Why Did You Join BWW?

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 12:02pm

"Just curious," as they say.

In planning a trip to NYC from the West Coast, I was searching the vast internet for information about Broadway shows.  Up popped BWW.  Many years later, here (still) I am.

And you?

Updated On: 9/19/24 at 12:02 PM

[inception]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 12:12pm

Same. 11 years ago. I thought it would probably be my one & only trip to NYC to complete my bucket list of seeing a Broadway show.  Now I'm planning my umpteenth trip.  Last year went twice.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 12:13pm

I was a high schooler who cared more about theatre than anyone else I knew, and I wanted to find a community where I could have two-way conversations about Broadway.

 

Thanks for the company these last 10 years, friends.

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 2:06pm

Pretty similar story, I think I first came across the message boards looking for rush info but stayed because it's a community of theater people who often can have really interesting discussions or talk about lesser-known shows (my friends are theater fans but only really interested in the big Broadway shows). Despite everything else, I really have learned a lot on here.

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 2:17pm

I came across these boards four years ago, right during the heat of the pandemic, with Broadway shut down and everything. I had already been in a bunch of groups on social media, but this one seemed to be different. I have enjoyed the discussions over the years, even when some got out of hand, but we all share one thing—our love for theatre, Broadway, and beyond.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 3:49pm

I joined because there were so many threads where I wanted to share my opinion.

I had quite the classic BWW welcome too, when I chose to make my first post an unhinged vitrolic rant about how much I hate the musical Hairspray, and I posted it in the weekly grosses thread lol. This was during the original run of Hairspray, so other people were commenting on the show and then here I was with my first post ever spewing all this hate for Hairspray. Of course, all the other posters on the thread came down on my HARD; they read me for filth lol. I'll always cherish that memory. 

[ItsShelley]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 4:27pm

I LOVE MUSICALS! I hope to visit NYC soon to see some shows and wanted to connect with others and keep up on the latest news! Hi everybody!

[LuckyDipster]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 4:48pm

I joined so I could talk about my favourite dude and my favourite show.  I occasionally comment on other things, but as a Brit who only became interested in Broadway last year, my knowledge is very limited and I often feel out of my depth.

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 4:56pm

I can't remember how exactly I found BWW, but hard to believe it was 20 years ago.  Looking back at posts from those early days, it's funny how obvious it is that most active users were very young. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 5:01pm

I first joined when I was a in high school and lived across the country. As a lifelong Broadway lover, I lived vicariously through this message board while seeing as much local theatre and tours as possible in my hometown. After graduating college, I moved to NYC and started seeing things for myself and sharing my thoughts and opinions. I was displaced for three years due to the pandemic and living out of state again, but I moved back to NYC last year. I have always loved this site and message board. I have found tremendous value in other's thoughts and opinions over the years.

[Zeppie2022]

Posted: 9/19/24 at 7:45pm

Get information and opinions from other people who love theater.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 9/20/24 at 6:44am

Mandatory sanction from The Gay Tribunal for insufficiently praising Patti Lupone in Gypsy.

[Yessica Haircut]

Posted: 9/20/24 at 9:02pm

I only set up this account 3 years ago to start a thread when I was gathering research for a play I'm working on, but I want to say I started regularly visiting this forum some time around 2010/2011. I have some fond-ish memories of a now-defunct theatre-themed social media site that I was a member on in the late 2000s-early 2010s (I want to say it was called either BroadwaySpace or TheatreWorld). It was kind of fun gossiping and discussing a subject I cared so deeply about (and one that I rarely ever found people to discuss with in real life), which is probably why I was always drawn to the idea of joining this forum. For one reason or another, I always settled on just being a spectator. In fact, I only planned on ever starting the one thread and leaving it there - and yet, here I am.

I try to keep a reasonable distance when it comes to the internet and social media, and I'm certainly not the eager and bright-eyed teenager I was in my BroadwaySpace/TheatreWorld/whatever-that-site-was-called days, but I'll admit there is still an appeal. As far as actually sharing goes, my policy is the same as in real life: If I have something that I feel is worth saying or contributing, I shall say or contribute.

Updated On: 9/20/24 at 09:02 PM

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 9/21/24 at 2:04am

I think I was looking for information about new shows for the next year, and I realized how much I enjoyed reading the debates on shows and all the upcoming stuff. I was in high school probably, and I wanted to see others talk about theater as much as I wanted to. I like to look here daily, but I don't post daily because I don't have enough to add, and I often see shows when they're closer to the end of life. Tony's season is always amazing here too!

[Huss417]

Posted: 9/21/24 at 10:22am

I think I joined almost when the site started. Not sure how I discovered it but assume it must have been shared somewhere else and that is how I knew about it. But over 21 years and I'm still here says a lot. :)

[devonian.t]

Posted: 9/21/24 at 10:49am

BWW has always existed....

[east side story]

Posted: 9/21/24 at 11:21am

I stumbled upon the Broadway.com message board in 2002 while researching whether or not Molly Ringwald was still in Cabaret at the time. I was immediately sucked in, and absolutely adored reading the musings of seasoned theatre goers. Broadway.com put the kibosh on their message board when some users (such as username Machoman, later Finding Namo) got a little too heated, and the website dropped the message board to protect their brand.

Shortly thereafter I found BWW, and posted for years under a different username. At some point, I took a break to be a human, and came back unable to log back in, so I created a new account.

I have learned so much over the last 20+ years, across both platforms, but the reason why Broadway.com pulled their forum is precisely why I do not participate much around here. More back and forth between posters, and even when someone is trying to make a valid point, it is a huge deterrent for me. I came to the boards for connection and theatrical anecdotes as a lonely teen, but there is not much activity around here these days, compared to past years. Any valuable intel is quickly mined and I move on nowadays because it is honestly too much, the behavior of some. Comes with the territory, certainly, but it does not necessarily open the door for new users to comfortably engage. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/21/24 at 11:27am

For the beer and the nudes. 

[Kad]

Posted: 9/21/24 at 11:34am

I was 16 when I joined BWW, but had been a member and more active on the now-defunct Musicals.net for several years (I think I joined there when I was 12 or 13!). When that site started going down the tubes- and it did, badly- I switched over here.

Updated On: 9/21/24 at 11:34 AM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/21/24 at 12:07pm

I also joined in 2003, a lifetime ago, because internet participation in impromptu salons was still a relatively new pastime, and the discussions that arose here were full-throated and impassioned, with richly debated topics, highly subjective takes, a little rage, a little glibness, a few wounds but seldom permanent scars, and much enjoyment. I made a handful of friends here that I cherish, away from this board; they have lasted over two decades, and I never forget - or take for granted - our shared origin story. 

Updated On: 9/21/24 at 12:07 PM