Favorite Stage Door Experiences- Page 3

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 10:52pm

1) Meeting the Broadway cast of WIW, especially maria Friedman! I got a hige hug from her. She kept apologizing for being so late in coming out (she didn't emerge from the stage door with toby, her son, until 12:15 am!).

2)Being backstage at FOTR was also great!

[Dirty Rotten Scoundrel]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:07pm

How has everyone gotten backstage? Do you have to ask or do the actors offer?
I've been invited every time I've gone backstage. I would never DARE ask someone to take me. I'd feel so rude.

[mrslovett7]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:10pm

oh those are so cool to read!

I have a lot lol:

~Recently going to Patti's concert at the Vivian Beaumont and talking to Diana Dimarzio, Manoel Felciano and Michael Cerveris and then Manoel introducing me to my idol, Patti LuPone! Best night ever!

~Also at the Vivian Beaumont, my friend knows Victoria Clark so after Light in the Piazza we went to her dressing room and we all hung out for a bit and then she's like, "do you guys want to go on the stage?" YES! lol I was on stage at Lincoln Center. She then introduced us to Chris Sarandon who hugged me and Michael Beresse who ended up knowing who I was because I my friend Michael Mulherren introduced me to him after Kiss Me Kate. Then we talked for over an hour and she hugged me when we left, it was beyond amazing.

~My other friend's mom was Sally Bowles in the 80's Cabaret revival so she is really good friends Joel Grey and invited me to see Wicked before it opened. so we went backstage and walked past Norbert Leo Butz (EEEE!) to meet Joel which was fun then Kristin waved to us from her dressing room and we get into the elevator and this beautiful woman gets in with her boyfriend and she goes, "I hope all the green came off my face" my friend and I looked at eachother and then shoved our playbills at her hahaha!! it was Idina and Taye!!! Then the best part is that no one recognizes her when she gets out side and there are all these screaming fans grabbing my friend and i asking for our autographs. I signed like 20 playbills!

~Michael Mulherren is a family friend of ours and so whenever we see a show of his he takes us backstage. we went backstage at Titianic and Kiss Me Kate and while we were walking into the backstage area for Kiss Me Kate I bumped right into Brian Stokes Mitchell! He said, "Oh, I'm sorry honey" heeheehee. Then at the La Cage aux folles revival when Michael came out to see us it was really cool because he was signing playbills and he hadn't seen me for 4 years and he looks up and sees me and says, "oh my god!" and ran over and hugged me, it was cool.

~Also at La Cage Gary Beach came out and I'm such an idiot, I didn't really know who he was so I went over and asked if he wouldn't mind taking a picture, and my dad takes it while he's signing my playbill and he looks up and goes, "oh no, was that it? we weren't looking! do it again!!" it was so funny, it's always a pleasure meeting him.

~Gary Beach after The Producers twice, he is soooooo amazingly nice. I adore him.

~Meeting the cast of Spamalot!!!! Sara Ramirez is one of my idols so she opened the stage door, saw me smiling ear to ear and said, "Hiiii!!!" She hugged me and took a really awesome picture with me. then David Hyde-Pierce came out and I started clapping and dropped my pen over the baracade, I was MORTIFIED and he walked right over, picked it up, handed it to me and I said, "wow i got a llllllittle too excited there" and he burst out laughing. Then this woman next to me asked if I could take a pic of her and Hank and it didn't work the 1st time so I took it again and he came to me and I said, "Want to take even MORE pictures?" and he did this hilarious english accent and said, "Of course I do!!" that was a lot of fun.

~Sweeney Todd!!!! OH MY GOD they are sooooooo nice!! I was in shock because I was finally seeing me favorite show live and seeing Patti LuPone so close! Lauren was incredibly sweet, along with Ben and Diana. Donna was so funny and sweet. Manoel came out and hugged me because I was freaking out lol. He took a picture with me and we talked for a bit. Then Michael came out and my pen ran out of ink so he went inside and came back out with my playbill signed for me. Then my friend took a picture and her finger was covering some of the lense and he starts laughing and looks at me and asks, "what's your friends name?" Lauren "Lauren you covered the lense! get over here!" haha so my mom took a pic of the 3 of us and he says, "now that's better". we talked for a little bit and he was sooooooooo nice!!

I love stage dooring, it's the best!

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:19pm

"Then the best part is that no one recognizes her when she gets out side and there are all these screaming fans grabbing my friend and i asking for our autographs. I signed like 20 playbills!"

I find that extremly funny!

Sadly the I've only stage doored once and it was at the recent Rent tour in Chicago, it sucked because Chante Carmel Frierson didn't even come out (it was a matinee) and that's who I actually had something real to say to (rather than "you did a great job!").

[meggsison]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:31pm

My favorite stage door experience is most definitly The Color Purple, meeting the entire cast was just about the most fun I've had. Ever. I mean, Felicia P. Fields walks out and she's like AHHH LOOK AT ALL THE PEOPLE! And everyone's so nice and welcoming and willing to sign things and take pictures, and LaChanze is the nicest person EVER. They really are fantastic people.

[JbaraFan1]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:49pm

I've been invited every time I've gone backstage. I would never DARE ask someone to take me. I'd feel so rude.

Liz, that's admirable, however, I know that Greg does not mind someone politely requesting a backstage visit. In fact, he receives such requests all the time, and he is happy to oblige whenever possible. It isn't rude if the request is politely made. :)

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:52pm

I've never really asked to go backstage. The first time, it was because it had already been arranged by a person leading a group, and the second time, a friend of mine was to go backstage on her birthday, and I was invited along.

[mrslovett7]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:02am

I'm defiinately curious on how to go backstage at Sweeney, that would be incredible!

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:04am

Try going to the theater about 3 ta 2 hours before the show!!!!

When`s Patti coming back!?!?!

[mrslovett7]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:13am

AHHHHHHHHH what do you mean, when's Patti coming back?!?!? did she leave?!?!? Oh no!

When's Patti coming back??!!

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 1:17am

As far as I know, Patti hasn't left yet. She leaves in July.

About the backstage thing, here's what irks me:

When an actor is kind enough to invite you backstage, and you go around and tell everyone about it, it potentially creates an awkward position for that actor. People hear backstage Sweeney Todd stories, and begin to machinate on how to get such an invite. Many people ASK the actors outright. Maybe some actors don't mind, but I'm sure others do. So you're putting them in an awkward situation, because they can't just invite EVERYONE.

Some people think that because they've seen a show 5 times, or that the actors recognize them, it means that they have the right to things like a backstage tour. That's simply not the case. Let the actors make the offer to you, and, yes, some of them do. It's not a secret, but, if they do, do them the courtesy of not bragging about it on a public forum. You're just giving people ideas, and that breeds competitiveness, and pettiness: "He was invited backstage? Why not me?! How do I get so and so to take me backstage?"

I would never, EVER ask an actor to take me backstage. I honestly think it's rude to put an actor in that situation. Just because some of them don't mind, doesn't make it right to ask for something like that. Plus, there's something special and unique about having them invite you. We should be grateful that many actors (like Greg Jbara) are kind enough to give some fans a backstage tour, but remember that the more people start to bug them, and demand that they do it for them, the more likely they will stop inviting fans altogether. Be respectful to actors you admire, and they MAY repay that by treating you to a backstage tour. Just remember that being a fan doesn't mean you're entitled to things like that.
Updated On: 5/28/06 at 01:17 AM

[alliez92092]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 6:55pm

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels last August. That was amazing.

Hairspray national tour in Boston was great to.

Every Wicked stagedoor in Boston, aka: Julia Murney and Sebastian Arcelus. Need I say more?

And finally, not as much of a stagedoor but still meeting cast members in the lobby of the Nederlander. Frenchie Davis is incredible, but D'monroe wins at life.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 7:14pm

Okay I'll post my favorite now,

Meeting Mr. Wilson after Barefoot in the Park was great. He signed my playbill and then I'm like now don't groan when you see this...and I pulled out my DVD of Phantom of the Opera. And opened it up and signed the actual DVD. And then as he was handing it back to me he was like "Wait, where's the front insert thingy?" and so I said my dog ate, because well he did, and then he said something like "yea, uh-huh, I bet you use that one in school all the time."

I've never been invited backstage by anyone. I would probobly start bawling if I did. Someone would litterally have to drag me out of the theate, I'd be in there so long.

[Chitty Flies]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 7:38pm

I met Sarah Jessica Parker the first week she took over the role of Annie from the original actress. I think this was January or February 1979. I had the gall to point out to her that her brown roots were growing out through her dyed red hair! (Hey, I was a kid!) At any rate, she had no fan base yet, and seemed grateful to have someone talking to her, getting her autograph, and photos.

My second favorite stage door was meeting the cast of Chitty, especially Jan Maxwell (who stole the show for me). Peace and Love,

Chitty Flies

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 9:12pm

I forgot to add Anika Noni Rose to my list. She is such a sweet person.

[Mamie]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 9:37pm

Add me to the long list of those praising Greg Jbara. The first time I met him he invited me backstage and gave me an incredible tour after the matinee. By the time I'd come down off of cloud 9, I realized that I hadn't taken a single picture or gotten an autograph. That night I went to see Woman in White and then hurried back to the Imperial stage door to get my autograph. Greg came out and immediately came over, gave me a hug, and signed my Playbill. We chatted for a minute and then he worked his way around the crowd as other members of the cast came out. Each autographed my Playbill and then suddenly Greg was back. He pulled me over and said "I want you to meet someone". He then introduced me to the beautiful lady standing there when he said "This is my wife, Julie. Julie - this is Mamie!" As I shook her hand, Greg took the Playbill out of my hand. Julie and Greg both made me feel like I was the celebrity there! Finally he returned my Playbill and they left for home. It wasn't until I returned to Virginia that I was looking through that Playbill and found the special personal message he had written across his bio page while I was talking to Julie.

I just don't believe ANYONE will ever top that day!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 9:41pm

I saw Greg walking through Shubert Alley with his wife and children. Even though I only had a signed Spamalot Playbill with me, I asked him to sign it, and he was more than happy to. He told me "Gee, Spamalot, I really liked that show." I replied with "Yeah, but Dirty Rotten was better...." (which, of course, I believe to be true). He did his usual autograph, and under it he wrote "JBARA - DRS."

What a great guy.

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 9:54pm

Carolee Carmello going "Oh my gosh! You're LIZ!" after I mentioned I had written her a letter, and then chatting for a few more minutes at the Lestat stagedoor. Next time I was there, she came right over and was all "Oh hiiI!" and starting talking to my mom about her kids and apartments in San Francisco.

Wicked on my birthday was fun as well, Derrick gave me a big hug and Maria Eberline was way too nice.

[NathanLaneStalker]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 9:54pm

Gary Beach and Greg Jbara are the same! You request to go backstage and they are MORE than happy!

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 10:18pm

Yes Mamie, you had a wonderful stage door experience. But ahem, don't forget how much better it was made by your companion :-P

[zepka102]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 1:24am

2 stories...

last summer i saw Wicked from the front row. the next day i was over at Hairspray for Mary Bond Davis' final performace. we were there before the show to give her flowers. but while we were waiting, there was a guy who kept looking over at me. i was kind of confused. i brushed it off. finally he comes up to me and goes, "excuse me, were you at wicked last night?" i told him yes. he goes, "ah, i thought so. well, i'm in the ensemble. and we do this thing when we're offstage and we're bored. we have a board up and what we do is write descriptions of people in the lotto seats. throughout the show, cast members check out the people and put a checkmark on who they think is the hottest. well, you had atleast 12 checkmarks... just thought i'd let you know."

i freaked out... and glowed for the rest of the day :-P


other story: Tarzan

it's obvous who i love. i only talk about him all the time. so after the show, i was thinking "ok, this is it.. finally meeting Josh in person. i can do this." so he walks out and i try to stay calm. i mean, i was front row for this, so i was close to him. it's just him now, right. he makes his way over. he says hi to my 1 friend who has spoken to him before. so my friend introduces me as "the infamous mike." Josh looks at me and goes, "oooooooooooooh, i know ALL about mike already." and he gave me a hug. im thinking "oooooooooooooh sh*t. i'm dead." but he was really nice and i survived. of course who knows what he thinks of me... here's hoping i didn't come across like an idiot!

then Merle came out. i love her... have since i saw her in Rent. so first thing she did when she saw us was come over and say "i love you guys!" since we were front row dead center, she saw us when we shot up to give her a standing ovation. i guess i was so speechless in front of Josh i just let it all out on her. i blabbed on about how i really loved her in rent and when i found out she was cast as Kala, i couldn't wait for that and she was amazing and i love her. she just looked at me and then gave me a huge hug and was like "awwwwwwwww you are so sweet!"

both amazing

Updated On: 5/29/06 at 01:24 AM

[Malki5]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 4:27pm

Add me to the Greg Jbara Fan CLub! Not only has he invited me and my kids backstage (more than once), he stayed a little longer one time and let my 4 year old sing a song onstage. He actually created a monster because Yoni (my son) now calls himself a Broadway star but Greg will always have a place in my heart for being the sweetest person I have ever met.

[broadwaybaby221]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 5:19pm

Wicked tour 2006 in Pittsburgh. I have so many fond memories from that. I got to meet my friend, Heather, for the first time. She won lotto that day and we just had a run time walking around in the cold. Sebastian Arcelus giving me a hug, Stephanie J Block giving me two hugs. Timothy Britten Parker. Timothy Britten Parker took me backstage at Wicked and we still keep in close contact, which is nice. He's very, very sweet and is willing to do anything for fans. He was shocked that I even knew who he was. Wonderful man.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 5:22pm

When I was in high school I cut school to go see HAIRSPRAY one Wednesday matinee.

After the show, I was talking to Harvey Fierstein, and I said "Congratulations on your nomination, it's well deserved!" and he looked at me and said "Oh, honey, I know it is."

It was classic.l

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/29/06 at 5:39pm

Harvey's another great guy. I've seen him many times on the street, walking around. The first time was early in the Hairspray run, the next was talking to one of the crew guys who was building the Chita Rivera set, during his run in Fiddler. I didn't realize it was him until I heard the guy say "See ya, Harvey."

The third time I waited at the Fiddler stage door, to get Rosie's autograph for my friend. He already signed the Playbill before, realized it, and started joking around with me. "Yup, that's my signature, how'd you get it!?" So I explained, and he was very sweet, saying "She'll be down soon, cookie!"

He's one of the few who actually likes walking on the street and doesn't mind being recognized.