from one of her groupies. I loved Jessica Phillips as Diana, and even enjoyed Catherine Porter. I did not care for Mazzie, so I stopped attending the show.

-I have never once "stage doored" or attempted to meet any performers. The only time I have is when either myself or Tracy made a donation to Broadway Cares and gone backstage as part of a package. Tracy, in particular, has donated well over $15,000 to Broadway Cares over the past 3 years. She's probably going to get mad at me for saying that, but I won't allow a very close friend to get raked over the coals when she is in fact one of the most generous supporters of this community.

-I don't see any of these shows for any kind of attention. Other than close friends, until now, no one knew I did this.

-As anyone who follows my posts knows, these are not the only two productions I see. I see a LOT of theater. These two shows just happened to have a lot of repeat value for me. I will never, ever apologize to anyone for how I choose to spend my money.

And finally...

Did Nick also think Jessica Phillip's first performance on was awful and then posted here about it and then criticized her when she Facebooked about it?

You left out the conclusion to that story, Yankeefan. After returning to see Jessica later in the year, and falling in love with her performance, I very publicly posted a mea culpa. In addition to that, as a sign that I had no hard feelings to her, I made a $100 donation to Broadway Cares in her name.


Updated On: 1/27/11 at 11:03 PM