Best of Broadway meet & greets

[thechorusgirl]

Posted: 8/11/21 at 5:33pm

Share your best Broadway star meet/greet experience - stage door or otherwise...I adore these stories.
Give all the details you can...who, what, where, when, why, how?
Did it impact your life? Inspire you?
Have you ever kept in touch with an actor you met/become friends?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/11/21 at 5:44pm

Met Idina Menzel backstage at If/Then. I was crying for most of the second act, and was still very much in tears when she hugged me (my Mom knows her from high school, and she dated one of my uncles years before Rent). I probably made the biggest fool of myself in front of Josh Gad and the Lopezes (all very sweet), who also came backstage that night. 

I'm also sure I've told my Meg Zervoulis story at least once or twice on these boards. We still keep in touch; I just reached out to her on Monday congratulating her on a great run in West Side Story. When I hopefully meet more conductors after shows via Zoom and Skype (I can't do it in person anymore - I liked doing that before pandemic times), I'm positive there'll be more memories to share.

 

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/12/21 at 2:40am

I first met Christy Altomare at the Anastasia stage door while the show was in previews on Broadway. She was one of the warmest, kindest people I have ever met. I saw the show many more times when it was on Broadway, and befriended a lot of other fans of the show through it. Throughout the run, Christy and I got to know each other more, and she ended up bringing me backstage four times throughout the run (each time becoming more informal). Also, she ALWAYS gave me food when I came backstage. Sometimes it was candy, sometimes it was dip, sometimes it was salad. But she always gave me food.

To this day, Christy and I are still very close, have helped each other get through the pandemic, and are planning to get together next month, when I visit the city for the first time in 20 months. I know it may sound unbelievable that what was initially a stage door greeting could evolve into Christy becoming one of my best friends, but that's how it happened. And I am incredibly grateful to have her in my life.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 5:20am

Another more recent Covid-age story.

In October 2020, I booked a Broadway Plus meet & greet with Laura Bell Bundy. I have been a fan of her for over a decade, and was so excited (and nervous) to chat with her. In the conversation, I mentioned in passing that I was in the process of auditioning for BA/BFA programs, and she offered to help me with prep. That meet & greet led to me doing two intensives with her, and over time, becoming (in her words) one of her favorite students. She's been so gracious and generous with her time, and I can honestly say I've learned more from her than I did in two years of my Associate's program pre-Covid.

So yep, even in the age of Covid, magic can happen.