Best/worst stage door experience?- Page 3

[TheKingsAndI]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 12:51pm

I was at a show once with a terrible usher who was really rude and mean inside the theatre, and then who followed everyone outside and was yelling at everyone. It ruined the experience for me and we just decided to leave after that

[JSquared2]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 12:58pm

TheKingsAndI said: "I was at a show once with a terrible usher who was really rude and mean inside the theatre, and then who followed everyone outside and was yelling at everyone. It ruined the experience for me and we just decided to leave after that"

You decided to leave after the show had ended?  How horrible that must have been for you!

[Pjayactor]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 1:03pm

Was it the St. James???

[JuneJune]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 1:22pm

Worst experience for me was Waitress with Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel. Despite being in the front of the house, my friend and I got a surprisingly good spot (second row of people from the barricades), but by the end of it, there were probably 4 rows of people, 5 on the ends. A lot of pushing and shoving and screaming in my ear when Sara and Gavin came out. This continued even when they were just walking around, signing things.

I haven't stage doored a lot, but my best experience has to be Alex Brightman in Beetlejuice, hands down. Alex was very attentive to everyone that was there and started conversations from nothing; I usually just thank an actor in fear of taking of their time, but he made an effort to converse with me for a minute or two, which I thought was really great of him.

[quizking101]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 1:45pm

Since I’ve been to a good portion of the shows this Spring, I’ll comment mostly on those.

BEST OVERALL: King Lear - Everyone was very kind (even the GoT fans there for Pedro knew their place). Glenda, Jayne, and Ruth took their time with everyone and were very friendly to us. It wasn’t extremely crowded and it was well-controlled

EASIEST: Choir Boy - I was the only one there after a matinee and I kinda looked like a jackass, but Jeremy Pope and Chuck Cooper we’re very kind. (They also had a talkback after that performance.)

MOST DISORGANIZED: The Ferryman - After a matinee, and there was nothing set up, so the few of us basically looked like we were stalking the alley door between the Jacobs and Golden. Brian D’Arcy James was very kind though when I approached him.

QUICKEST: Kiss Me Kate - Half The cast, including Chase and O’Hara, we’re out in under 15 minutes.

WORST AUTOGRAPH SEEKERS: True West (but also literally any show I’ve seen at the American Airlines). Ethan and Paul were kind to them, but the security was visibly rolling their eyes because of the seekers’ behavior

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 3:50pm

I agree with the person who mentioned Mulaney and Kroll in Oh, Hello! I'd been a huge fan of Mulaney's for a couple years so seeing him live was amazing. There were only about 10-15 people waiting at the stagedoor and we all gushed about how funny the show was, you could tell everyone was a geniune fan. The security guard told us fun facts about the theater and told stories about Mulaney and Kroll, it was so much fun. When they came out they spend a minute or two having a conversation to everyone, the girl next to me talked about how she performed Mulaney's stand-up for a talent show. This also happened to be the day that Norman Lear was the guest, and he came out and everyone went wild! He, Kroll, Mulaney, Mulaney's wife, and a couple of fans had a great conversation at the end of the night. It was so amazing!

Posted: 5/7/19 at 4:03pm

TheKingsAndI said: "I was at a show once with a terrible usher who was really rude and mean inside the theatre, and then who followed everyone outside and was yelling at everyone. It ruined the experience for me and we just decided to leave after that"

JSquared2 said: "You decided to leave after the show had ended? How horrible that must have been for you!"

Are... are you the mean usher?

[Rogerdellibovi]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 5:55pm

Best: Frozen in previews. Patti Murin is such a sweetheart she was literally glowing with energy. Plus they roped from behind us so there was only 2 rows to prevent the crazy. Also Come From Away because Jenn Colella left with Chilina Kennedy (power couple) and complimented my outfit and was so kind to everyone. 

Worst: Hadestown only because of the mob that formed. The cast was super sweet but the guy who was handing out the flowers looked like he hated his life (and with the mob crowd I don’t blame him). 

[victoriafr]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 6:09pm

Best: Recently, Pretty Woman! Samantha Barks was super nice, she took pictures with everyone who wanted them. The stage door at the Nederlander is done really well because there are two sides of people, and the actors come out in the middle, so it was very organized.

Worst: Spongebob Squarepants. There were at least five rows of people, and from around the fourth row, I had to do some gymnastics to get my playbill signed. Definitely too far away to actually be able to say anything to the actors.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 6:18pm

"I do not blame her for the weather, or how long we waited. I know stage dooring is optional and she could have had guests inside. I do blame her for not trying to create a better interaction with the 5 people who waited an hour and a half in freezing weather. Wasn't like there was 100 of us and she had a lot of people to get through, there was 5 of us. "

You are very nice sibling !! I would not have waited that long in the bitter cold and I would have told him to meet me at Juniors or someplace else where it is warm. I totally agree with you. If you have people waiting that long in the cold you can be a little bit more personable. Especially since there were only 5 people.

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 5/7/19 at 6:55pm

JuneJune said: "Worst experience for me was Waitress with Sara Bareilles and Gavin Creel. Despite being in the front of the house, my friend and I got a surprisingly good spot (second row of people from the barricades), but by the end of it, there were probably 4 rows of people, 5 on the ends. A lot of pushing and shoving and screaming in my ear when Sara and Gavin came out. This continued even when they were just walking around, signing things."

The funny thing is, Waitress with Sara and Gavin was one of my favorite experiences.  There were a lot of rows of people, but everyone was really polite, and Gavin was so nice!

[TobiasRagg]

Posted: 5/8/19 at 12:29am

I stagedoored Beetlejuice last month after the last matinee of previews. The crowd was insane but everyone was very courteous and made space for people who asked for photos and autographs. The entire principal cast came out and almost all of them took their time with everyone and were so, so kind. Sophia Anne Caruso seemed to be in a big rush so she signed every few Playbills and booked it (She still was very kind).

Our seats were front of the house, so by the time we got out, we didn’t have a good spot for the stagedoor. I didn’t want to be aggressive and expected to not get every autograph, but Leslie Kritzer saw me behind someone (I’m tall. Lol) and told me to not be shy and that they will sign any Playbill that’s shoved in their faces. She was hilarious and so sweet. The highlight of the whole thing was getting to meet Kerry Butler, as I’m a huge fan and never got the chance in person (she’s very interactive on Twitter though). She was so extremely kind and I got to take a picture with her. Same with Alex Brightman. They just all seemed genuinely grateful for their fans.

Updated On: 5/8/19 at 12:29 AM

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 5/13/19 at 10:29pm

Rogerdellibovi said: "Worst: Hadestown only because of the mob that formed. The cast was super sweet but the guy who was handing out the flowers looked like he hated his life (and with the mob crowd I don’t blame him)."

Is the stage door that bad during the Wednesday matinees? And who comes out?

[gleek4114]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 12:35am

My best is definitely meeting Alice Ripley. It wasn’t in NYC, but Carmel, IN of all places. She was doing this strange Christmas symphony concert for four nights and my friend and I decided to make the almost three hour drive to see her perform 4 songs total. It was essentially the middle of nowhere, but I had stage doored there before (I met Patti LuPone there, of all places), so we decided to wait in the 17 degree weather (it was a Christmas concert after all). We were the only two people waiting at all and we asked the security guy if she had left yet and he was little to no help, he didn’t even know who she was, and was fairly rude saying we weren’t to come inside again under any circumstances. So we continued to wait and after about an hour Alice emerges and was gobsmacked that we had waited so long and had no clue anyone cared to meet her. She quickly invited us inside out of the cold (take that mean stage door man), and proceeded to talk to us for about 20 minutes about who we were, why we were there, where we were from, what were we studying, etc. She signed all of our stuff (I had a Side Show poster and a couple Next to Normal playbills), and took a few great pictures with us, still bundled up after waiting so long in the cold. She told us to message her on Instagram if we were ever waiting for her again and she would come get us. To this day we are friends on Facebook and she will occasionally like or comment on my posts. I know this is a big exception and it doesn’t always work that way, but sometimes when meeting your heros, it turns out way better than you ever would’ve expected.

[LuPita2]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 1:33am

I do not blame her for the weather, or how long we waited. I know stage dooring is optional and she could have had guests inside. I do blame her for not trying to create a better interaction with the 5 people who waited an hour and a half in freezing weather. Wasn't like there was 100 of us and she had a lot of people to get through, there was 5 of us. 

Completely your choice to do so, and you have no idea about her life, what was going on with her, if she was not feeling well, the fact that she talked all the time during that show about rushing home typically every night to be with her child, etc.  She gave you a great performance, that was her "interaction" with you, and she owes you absolutely nothing else in the world.  Stop with the entitlement.  

[VivianDarkbloom2]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 8:54am

JSquared, if the usher is rude to people *inside* the theater where the show is actually being performed, and this patron wasn’t being disruptive, they have a right to feel the experience was lacking.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 9:18am

Surprised to hear the negative about Alice Ripley.  I have only met her once and she could not have been nicer.  I got front row rush to Next to Normal and the show had a huge effect on me and was one of the rare times I showed emotion during a show.  Alice remembered me and we got into a very thoughtful discussion on her part about my mother's Alzheimers.

Updated On: 5/14/19 at 09:18 AM

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 9:53am

"Surprised to hear the negative about Alice Ripley.  I have only met her once and she could not have been nicer.  I got front row rush to Next to Normal and the show had a huge effect on me and was one of the rare times I showed emotion during a show.  Alice remembered me and we got into a very thoughtful discussion on her part about my mother's Alzheimers."

I was surprised also and I responded in earlier post how nice she was to my daughter and I after seeing "Next To Normal". 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 10:04am

"Completely your choice to do so, and you have no idea about her life, what was going on with her, if she was not feeling well, the fact that she talked all the time during that show about rushing home typically every night to be with her child, etc.  She gave you a great performance, that was her "interaction" with you, and she owes you absolutely nothing else in the world.  Stop with the entitlement.  "

If she was not feeling well or wants to be home with her child, then don't do the stage door thing and exit through another door. If you are going to do it (her choice), you can at least try to be personable especially in situation where there were only 5 people IMO. 

Updated On: 5/14/19 at 10:04 AM

[samtaro111]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 10:37am

LuPita2 said: "Completely your choice to do so, and you have no idea about her life, what was going on with her, if she was not feeling well,the fact that she talked all the time during that show about rushing home typically every night to be with her child, etc. She gave you a great performance, that was her "interaction" with you, and she owes you absolutely nothing else in the world. Stop with the entitlement. "

yankeefan7: "If she was not feeling well or wants to be home with her child, then don't do the stage door thing and exit through another door.If you are going to do it (her choice), you can at least try to be personable especially in situation where there wereonly 5 people IMO."

 

I never said I was entitled to meet her. We were assured by the security guard who went inside and checked after a while that she was indeed planning on stage dooring. After over an hour of waiting in NYC winter weather (again which we did choose to do willingly and do not blame her for) the line went from dozens and dozens of people to 5 of us. If she didn't want to stage door, she did not have to, but we got confirmation that she planned to. Of course she is tired after performing and of course, she wants to go home. But, there was 5 of us. If there was 50 of us I'd expect the interaction to be 2 seconds and a quick sign, with 5 of us it was rude she barely glanced up at us. Honestly, it was so awkward.

I understand it could have been a bad night for her, or something else was going on, but I obviously don't get to see that part of her life so it came off as rude and left a bad taste in my mouth. 

I guarantee someone else probably had the best interaction with her. That was not the case for me. But the forum is about your best/worst experience so I shared it and shouldn't be told to "Stop with the entitlement."  That is the entire point of this forum, no one here was forced to meet a Broadway actor nor was the Broadway actor forced to meet them. 

 

And thanks Yankeefan7 for agreeing lol, obviously LuPita2 is entitled to her own opinion on the matter.
 

Updated On: 5/14/19 at 10:37 AM

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 10:55am

Best: Choir Boy, hands down. Easy, well controlled, and the cast was super kind. Jeremy Pope especially. 

 

Worst: Hello Dolly stage door with Bernadette Peters. I was surprised they were not able to get more control of the crowd, especially once Bernadette and Gavin came out. People pushed me aside to get their autograph. I don't know if I should have expected it or not since I very rarely EVER stage door, but this was insane. I didn't even get my autograph which wasn't really that upsetting it was more than 2 men pushed through everyone rudely to get ahead in the line to the point that they pushed me aside right as Gavin came through so I missed him. I just can't stand rude people lol 

[LuPita2]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 2:25pm

If she was not feeling well or wants to be home with her child, then don't do the stage door thing and exit through another door. If you are going to do it (her choice), you can at least try to be personable especially in situation where there were only 5 people IMO. 

No one has to be personable to anyone.  Why does she care about people after a show? She doesn't. She's had to deal with this for 20 years now? And when I saw that show, she had to exit through the stage door and immediately got into her car.  Not all theaters have more than one door. She owes you nothing. Not a smile, not a hello, not an autograph. Nothing. 

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 2:36pm

Anyone who think an actor has to stage door, please never stage door again. They have lives, and only owe you their performance that you paid for. They do a show 8 times a week, not just the 1 show you attended and just because your were there does not mean you need to meet them afterwards. I hate what stage dooring has become. I try and set a better example for millennials/gen z people but sadly theres only so much one can do. I could try and find the post but I remember like years ago someone on here complained about a wicked fan yelling at an actress to sign for her cause she was waiting all day and "How dare she ignore me" I belevie was the quote. I hate people. 

[LuPita2]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 2:52pm

It truly is disgusting. Last summer, I took my time getting out The Boys in the Band as I always do as theaters.  I exited the theater really happy and on a high.  I never stage door because of how ridiculous it has become, so I was passing the huge crowd outside the theater, and Jim Parsons rushed past me into a black SUV. Two horrible women saw him, went right over to his car, and screamed "You cant SIGN an autograph? RUDE JERK!". The SUV quickly left and I was just dumbfounded. They went back to the stage door swearing.  

Un.Real. 

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/14/19 at 4:24pm

"No one has to be personable to anyone.  Why does she care about people after a show? She doesn't. She's had to deal with this for 20 years now? And when I saw that show, she had to exit through the stage door and immediately got into her car.  Not all theaters have more than one door. She owes you nothing. Not a smile, not a hello, not an autograph. Nothing. "

Once again, nobody said she owed anybody anything. All I said was that if you are going out to sign for people (once again, her choice) you can at least try to be personable IMO, it is called being a nice human being. If there is only one way out then don't have the stage door guy tell fans you will come out to sign if you have things to do or you are not in the mood. The five people would not have been there if they were told she was not coming out to sign programs etc. Is it going to really kill anybody to say "thanks for coming to the show" and sign your name 5 times. (there were 5 people waiting). I bet doing that would take about 5 minutes at most and you don't come off being rude. I guess we will agree to disagree.