I'm going to be original and say Les Mis...
Although, time for me to be honest here. I've never seen any professional show more than once. I just haven't been involved in theatre long enough to have a strech of time in between seeing shows. And then there's Les Mis, which I know I could get something out of if I saw it again and again, but seeing it again is just not a possibility for me.
In the community circuit... I saw Crazy for You about four or five times and Me and My Girl also about that many times, both of them within a few weeks. I was working hospitality (the community version of ushering), but I still could have chosen not to see them. And My Fair Lady, I only got an opppertunity to see it once when our local theatre did a production, but I wanted to see it again and again.
Last season's Sweeney Todd revival, the 1998 Cabaret revival and basically any production of Chess.
Featured Actor Joined: 11/8/06
rent for me
I'm going to have to say Sweeney Todd. One of the few shows I went back to see just to see all the little things I missed.
Jersey Boys
Company
The Light in the Piazza
25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (it always makes me smile and remember my younger and awkward spelling bee days...)
Although I have not seen these shows over and over (One I have never seen). I get something out of them after multiple listens after seeing them.
Company (Did not see)
Spring Awakening (saw it)
Caroline or Change (Saw it)
I think I get the most out of Caroline. Everytime I listen to it, I seem to find something new or some nuance that I didn't hear before.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/28/05
Kiss Me, Kate
Fiddler on the Roof
Phantom
Gypsy
Piazza
Ragtime
Sweeney Todd
Gypsy
Grey Gardens
- These three shows I could have and can see multiple times because of the complexity of the material and the multi layered characters.
Avenue Q
The Drowsy Chaperone
-These two shows I saw alot Avenue Q (5 times) and The Drowsy Chaperone (4 times) because of the shear joy and happiness the brought me. I wouldn't see these shows agian because frankly, I saw them so much within a short period of time but I still listen to the cast recordings quite often.
Broadway Star Joined: 11/2/06
Spring Awakening. So far I have seen it 7 times in 4 months, and I plan on having it at 10 by the end of the summer.
Chicago - I've seen it 21 times since it opened. It's great just for entertainment value, and it's also interesting to see how much it changes based on who is starring.
Spelling Bee
Avenue Q
Gypsy
Caroline or Change
Spring Awakening
Cabaret and Sweeney Todd revival. Moved me every time.
Leading up the rear...Taboo and Bombay Dreams.
everythingtaboo....I never saw Taboo but own the OBCR and it is one CD I find myself returning to often. With such great music and lyrics I just wonder what went wrong with the show. The song I listen to the most is "Stranger in This World". It hits a personal chord with me.
Sunset Boulevard-I saw it 6 times with several different Normas and each one brought a whole different take on the character. Oh, yeah, and Naked Boys Singing-I could see that over and over. New actors all the time who have a different take on the songs.
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.
I've seen Rent 31 times. The first time I saw it (8 years ago), I was 18. I loved it because it was loud and it was angry and it expressed those feelings in a way that I, as a very shy teenager, couldn't. I've calmed down a lot towards it now but it'll always be special to me, and more than just a show, because it was such a huge part of my life for so long. And every time I've been to NY I've made a point of seeing Rent, because otherwise it'd feel like a wasted trip.
The Lion King for me is amazing. Maybe not for the story, but the technical aspect/costumes is more beautiful every time I see it. Ragtime, Company, Parade... Unless the show is horrible I can see almost any show many times and gain something new.
Regarding Taboo:
"With such great music and lyrics I just wonder what went wrong with the show."
Please let me know if you figure that out. I'm still wondering the same thing about The Capeman.
Ragtime
I have seen it on Broadway as a mega-musical with the huge cast and the astonishing sets and was blown away.
The I saw it in a small venue and it was much more human and real. They really make you look into the characters and think about what each one is going through.
It was one of those shows that I could see again and again and always feel something.
CHESS
which i have seen over a dozen different productions. It is always interesting to see how people do the show and think up of ways to "fix" it or help the libretto. I have to say the best version I ever saw was at Music Circus in Sacramento probably in 1994 -- it was phenominal.
Okay, perhaps not the most universal answer, but I felt that way about the show I've seen more times than any, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Sure, being a comedy, in terms of the material on its own, there may just be getting some of the more "mature" jokes or watching other nuances on stage. But for me, the cast was so amazing, they made every performance very different, so there was always something new to see, I never felt like I was watching a carbon copy for all of the times I've seen the show. Plus they made small changes every so often, and even the energy of the audience I found would affect my experience of the show. I guess we all can say this about shows we have seen over and over, though.
In a more...convential, what-the-thread-is-looking-for answer, I always got something new out of the Sweeney revival. I mean considering the first time all I really did was stare at Diana playing the clarinet...and the first 2-3 times I was so fascinated by the instruments, that it was a totally different experience when I finally paid more attention to the show. And when I started doing that, there was always more to see, to contemplate. Actors certainly changed and improved their performances, but to just look around what was going on the stage, to pay close attention to the lyrics, to the directions, little blockings that indicated character relationships, not to mention the analysis one could do of the score in its motifs and stuff.
Rent I think fits this too, though sometimes the cast takes away. Even with the movie, which I saw several times in the theatre, which never was different, I would notice something else that would effect me, kind of cling on to one character's journey each time, and each journey I found to be so rich that it opened my eyes to new things each time.
Hairspray is another I find that there's always something going on stage that yuo may not notice, but if you see it several times and look around, you'll find funny things going on that you didn't notice.
Spelling Bee obviously is different each time, with different speeches from Logan, and different audience participants.
Even Tarzan which is a guilty pleasure, I find little humorous moments that I haven't noticed with each time I go. Usually sitting in the front row probably helps me to notice these moments.
Les Miz I cling on to different parts and really examine them. If nothing else, the line "to love another person is to see the face of god" usually gets me crying, but at certain performances, a particular death will haunt me...last time I went I ended up in the third row, never so close, and when Alex sang about letting Cosette go, it just got to me seeing that performance and sadness up close, and that never affected me like that before.
Phantom, sitting in the front row for that show was a very different experience, truly amazing.
Mary Poppins I always get mesmerized by new effects I notice, or try to figure out how some effects are done.
If it's not obvious, I very much enjoy seeing many shows multiple times
Broadway Star Joined: 4/6/06
Spelling Bee because they're always changing some lines to keep up with current events, plus new audience spellers and new words, too!
I don't really agree with Les Miserables simply because I felt less affected by it after I knew all the words, and I had read the book, and I knew when everyone was going to die. Yes, some of the images are haunting and they stay prevalent hours after the show is over, but I just cried less, and felt less for everyone.
Swing Joined: 4/22/05
I love to see Dreamgirls on stage, I could over and over.
Chorus Line as well.
I've seen the latest Company 3 times, but didn't enjoy it as much last week, Raul seemed TOTALLY on auto...
A Delicate Balance back in 96 with Rosemary Harris and Elaine Stritch I saw 4 times, and got more out of it each time. Mind blowing.
Videos