Best Stage Door Experiences — Page 2

I've only stagedoored once and it was when I went to see Legally Blonde in July. The cast was soooooo nice and took the time to sign everything and pose for pictures and chat with you for a minute. It was probably one of the best nights of my life. They were all very funny too.

Me and my ex-girlfriend waited for Donna Murphy for a half-hour in the freezing cold after Wonderful Town. After that, she opened the stage door, invited us in, and talked with us for a good 10-15 minutes. Class act.

Had a lengthy conversation with Ron Eldard, backstage after Doubt.

Meeting Parker Posey and Ethan Hawke after Hurlyburly was really something.

I'm not crazy about her, but I NEVER thought that I would meet Julia Roberts.

I was waiting to see Amanda Plummer when she was appearing in Agnes of God on Broadway. She sorta slipped out behind Geraldyn Page and I followed her about two buildings down and then lost her.

I started to walk back to say hello to Elizabeth Ashley and then I noticed a cop on a horse who was in front of The Imperial Theatre. There was Amanda having a very intimate talk with the horse. Stroking his head, whispering in the horse's ear. The cop thought she was a loon. When she was done after stabbing the horses' eyes out (joking) I mean talking with the horse, I asked her to sign my playbill and she couldnt have been sweeter. We then talked about horses and animals in general.

She was a joy--Kooky...but a joy.

What a great topic!
Mr. Cheyenne Jackson is the most charming, patient, kind and funny man.
Miss Rosemary Harris invitied us up to her dressing room during the run of "Hayfever" in the mid-80s and chatted with us while she signed the poster which still hangs in our living room.
But Miss Claudette Colbert was the best of all, she invited me to join her in the back seat of her limosine waiting at stage door, to chat and sign pictures, including one of her as Cleopatra from C.B. DeMille's 1934 film, during her last stint on Broadway in "Aren't We All?" in 1985. That was heaven!

Recently, [title of show].

---

I would love to bump this thread, because I love reading about people's memorable stage door experiences! My most recent memorable experience, was when I saw Hair back in March. Arbender Robinson had come out, and he was graciously waiting to take a group back stage to give a tour. They were a no show, and he had waited, and waited while talking to me along with about four others waiting. After about a half hour, he decided to take us back stage and see the set, props, and costumes. He taught us all about his past shows, and what it's like to perform. It was such an amazing experience, and I don't think one like that will ever come again.

Another was last year when I saw Dreamgirls. I was the only one waiting outside of the Ahmanson, in the freezing weather. I had gotten everybody's signatures, minus Syesha Mercado's. I had waited, and waited, and somebody working backstage came out and asked what I who I was waiting for in the cold. He took me backstage into her dressing room. We chatted, took a picture, and she personalized my performance magazine. It was so fun, and I am so happy that I was able to experience that.

Thanks!

Bernadette Peters was incredible when I saw ALNM. There were a ton of people there, and I was super star struck when she came out. I asked her in what I'm sure was a very quiet, shaky, voice for a picture, and she gestured for me to wait. After signing everyone's there, she remembered that I wanted a picture. My friend went to take it of us, and then couldn't figure out how the camera worked. Rather than leaving, Bernadette offered suggestions on how to get the camera to work, stood with me while I took the picture, and then took one with my friend. I was mortified, but she was beyond gracious the whole time.
Alice Ripley also chatted with me for awhile, and I noticed she recognized many of the fans by name.
Another great one was when I saw Catch Me in Seattle. It was my second time seeing it, and went to the stage door again after having neither Norbert (understandably, due to what happened with his sister) or Aaron come out. They didn't come out this time, but Matthew Morrison happened to have seen the show, and he came out the stage door! This was when only the first episode of Glee was out, so no one else recognized him, but I asked for a picture and he took one with me and asked how I liked the show etc. Now that he's so well known, I bet it's a lot more of a hassle getting a picture with him.

I've only stage-doored once but it was a wonderful experience: Cherry Jones in Doubt. Talk about someone who really appreciates her fans. There were maybe 10 people waiting and she spent at least a couple minutes speaking individually to each person. She wrote a long, personal message when signing my playbill. (The rest of the cast, too--Brian O'Byrne, Heather Goldenhersh, and Adriane Lenox--were also all very sweet)

This past fall, Jones was collecting for BC/EFA after Mrs Warren's Profession. I told her how wonderful it was to see the star of the show collecting for such a good cause and she hugged me.

---

It would definitely have to be American Idiot. I saw that show 4 times -- stage doored 3 of the 4 -- and the cast was always so gracious and humble. Nearly all of the cast came out, too -- all matinees. I was the most impressed with Tony Vincent, though. He usually never stage doored after the show for fans, but on my last trip to see the show, there he was! He had a swarm of girls around him. I absolutely idolize him, mind you, so I was reduced to a 12-year-old teeny bopper state when he came up to me to sign my playbill. He was extremely gracious and friendly, and knew exactly how to work the crowd. I asked him for a picture and he said, "Sure! Just wait a minute, those girls were first" *as he pointed to a group of girls. He took a photo with them, signed a few more playbills handed in front of him, and then when someone asked him for a picture, he told them, "Yup, let me just take a picture with them first" *pointing to us. He was just so nice. That entire cast was.

I also had wonderful experiences with the cast of RENT a few years back.

So, I am back from reading the "Worst SD Experiences" and disappointed how this has much less pages than the "Worst SD" one does. I thankfully hadn't have any bad experiences yet, but had some amazing ones

Uzo and Corbin in Godspell: The whole Godspell cast was super friendly (the guy who was Judas seemed really tired and standoffish though), but Uzo and Corbin topped them! Uzo talked to my parents and me about 5 minutes (I forget what. I only remembered how we talked about we both grew up in DC) and she was super sweet. I hope she didn't change because of OSTNB. Corbin was a doll. I was so excited to meet him and he was so humble and grateful. He actually winked at me and kissed me on the cheek. We talked about 5 minutes too.

The whole cast of Matilda (Bertie, Lesli, Gabe, Taylor, Colin, Sam): Especially Gabriel! He is just as adorable as he is in the interviews and bowed to me when I called him adorable. Lesli was like, "Hey, want a selfie?" in a enthusiastic tone. I have a crush on Bertie, so when I called him handsome, he giggled :3 And Gabe and Bertie loved the little girls next to me.

Victoria Clarke: Ugh, she made my trip! Again, super sweet and humble! She was actually like, "Have we met before?" at one point, which was so cool! We actually talked really long because I told her she reminded me of my vocal teacher, so we mainly chatted about singing.

James Monore Iglehart: Unfortuanely, I only had time for Adam, James, Dom, and an ensemble person. So,, no Courtney and Jonathan :/ But, it doesn't matter. James was a delight from beginning to end at the stage door. There were actually a huge crowd of kids (they had to get back on their bus though), so he was like "Hey kids! Oh, they're gone Oh, hey guys!" He was again, very humbled and sweet (I use this word a lot, LOL) and really moved when I told him that he is inspiring me to audition for Anna when Frozen comes to Broadway (Honestly, there's no way I'll get her with my speech impediment). And he actually went to the kids at the bus after he was done with everyone else (It was me and my mom, and a family next to us). On the way there, my dad yelled to him from our car, "Great show!" and James yelled "Thank you!" back. Very cheerful and you can tell he's loving his time here.

Sierra Boggess: I'm very surprised of the bad stage door experiences stories with her in the thread (thankfully, only 2) because she is literally the nicest and down-to-earth person ever. I was a little too excited at first when I talked to her (by accident, I SWEAR!), so I had freaked her a little, but she was still REALLY nice to me and gave me a huge hug! We talked about 6-10 minutes or so. She was in my town for a Q&A for high school and college students in November.

Idina Menzel: When I saw If/Then in November, Idina was late (almost an hour), but quietly apologized. Everyone gave their playbills to her. I was the last one she had, so she said "Whose is this?" And I yelled out mine. Then, I told her, "Thanks, Idina. I love you." And she gave me a huge grin! :3 (Totally not surprised about the bad Wicked stage door experiences though)

Updated On: 7/27/14 at 12:26 AM

I've never been much of a stage door person, but earlier this month I opted to jump into the If/Then madness with a friend. (also, I'm a HUGE Idina fan) Of course the barricades were packed the minuet we walked out, but noticed that a motorcycle seemed to be blocking a tiny space beside the theater. We waited by it, and after the man moved it, we were able to sneak a front row spot. The cast, including Idina, did come out and sign. It was nice to see how many people were willing to pass up playbills for others. It wasn't nearly as crazy as I'd imagined. Everyone from the cast was talkative and happy. After Idina signed, I pretty much walked on air back to the train. I'll never forget that day :)

I have had some great stage door experiences. When I saw Exit The King with Geoffrey Rush, Susan Sarandon, Andrea Martin, the entire cast came out one by one. they were all so genuinely kind to everyone. There were some drama students there and all the actors were asking them very engaging questions and gave them all the time they needed. The cast of In The Heights was always so nice to everyone. Jordan Sparks was so kind when she was in the show for a brief time, even using my back as a desk to lean on for a bit. The biggest class act was Audra after Lady Day. She stopped, smiled, and made eye contact with every fan. If someone said something kind, she was so genuinely grateful for the remark. So amazing.