What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter- Page 2

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 2:21pm

I had some surprisingly sweet and down-to-earth conversations with Linda Eder and Christine Andreas at stage doors. But the two that really stick out in my memory were tours: Sam Harris in Joseph and (get ready for this) Debbie Boone in Meet Me in St. Louis. Both of them acutally walked up to me and hugged me and were so appreciative of the attention and praise. I've never witnessed anything like that since then.

I've had a couple of really rude experiences that were rather uncalled for, but I'll chalk it up to a performer's bad day. I'm not saying it's a viable excuse, but I have no idea if it was their typical MO.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 2:53pm

Dancingthrulife's mention of Mario Lopez's tendency to bowl people over on his way to his car reminded me of a stage door experience that I witnessed during A Chorus Line's run.

It was a Sunday and ACL's matinee had obviously ended some time before. The barricades were already gone and only a handful of fans and performers remained. I was struck by the tableau of a man down on one knee, conversing with a young woman in a wheelchair. The man was Michael Berresse. who had originated the role of Zach in the revival that Lopez later took over.

When I came back by nearly an hour later, it was getting dark and the sidewalk was almost deserted, but they were still there. The look on the young woman's face spoke volumes.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 3:52pm

I realized I only posted about an annoying experience, which wasn't even that bad.

Strangely, I think the best one I had was at Spamalot in August when Drew Lachey and Stephen Collins were in it. The weather was nice, and warm. It also was not crowded at all at the stagedoor. I was just excited because I love Drew, and he was sweet, just like I remember when I met him at a 98 Degrees concert, 7 1/2 years ago. And I'm not a fan of Stephen Collins at all, but he was just very nice and gracious, so that is a plus on his end. He stayed awhile and actually talked to people waiting. He also didn't seem to mind people feeling the need to take a million photos with him. I'm talking the same people.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 3/18/09 at 4:18pm

It's always nice to read about the good stagedoor experiences, but I must admit that the bad ones are very entertaining, too.

[saveusmike]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 3:26am

Bump

I really love peoples stage door stories

Updated On: 8/9/09 at 03:26 AM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 3:39am

I see that I failed to post about one of my better stage door experiences. It was Halloween night of last year and I was at A Tale Two Cities. Rebecca Robbins and I have a mutual friend and I had been asked to please get Rebecca to sign a playbill. At this point I had never met Rebecca so I wasn't 100% sure I would recognize her when she came out. So I told the guard at the stage door of my mission and he said if he saw her he'd let me know. Time goes by and she's not out yet. Soon, I'm the only person left. He waves me in and uses the intercom to announce that Rebecca had a guest. He told me where her dressing room was and to go on up. So up I went and I ran into a few of the other cast members as I went. I found her door and knocked timidly and she answered. She had forgotten that I was waiting for her (I'd messaged her on facebook beforehand) and had been getting ready for a Halloween party. We chatted briefly and she signed the playbill.

I'm very glad that the guard allowed me inside and our friend loved the playbill.

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 5:39am

Last weekend I saw the most recent West End flop, Too Close to the Sun, and as Chris Howell was signing he said "I would ask you if you enjoyed the show, but ... well, I already know the answer." :)

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 7:58am

I only stagedoored a handful of times, when I was younger, but the entire cast of Doubt stands out in my mind for their kindness and generosity. I had not been planning to stage door, but I was so impressed by the performances that I wanted to meet the actors. They were all beyond generous with their time--including Brian O'Byrne, who was en route to the airport (it was a Sunday, and he was going out of town for his off-day) but still hung around to chat with every single waiting person. By the time Cherry Jones came out--about a half-hour after the other three had left--there were only a few people still waiting. She is, by far, one of the nicest people I've ever met. We engaged in a long conversation in which she asked me my theories about the show, what other shows I'd recently seen that were good, etc. A really wonderful person.

[winston89]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 8:47am

I think that one of my all time top actor interaction stories didn't take place at the stage door. But, rather from the stage itself. When I had seen Irina's Vow, after the talk back on of the actresses playing one of the Jews in hiding took my hand from the front row student rush seats and said thank you from the bottom of my heart for seeing this play. I then waited for her at the stage door and she spent a good deal of time talking to me one on one.

[chenothegood]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 11:09am

Hands down my best experience was Alice Ripley at the Next to Normal Stage Door this summer!! She truly appreciates her fans and takes the time to stop and talk to everyone!! She stayed and talked with me for like 5 minutes and gave me a hug! I didnt think my night could get any better after sitting front row at the show, but it was such a humbling moment for me

Notable best experiences are also:
Johnathan Gallagher Jr. - Spring Awakening. What a sweetheart! Stayed and talked with me for a few minutes! Just so nice!
Kate Shindle - Legally Blonde. Complete 180 from her character thats for sure!! She was so nice and down to earth.

Worst:
Blithe Spirit.... no one came out at all! haha not really that bad of a thing, i know that the actors/actresses cant come out after every show, but i was slightly disappointed! And so were all the 80 year old ladies waiting around me!!

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 12:55pm

Agreed about Cherry Jones. One of the sweetest, classiest women I've ever met.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:36pm

BEST - Steve and Patti at the stagedoor of SWEENEY TODD. To have Patti LuPone introduce me to Stephen Sondheim is not something I shall soon forget.

WORST - Bebe at FOSSE to see Ben and refusing to sign any autographs. If you know who Ben is, you know who Bebe is probably. Maybe she was busy? It was the attitude that was the worst, and she covered her face when people started taking pictures and literally ran away shouting "NO PICTURES".

Special Mention - John Barrowman, Raul Esparza, Alice Ripley, Jonathan Tunick, Christine Baranski, Matt Bogart, Hugh Panaro and Melissa Errico at the Kennedy Center Festival. SO relaxed and LOVING what they were doing that summer as you could tell from their contagious excitement and ebuilliance at the stage door.

WEIRDEST - THE WILD PARTY in early previews - Toni Collette emerging from the Virginia stagedoor an hour after everyone else, obviously shaken up and tense. I have a feeling if I wasn't the only one there she would have quickly signed and left... the next day the Riedel story about Mandy's antics hit the press. I understood EVERYTHING.

P

Updated On: 8/9/09 at 01:36 PM

[taylorPHENOMENON2]

Posted: 8/9/09 at 1:39pm

Best has to be [title of show]. Hunter always recognized me and knew my name and would go out of his way to be an absolute sweetheart and take the time to talk. I miss them SO much.

[colormesusan]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 1:09am

I agree, [title of show] was one of the best for me too. They were all just so nice. Hunter knew who I was and was like "it's so great to finally meet you!", and I've only emailed him a bit off and on in the past couple years. And Susan and my dad played a little trick on me that was COMPLETELY AMAZING (my dad had disappeared, and he was near the front of the stagedoor line, getting his playbill signed so I'd have two, I had no idea he was doing so at the time, and he and Susan started talking and he said that he was here with me and pointed to where I was, and he told her my name, and so once she came over to me, before I could get a word out, she goes "OHMYGOSH LEILA!", and I had seriously never been so shocked and surprised in my life, it was so funny, lol) and then poor Susan was concerned that she had blown my mind in a not-good way and sent me a message on facebook saying she was sorry, and I was just like, don't be sorry, that was kind of one of the most amazing things to ever happen to me! lol. They were all just so sweet and genuine, it was great. I miss them too.

[Kelly2]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 1:42am

I have to say, it wasn't at the stagedoor, but Allison Janney was one of the nicest performers I've ever met. SO gracious and sweet and seemed genuinely interested in the conversation, and not just putting on a show for the fans like a lot of people do. Just a really cool, down to earth woman.

Worst? I don't stagedoor anymore but the worst I can remember was at Spring Awakening off-broadway. Lea Michele was really rude and very full of herself.

[saveusmike]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 1:52am

Best- Jersey Boys

The whole Jersey Boy cast was so so nice to me and my friend, we felt extremly special because they stopped signing just to engage us in conversation for 5 minutes. The nicest is Sebastian (Im partially being biased because Sebastian is actually friends with my dad) who just was more than happy to see me and my friend there and talked to us longer than we ever talked to anyone at the stage door.


Worst- Blithe Spirit

I only brought tickets to see Angela (Although I was MORE than pleasently suprised with the show). First off the stage door set up was out of control with grown men and women pushing and shoving playbills infront of everyones faces. I am a pretty young guy (19) and this man in his 40's comes up to wear I am standing on the barricade and tells me to "Move over" as he already begins to push himself into the tiny spot. Everyone there was just extremly rude and only was concerned with getting there playbills signed.

But to top that off not only did Angela not come out, NO BODY CAME OUT, except Deborah.
I was extremly upset and I know there not obligated to but I just dont like how they "Sneak out" another exit.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 1:54am

Best- When I saw Xanadu last summer, it was a matinée, and it was largely filled with this kid's group. At most they had to be 12...and the jokes soared over their heads. Consequently, stagedoor was kinda quiet, and we talked to Mary Testa for a while, before she said "Oh, look! The kids are on the bus...let's wave!" followed by "Bye Kids! Don't come back until you're older!"

Worst - Mario Lopez. I had wanted to meet a few members of the cast, and was up at the front of the barricade...and he came out, asked if he could borrow the sharpie in my hand, grabbed it, signed a whole lot of playbills (not mine, I told him no) and then got in his car and drove off. And, it wasn't even *my* sharpie, it was one I had borrowed from a friend, since I had forgotten mine.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 1:57am

Best: One would be at 9 to 5 tryouts. The whole cast was amazingly nice. Megan, like always, so just so sweet and modest. SJB was very nice and had her little dog with her who was adorable. Allison was sweet and stopped to chat. It was just a wonderful experience

Another was at Wicked when Tim Talman was on as the Wizard. When he came out he was so nice and just great, and very funny.

Worst: Not exactly bad, but... at the last performance of Wicked in L.A., the line was ridiculous(it went from the stagedoor gate to past the Pantages entrance). So we wauted for an hour or longer and it turned out that We didn't even get to see Eden or Megan. Apparently they had a party to go to, which is understandable. Luckily, Briana and Eddie went down the whole line to sign and talk. And I caught Angel Reda while she was leaving. Ya that was the worst I could think of.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:49am

I always felt bad when I was waiting for a specific performer or two, but all the other cast members came up and were really friendly and chatty. That led to some pretty awkward situations, after I was left scrambling for something to say to be polite to an actor I didn't even recognize out of costume. "You were great!" sounds so insincere. Those were the worst for me.

[Elphaba43]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:42am

My best experience was at Xanadu. My best friend couldn't make it to the show due to financial problems. So I took a piece of computer paper and asked Kerry Butler(one of his favorite actresses) to write him a little note. Happily, she obliged. She wrote: "Hi Brent! Wish you were here! Love Kerry Butler" She even went on to sign his playbill for me as well!

Worst experience, I would have to say was at The Little Mermaid. When Sierra Boggess came out, I was one of the first people there and I said "You have a beautiful God given talent" and she literally said to me "Whatever". And then she proceeded to run over my little 11 year old sister. Idk....maybe she had her period that day or something????

[legally_popular]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:52am

orangeskittles - That's exactly what it was like for me at the West Side Story stage door. I was mostly interested in meeting Karen and Josephina, so I just said a simple "Great job!" or something to all the other cast members. I tried to be as friendly and polite as I could, but I couldn't really think of what to say. That cast is so huge and practically every one of them came out. There was literally a line of them signing autographs making their way down the barricades. They just kept on coming. At one point I was looking the other way and when I turned back around, another girl was in front of me waiting for me to give her my playbill. When I finally saw her I was like, "Oh! Hi!" haha. That kinda happens to me a lot because I really only stage door if there's one particular person I really admire, so I don't really know what to say to the other people I don't know that well.


husk_charmer - That story is hilarious! Mary Testa is so funny.
Updated On: 8/11/09 at 03:52 AM

[Shannon Bo Dannon]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 3:55am

I've never really had a bad experience, just some semi awkward ones because of rude fans.

My best one though was at the Hair stage door when Gavin kissed me on the cheek. I was elated and couldn't stop smiling. Plus, that is the sweetest cast I've ever met.

[Elphaba43]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 4:04am

Forgot to mention another great experience. When I went to go see Next to Normal, Adam Chanler Berat, who played Natalie's boyfriend in the show, looked and sounded and had the same qualities as MY boyfriend does. A romantic, bit of a stoner.....etc. So I told him that he looked and sounded like my boyfriend and after that he got all smiley and touchy feely, in the respectful way. I asked for a picture and he put both his arms around me and pressed his cheek to mine and after the pic was taken, he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and a wink and continued down the line. It was interesting.

God the stories I could tell....

Funny experience.....when I saw "Company" on closing night back in July of 07, I had laryingitis and my best friend was with me at the show and he said I sounded like a ptradactyl(spelled it totally wrong). So when Raul Esparza came out, I tried to scream cause I got so excited. So he finally made his way over to the area my best friend and I were standing in and I was like "I really loved you tonight. Very passionate and stirring performance" And then he was like "Wow what's wrong with your voice? You sound like a ptradactyl" And I looked at my friend and he was hysterical!!!

I promise this is my last one. When I went to go see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, I was one of the audience participants and at the end of the show, my mom and I were waiting in the lobby and I had people(mostly older women and younger teens) come up to me and ask for my autograph, just for being an audience participant! It was so sweet and then the real actors came out and recognized me and were like "thanks for being such a good sport tonight".

[mikeyb16]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 4:08am

Some of my new recent ones include meeting Tim Flavin in Singin in the Rain UK Tour - one of the nicest guys you would ever meet.

Mary Poppins - Met Lisa O'Hare, Mark Anderson, Vald Aviks, Deryn Edwards & Martin Ball and they were just a bunch of nice people. I missed Louise Bowden as she walked another direction and I missed Daniel Crossley as he never came out.

Witches of Eastwick UK Tour - I was the only one there waiting to meet Rebecca Thornhill, Ria Jones & Poppy Tierney. I met them however and not only were they sweet girls, we had a good chat for about 10 minutes. When I told Rebecca who I was (as we speak on facebook), she immediately gave me a hug and it was so sweet.

Sound of Music - I wanted to meet Connie Fisher, Martin Callaghan, Margaret Preece, Michael Praed, Jacinta Mulchay, Claire Fishenden and Jeremy Taylor. However I only met Connie & Margaret as the stage was really HECTIC. I'm seeing the show again on August 29th so hopefully I'll be able to meet the others again.

Beauty & The Beast UK Productions Tour - I met nearly all of the principle leads and they were incredibly nice. My favourite though was Marnie Baumer, she was such a sweetheart when I met her and we just chatted for 10 mins.

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 8/11/09 at 4:33am

NICEST:

Daniel Boys in Avenue Q: He recognizes me now and everytime I go to the stagedoor he asks how I am and how my artwork's going... sweet guy!

Gavin Creel in Mary Poppins: He ALWAYS gives everyone a hug, he's soo nice!

Tony Sheldon & Oliver Thorton in Priscilla: They always make sure everyone's got their picture & autographs taken before they head off ~

Idina Menzel in Wicked London: Wow... being the star that she is and the amount of people that's there waiting for her AND the little time she has since the taxi's already waiting for her, she super friendly and efficient! She's like 'if you want a picture, get your camera ready' then she dashed from here to there, and then there to here, everywhere! and laughing along and just posing for pictures with the biggest smile!

Elaine Paige in Drowsy Chaperone: After all the fuss of what a bitch she can be, of all these bad things I've heard about her... she's just amazingly gracious! She stayed and chat for alittle and happily took pixs & signed autographs!

Amanda Holden in Thoroughly Modern Millie: Even though everyone said she's not that great in the show, I enjoyed her alot. And with the paparazzi surrounding the stagedoor at the time, she signed everyone waiting and took a picture with me. And at the time I remember when she came out, I remember going 'WOW!' she's like SUPER pretty in real life!

Sienna Miller in As You Like It and Jude Law in Hamlet: Both of them tried to sign EVERYONE and took pictures with everyone too!

WORST:

Brooke Shields in Chicago London: I've waited around... over an hour after the show ended and she still has not came out yet!

Lynda Carter in Chicago: Well she came out and had quite an attitude!