There's an interesting article in the New York Times about theater producers finally getting that the web can be useful marketing tool, and not just in terms of buying ads. I think the more general point is that for some strange reason quite often companies are at best indifferent to and quite often actively hostile to their fan base, whether we're talking fans of bands, TV shows, movies, theater, whatever. Fan communities have often been treated with hostility by companies who failed to understand that these are precisely the people who are going to promote their crap for free, and that it was therefore rather silly to do things like go after them for copyright infringement
The internet, I suppose, amplifies the potential for word-of-mouth and similar promotion.
The comparisons to politics are somewhat obvious... And, oh, I'll take some free theater tix if anyone's offering.
