Posted: 6/4/18 at 2:00am
Not huge celebs, but I did see Sinbad outside of Spamalot, Audra McDonald outside of Hair frequently (since her husband was in the show), Ace Young and Davey Havok outside of American Idiot (way before Havok joined the cast), and Caroline Rhea outside of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.
Posted: 6/4/18 at 2:22am
BrodyFosse123 said: "Annoying is leaving a stage door on Broadway with an actor friend and having people ask you for a selfie and/or to autograph their Playbills assuming you’re in also the show. The desperation for anything Broadway. They truly don’t care who signs their stuff."
I fully agree. I get annoyed when people insist on getting my autograph or even want my picture just because I'm friends with an actor. I've begged some actors to go out the side door when I'm with them but most of them don't want to be rude to the fans. I've learned to leave through the pass door alone and meet my friends outside the theatre at a designated place.
Posted: 6/4/18 at 2:38am
"When I saw Groundhog Day last September, I happened to catch nights when both Laura Bell Bundy and Tim Minchin were at the show. "
Tim Minchin was the composer for Groundhog Day.
"Whenever big actors attend the show, they always either know someone, or they're invited backstage simply because of their celebrity status. And naturally they will leave and enter through the stage door."
As JBroadway says, this happens all the time. All the time. When actors see a show, and they know people in it, they often go backstage. By the time they are done visiting, in most theaters, the alternate door (the lobby) is closed. In most cases, there is no other exit. This is not remotely unusual.
Posted: 6/4/18 at 3:38am
Posted: 6/4/18 at 8:46am
I love seeing celebs at the shows and feel like it happens all the time! Last week Zachary Levi came out at My Fair Lady (I had seen him at intermission and said hi so I was set haha) and some huge fans of his were like 'ahh please can I get a picture with you?' and he declined saying this wasn't his show but that they should ask the stars for their picture because weren't they amazing? which I thought was super classy of him. God even when he's not in a show he's the best at stage dooring!
Ted Sperling also came out and signed Playbills for whoever asked.
Next day at Carousel Debbie Allen came out and people asked her for autographs and pics and she was happy to do so, saying "man I could get used to this!" which I adored. I thought even though it was the opposite of Zach's reaction, both reactions were appropriate and nice for the person doing it.
Megan Hilty was at my show in London this past weekend (The Rink, which btw was incredible) and she was happy to take pictures with whoever asked (and yet I was still too embarrassed to ask, stupid me). Caroline O'Connor, meanwhile, the star, was talking to people for almost an hour and ignoring the people waiting for her signature - which yes is her right, there's no requirement to sign, but at this theatre it was super awkward because it's all happening in one small room in the lobby, so she was ignoring the fans like standing next to her. Super weird experience.
I always end up in bathroom lines with celebs too and it's super awkward because I want to say that I love their work but then we would be standing in silence or awkwardness for a good 20 minutes together !! Last weekend was Dyan Cannon.
Posted: 6/4/18 at 9:08am
singalongsong2 said: "Not huge celebs, but I did see Sinbad outside of Spamalot, Audra McDonald outside of Hair frequently (since her husband was in the show), Ace Young and DaveyHavok outside of American Idiot (way before Havok joined the cast), and Caroline Rhea outside of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson."
You and I may have been at the same BBAJ performance. I remember Caroline Rhea with her kids there looking to go in.
I've seen Richard Kind at three different stage doors (WOMEN ON THE VERGE - closing night, GRACE in 2012, and HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH in 2014). At the HEDWIG stage door, I also saw Ricky Martin and Elle Fanning.
At EVITA, I saw Rita Moreno and I almost hit the ground at how regal she was.
Posted: 6/4/18 at 9:35am
I could think of a few fun ones on the top of my head..
- We were at the stage door for Aladdin and Raven-Symone walked out and no one noticed her. So I slipped out of the stage door quietly to ask her for a selfie and she was very nice about it. I was trying not to make a whole scene cause surely all these Disney fans at the stage door would really want a pic with her.
- When Jennifer Morrison was dating Sebastian Stan, she came out of the Picnic stage door so I got a picture of both of them. Once Upon a Time was kind of big back then so I guess she is used to random fans at random situations.
- A long while before Scarlett Strallen replaced Lisa O'Hare, I was at The Gentlemen's Guide special event (they were shooting a 5 minute viral video). When I was leaving the theatre I ran into Scarlett and, having seen her in Mary Poppins and A Chorus Line, I had to say hi, she was the sweetest! I made a comment that she should play Sibella in the production and, she must have known back then, but she kept the secret pretty good!
Updated On: 6/4/18 at 09:35 AM
Posted: 6/4/18 at 11:15am
Not at the stage door but:
I won the Hamilton lotto in December 2015. I brought a friend with me and I started looking around at all the people behind me at intermission only to notice that Ice Cube was sitting right behind me. I turned and whispered to my friend that Mr. Cube was behind us. She looks over her shoulder, the opposite shoulder that Mr. Ice is behind, and sees an elderly african american man. She loudly exclaims, "[Sondheimite], NOT ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE ICE CUBE!!!"
Ice Cube laughed, we both blushed, and then we had a nice conversation.
Posted: 6/4/18 at 1:14pm
rjm516 said: "Next day at Carousel Debbie Allen came out and people asked her for autographs and pics and she was happy to do so, saying "man I could get used to this!" which I adored."
My hubby and I were at the same performance of Carousel. I didn't even catch Debbie Allen until the security guy I was chatting with pointed her out after she passed the barricade.
On our trip last year, reality tv "personality" Abby Lee Miller was waiting at the stage door after Little Foxes (behind the barricade with the rest of us). My hubby politely asked for a picture and she was very nice. This was pretty soon before her incarceration.
Posted: 6/4/18 at 1:43pm
haterobics said: "The worst part of exiting the stage door as a civilianis when the crowd whoops it up when it opens, and then as soon as they see you're not famous, it just dies out instantly. ;-("
This happened to me and I friend after IF/THEN. FROZEN was still big at the time and that crowd turned on us when they saw neither of us was Idina. It was kinda scary.
I also saw Robin Williams come out of JERSEY BOYS right after it opened. Some lady screamed out "Robin Williams!" and the crowd went nuts.
Updated On: 6/4/18 at 01:43 PM
Posted: 6/4/18 at 6:20pm
rjm516, Wow, Dyan Cannon. Haven't thought of her in ages. When I stage doored something, Robert Wagner & Jill St John came out. Most of the crowd didn't know either one and especially Jill St John. I'm like that's Miss Diamonds Are Forever. Although I'm happy to see about anyone from film, tv and stage, I really cherish to see the icons. When Mia Farrow was in Love Letters, a couple of years back, although I "saw" her she didn't engage with the crowd (autographs or pictures). I was disappointed.
Posted: 6/5/18 at 2:42am
Posted: 6/5/18 at 7:23am
Posted: 6/5/18 at 7:47am
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