From Stage Door to Cyberspace: The Digital Evolution of Musical Theatre Fandom

This chapter explores how the abundance of new digital platforms in the twenty-first century has empowered musical theatre fans and provided scope for interactions that were limited both physically and communicatively prior to the internet. We trace how the success of productions is increasingly impacted by fans and how fandom is manifested across physical and digital spaces, from the stage door and ticket lotteries (Rent [1996]) to social media (Hamilton [2015]) and advertising (The Book of Mormon [2011] and Dear Evan Hansen [2016]). Beyond US American-created musicals, the chapter considers contemporary musical theatre fandom in a global context through British and South Korean examples. Technology has altered fans’ agency and their ability to interact with performers and productions, yet this agency may also lead to a false sense of connection, interaction, and friendship. Fans are, in many cases, exploited through such active communication, whereby producers and marketing teams manipulate fans’ creativity and generosity. This chapter thus focuses on fans actively assuming three roles: pilgrim, friend (or foe), and marketing assistant.