Actors not coming out stage door

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 6:01pm

I went to see Wicked on Tuesday night and I was shocked that the actor who played Boq was the only person in the entire cast who signed autographs. I have stage doored for multiple shows and after each of them I have a playbill covered in signatures even if some actors didnt come out. I was surprised that no one in the ensemble even was out to sign. I understand it was a cold night and some people probably had other things to do but i was expecting at least a few other people to come out. Then I realized it was the first show I hadnt gone to on a weekend or matinee. Is this why no one came out to sign playbills?

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 6:08pm

Actors don't have to come out. Especially if it was freezing outside.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 6:13pm

Another option is they came out before you got there. If someone close to the production was going a cabaret at 11 or something, it is sometimes surprising how fast they can get out of there. Some people in RENT that I know used to bolt out of the matinee to catch a movie in between shows and were gone before nearly anyone had left the building, and Patti LuPone was often pulling away from Women on the Verge before the most agile theatergoer could be in front of her (she was actually removing her costume as she left the stage the night I saw her). So, you never know... that said, they are all free to come out the stage door, say thank you*, and not sign anything...

* as long as they don't pose for a photo before not signing, which is verboten based on the Cinderella threads.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 6:23pm

Those jerks. I hate 'em.

[Emma White]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 9:57pm

I saw Matilda two weeks ago, a Thursday night. Beautiful weather, albeit a little chilly, but the only principal who came out was Lesli Margherita (who hates the cold). Other than that, Thayne Jasperson, Betsy Struxness, and a few others came out, but that was it. And I BOLTED to the stage door. I think it tends to depend a bit on how long the current cast has been in a show; I've always assumed long-standing cast members may be less likely to come out. That's a total guess, though.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 9:58pm

Don't they know that you're entitled to their time??? Gawd.

[Kad]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 10:00pm

They're under no obligation to come out.

[Emma White]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 10:05pm

I don't think I'm entitled to their time at all, and I already got WAY more than I could have dreamed of with how friendly Lesli was. I didn't mean to complain, I was just trying to show the OP that as far as my experience shows, theirs was entirely normal. Merely an observation. I know they're under no obligation to come out. I COMPLETELY understand not wanting to come out - whenever I do shows, I HATE having to see people afterwards, when I'm all sweaty and tired and my feet hurt.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 10:10pm

The stage door is always a crapshoot. I've seen Sunday evening performances of Chicago twice in the last year or so, the first time a total of 8 people, 2 of whom were principals, came out. The second time the entire cast save for Chris Fitzgerald and a handful of female ensemble members came out to sign. They are under no obligation to do so, it's not part of their job, but it's nice when they do.

[AntV]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 10:49pm

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 10:49 PM

[StickIt]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 11:10pm

AntV, people might not agree because you sound like an entitled jerk. Actors aren't ever, ever obligated to come out and they don't "owe" their fans anything besides the performance they give onstage. How can you call yourself a fan of someone's if their performance isn't enough to satisfy you and make you happy? I mean geez, that's more than a little shallow. Actors get called names on this board and other places for coming out without signing all the time, so how exactly would that help? Why do you think it's your business where somebody has to be on any given night or what they're feeling like? People have PT, auditions, coaching, all kinds of things between shows on two show days, why would security even know about any of that? And if the actor leaves through another exit, like many theatres have, why should anyone have to know why? Why should anyone care?

You're whining about the amount of time you spend waiting? Well, stage dooring is a choice. You're running the risk of people not coming out. If you really want to see someone, it's your time to do with as you choose, but your favorite actor isn't responsible for managing your time schedule or making sure you're getting what you wanted out of your evening at the theatre (which sounds like "attention"). I'm sorry to be harsh but honestly your most made me feel gross just reading it. There's nothing wrong with doing the stagedoor and I'm sure it's really awesome to meet and get autographs from your idols. But that is a BONUS and an extra thing that they're doing out of kindness, not a requirement and certainly not something anyone should ever be berated for wanting to skip.

[AntV]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 11:32pm

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 11:32 PM

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 11:34pm

I've been fortunate in that most of the Chicago cast members seem to be willing to stage door (with the exception of A.F.W.). For example, Bianca Marroquin is quite lovely to her fans and chats it up a bit.

[StickIt]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 11:41pm

"After reading online or seeing pictures that make it seem that actor pretty much always comes out, it is disappointing that they didn't want to come out that one night because of the weather, even though they had fans braving that weather for much longer than it would take them to come out to even just say hello."

...why should someone who wants to go home/is tired/possibly just doesn't like crowds or people/is sick/has an appointment or somewhere to be care about how long you've been waiting outside for them? I think most actors would hope that their performance would be more than enough to make their fans happy. With fans like that, who needs haters? If you set your expectations to the point where you would feel that put out by someone not signing a piece of paper for you, that's really, entirely, 100% on you. Nobody owes you or the crowd an apology if they don't feel like coming out, as you suggest in your initial post. Updated On: 2/20/14 at 11:41 PM

[Lousy]

Posted: 2/20/14 at 11:50pm

No one is owed anything other than the performance they payed for.

[AntV]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:04am

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 12:04 AM

[StickIt]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:08am

"They can as you say, want to go home, be tired, be sick, have somewhere to be, but they can still walk out of the stage door say hello to everyone and say they can't sign or take pictures today."

Yeah, they can. Or they can not. That's up to them, not you. And if you're going to place judgments on people or think less of them because they don't see things your way? You're not the kind of fan any performer would ever want.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:15am

AntV,
No one is reading more into your post than you posted. You actually did state than an actor who comes out of the stage door EVER should come out every day, no matter what they feel, and at the very least explain themselves and what they are doing then / after the show and why to the people waiting. That is BEYOND entitled, BEYOND belittle, BEYOND spoiled, BEYOND demanding and BEYOND bratty. Sorry, not sorry.

[AntV]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:30am

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 12:30 AM

[AntV]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:41am

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 12:41 AM

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:47am

I could only imagine the uproar if those actors did what you're suggesting... "THAT BITCH! CAN'T BELIEVE SHE HAD THE TIME TO STOP AND SAY HELLO BUT COULDN'T SIGN MY PLAYBILL! UGH!" I actually think it would have the reverse effect of what you're envisioning.

[StickIt]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:49am

"And like I said in the post before this one, the stage door is where fans wait expecting an actor to leave from, even just to catch an up close glimpse of them."

Uh, they caught a glimpse of them when they were onstage performing for 2.5 hours? Whatever, no one is gonna change your mind, but just know that you are actually entitled and pretty grimy.

[AntV]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 12:56am

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 12:56 AM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 1:20am

AntV,
You reiterated EXACTLY what I said... "They should come out no matter whether they want to or not, say hello and explain that they aren't going to interact." Perhaps you dislike hearing it rephrased back to you, but it is precisely what you said.. lol.

[AntV]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 1:34am

Updated On: 10/17/24 at 01:34 AM