How important is BroadwayWorld to Broadway? — Page 4

""I think this thread demonstrates pretty well why many of the pros don't come anywhere near here."

I don't know how true this statement is. I've had quite a few "names" in the industry contact me to comment about articles I've written. In another instance, I commented that the actor I was writing about might be very good in a certain role. That actor called me shortly after the article went on-line to tell me a major producer had called him in to audition for that very role in a touring company.

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I totally agree with Best12bars! As a long time staff writer, and likely one of the few writers who posts here,(frequently and at times foolishly when things were hot,crazy and fun- posting not so much now), my ongoing experience with theater PR people and cast members is yes, they certaintly appreciate the exposure, the free press. Why wouldn't they?

Rob Diamond has built this "Field of Dreams" website from scratch and reaches a global audience consisting of everything relating to arts and media. Businesses are lining up to place ads here. Why? because of the number of hits and the exposure.

Sure, some Broadway people frequent the board, but for the most part they have little to no interest in joining in the chat boards which too often become silly battle grounds filled with irrevelant subject matter that quite frankly only entertains the board members. Still, volume is volume and that's what drive BWW's success.

Do the board posters opinions matter? Only to each other, imo. There is no qualifying rank of one poster over another. This is a chat board and a % of the members post incognito and often have several identities with which they post. To me it's always been a sounding board, a potpourri of people who rarely know each other aside from what they read here. I've only met about a dozen BWW posters "in person" in the past 13 yrs. That's fine with me. This is just another information highway for the public to read.

When I interview an industry person, when I cover a show, BWW is pretty much a common name. But when it comes to the msg. boards, they always chuckle. It's all about getting the name and the show out there.

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Thanks, PB ENT.

The biggest change I've seen since I started posting here is that BWW is now a regular go-to source for news and information for the "world" of Broadway theatre (which extends far beyond New York City's theatre district). I see links to it, quotes from it, and I see it used as a source on many other sites from CNN to network affiliates.

Rob couldn't have built up such a global network without the revenue, and the ad revenue wouldn't have been attainable without the web traffic, and the BWW traffic wouldn't have been here without the message boards helping to boost numbers on a daily basis.

That's the biggest contribution of these message boards and the posters on BWW. We help fund the growth of the site by being regular members and by logging in and clicking on links. We are all "trackable data," which can be turned into income from advertisers.

As far as comments and opinions posted here ... how many people see a show at each and every performance? Hundreds, even thousands. How many bother to post publicly what they thought about that show ... two? Ten? Maybe fifteen?

There are many regular theatre-goers who don't publicize their opinions. They are just as passionate as people here about their love for certain shows, performers, and Broadway in general.

If you calculate the percentage of the opinions shared here, it's maybe 1 percent. Actually less, when you think about a weeks' worth of performances. It's only a fraction of a percent of the total audience. While the opinions may be loud, educated (or not), constructive (or not), it's barely even the tip of the iceberg for "fan consensus."

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Updated On: 4/14/13 at 12:11 PM

I have had the chance to private message with a BWW member (who hasn't posted in a very long time) and is part of an off-Broadway show. Perhaps the sometimes poisonous atmosphere has put him off? I can understand how Broadway performers are reluctant to get involved in this message board. Things can get pretty heavy at times. Yet, at the same time, there is much to praise about Broadway (specific shows and artists). So, it's a mixed bag. We sure have some colorful and fascinating characters. I really like BWW. from RC in Austin, Texas

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This whole "poisonous atmosphere" makes me laugh every single time I hear it. This place is no different than conversations I have about theater with friends who are in actual Broadway shows, except this is public. We have the same conversations bitching and moaning and making fun of whatever that everyone else has. The fact that this is public is just a way for people to clutch their pearls and shake their fists saying that we're awful people.

Alpha posters....interesting thought. It's like we're a great big online doggie daycare.

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By "Broadway" do you mean the same Broadway that was a success for, what, well over 100 years before BWW came along? Maybe "important" is just a really bad word choice.

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I know for a fact that Nathan Lane used to post messages here (under a screen name, of course!) He revealed himself in a PM when he felt I'd posted something derogatory about him. He mentioned my screen name in a chat with Seth Rudesky and laughed out loud when I revealed myself to him in a face-to-face conversation.

I haven't seen his screen name pop up in a long, long time, though.

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I like to share and snipe. I like to sharpe, as it were.

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"This whole "poisonous atmosphere" makes me laugh every single time I hear it. This place is no different than conversations I have about theater with friends who are in actual Broadway shows, except this is public. We have the same conversations bitching and moaning and making fun of whatever that everyone else has. The fact that this is public is just a way for people to clutch their pearls and shake their fists saying that we're awful people."

The fact that it's in print and in public is a big difference though. A catty comment you make to a friend when you're drunk at Vintage doesn't make as loud of a splash as a long, bitter screed on a popular website. The content is the same, I agree, but there are certain things that I think shouldn't be posted here because of the platform. Usually the board does fairly well at toeing the line but certainly sometimes things get a little fuzzy. If you're saying something negative here, you're saying it to be heard and noticed, which isn't the same as commenting negatively about a show to your friend or with your friends in midtown.

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Rob has done a wonderful job with this site. To me it serves as a life link to Broadway for all of us that only get to the city infrequently.

I concur with this notion! I love all the way out in Arizona, so needless to say this site (especially the message boards) really help keep me in the loop. I don't get out to the city anywhere near as much as I would like to (I've only been twice!), but I definitely hope to live there someday

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What does "poisonous atmosphere" even mean? Isn't every negative comment (even ones expressed colorfully)"poisonous" to someone?
I can't imagine a place where people love everything and everyone in every show.
And it would certainly bore the sh!t out of me.

It's a silly thing to criticize a public forum for. Especially one where the majority of the active posters come to discuss and debate the good and bad of theater.

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And there's a special place in heaven for you, for you doing that.