Boys in Band Autographs

"Zachary Quinto didn’t tonight."

What didn't he do? Not sign?

On June 5, he started signing and then stopped. Spoke to the security guard and went back inside the stage door. Then the security guard announced no selfies to the crowd. Then Quinto came back out....yet the crowd was still tone deaf asking for selfies and forcing him to say no.

If he didn't sign tonight, I wonder if it's b/c he did two shows and was tired.

As for the makeup, he didn't have it on when I saw him. I wasn't sure it was him.

Lg48432 said: "he seemed extremely UNDERwhelmed though - like- he’s just waiting to finish signing and go home which I don’t blame. "

Why would he be overwhelmed?

Does anyone know if Jim Parsons went back to signing autographs at the stage door? He stopped while his foot was broken a month ago. He's the only one I'm missing. Thanks

For what it's worth, there are autographed rainbow Playbills from ''The Boys in the Band'' on eBay, ranging from $49-$69, but a few of them are missing Jim Parsons' John Hancock.

Updated On: 7/9/18 at 03:30 PM

WOW, SingularSensation....only 4 of the 9 cast members came out to sign? And it was the end of the night? I'd understand that post-matinee, but not after the last show. How awful. In early June, I had all of them sign the poster (not the Playbill) except Parsons. But security said b/c he broke his foot and is wearing a custom made shoe, all Parson's wants to do at the show's end is jump in his car to get home to ice it. He left the theater through the front door while the others came from the stage door.

There was a guy pre-show who only wanted Parsons and told me he never saw the show and bought the playbill on eBay. As Parson's arrived, he walked past us both with a scowl making it clear he wasn't interested. It was then that security ponied up the excuse.

If he's still taking that position, either he is upset that the playbill's are being hawked or he just doesn't care. All the others were willing, tho Quinto would not do selfies which was okay by me. I don't do them either.

Guess Parson's should be back on the screen where he doesn't have to deal with anything but a camera in his face instead of fans. Thanks for info.

No, I'm not on this site frequently, Philly. But I do go to about 80 shows/year, often repeats. Saw Boys 3x. I heard from stage door regulars that Parsons always signed prior to his injury. Perhaps they don't owe theater-goers anything, and I understand why some dislike it or feel threatened after shootings like Lennon, Grimmie. As for actors owing fans nothing other than a performance, that is true. But it's also bad PR. Fans buy the tickets, keep the producers in dough, and the beloved actors employed. At some point, every actor becomes a has-been.

A theater worker told me that Bette Midler got a lot of bad press on social media b/c she wouldn't sign so they had to nudge her to shake the hands of fans. Springsteen also has a separate line for show attendees, tho he willingly signs pre-show. I was surprised folks brought decades-old album covers, and he signed them. I brought his show poster. I wouldn't have had the nerve to do otherwise.

When I saw The Boys in the Band last month on a Saturday night, Carver, Bomer, Hutchison, and Watkins came out. As I was seated toward the front of the orchestra, by the time I got to the barricades the crowd was huge. So I was several rows back from the front of the barricade. Luckily, the helpful ladies (who had been frequenting stage door for TBITB frequently) in front of me handed my playbill up with theirs to be signed. I got pics of them from my place as that moved down the line. And I was grateful. Would I have liked it if the others cast members came out? Especially de Jesús and Rannells? Of course! But they don’t owe it to me. What they owed me was Broadway-caliber committed performances. And, in my estimation, they did that. I will say that when Matt signed my playbill, I yelled, “Thanks, Matt” from my place in the back. He looked up and made eye contact with me.

In reference to Parsons, my understanding is he was signing pre-broken-foot. It is also my understanding that he is supposed to still be wearing his boot/brace, but takes it off for every performance. I’m sure after the show, he just wants to get his brace back on and rest his foot. I just hope he isn’t doing permanent damage to it if that is the case.

I stagedoored 6 of the 8 productions I saw last month. I would’ve stagedoored Spongebob, but they don’t sign after matinees. My favorites stagedoors this trip were Skintight, Angels in America, and The Iceman Cometh for different reasons.

With Skintight, it was nice to not have a crazy big stagedoor crowd. It’s a small theatre so only about 30 of us so we got to all be right at the barricade. Only one person had obviously not seen the play that night. The whole principsl cast was lovely, but it was truly a privilege to be able to talk briefly to Idina as she signed my program, playbill and window card (which is now matted and framed in my foyer) and took a great selfie with me. I was also able to thank to her for coming out to stagedoor after If/Then in 2014 in the freezing cold a week after she had been off a few performances with the flu. I apologized for being so needy; she said something to the effect of, “Oh, you’re fine.” You will find our pic as my new profile pic. It’s the only stagedoor selfie I asked for this trip.

Angels was unique for other reasons. First, it was my favorite and most meaningful theatrical experience of the trip. Having lost several friends to AIDS, I wasn’t close to the barricade, but was still able to give Andrew Garfield a heartfelt thank you to him on behalf of my friends for his beautiful performance. He said the most beautiful thing back to me that I will cherish forever.

In regards to Icemen, I already knew Denzel wouldn’t be coming out. As soon as people found out, lots of them left. Which was fine with me because I was able to get right up to the barricade. As a result, as each cast member signed my playbill, I was able to tell them that this was my first introduction to O’Neill and had been excellent. They each seemed to find this meaningful.

The mom in the frequent stagedoor NJ/NY family next to me (at Iceman Cometh) annoyed me because she believed big stars should come out, mildly dissing Denzel. I let her know I disagreed because a) all they owed us is a great performance and b) if these stars came out, stagedoor would be crazy. She tried to counter that Bette did at least sometime come out wave. She also referenced Chris Evans coming out to stagedoor after Local Hero as if this somehow obligated Washington, too. And that Urie signed after Kinky Boots. I reminded her that he had to stop because it became unsafe.

I know I’m ranting and rambling, but my long-winded point is that no one owes you a stage door experience. But if you approach it with a sense of gratitude, you might experience some lovely moments as described above. I felt bad for Alison Pill at the small stagedoor crowd after Three Tall Women. She signed, but you could tell she was extremely uncomfortable. She declined one person’s request for a selfie and you could tell they were offended.

Updated On: 7/9/18 at 06:18 PM

Philly, I appreciated your comments and I never thought you were an "ass." I appreciated your warning. If anyone wants to chide me, I'm okay with it. That is nonsense I can ignore. I love watching all the talent on Broadway. I appreciate any actor who is willing to share their signature on a poster that I have professionally framed and then hang in my house. It's a memory for me of the great time I had on that day. I don't sell them. (Hell, my relatives are vying for the orig cast Ham signed poster that I have. Told them "over my dead body!"

From reading these postings, I guess I was lucky. The early June day I stood in front of the stage door pre-show, I received 4 "graphs." Then after the show I got another 4. The only one missing was Mr. Parsons.

He wasn't wearing a regular shoe in the performance. The staff said it was customized to look like a regular shoe but was a disguised cast. But he was still uncomfortable. I get that.

I'm semi-retired and these shows are my "bucket list." I love watching folks who can sing, dance, play instruments, act. All of the things I can't do. When I told the performers that I framed and hung the signed posters in my home as a memory of their show and performance, they all seemed genuinely flattered. I told them I can sit back and remember what a great time I had watching them. I even put the ticket in the framed poster. I never ask for selfies, but if I can snap them walking by, I'm okay with that. So I'm grateful for what I can get.

If I can buy a "Broadway Cares" signed poster, that works for me as well. I guess I'm like the old-timer who has autographed baseballs and who reflects on that "great game." Silly, I guess...but we take what we can in what little time we have left. Thanks to everyone who had something to say. No one offends me.

JayElle