Final If/Then Show- Page 5

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 10:21am

^And well-meaning fans like yourself are shoved out of the way, or all the times you patiently went with no expectations and she didn't come out, but she came out when that one exceptionally rude fan happened to be there. That's always nice, right?

"But they also had to deal with signing for throngs of people if they wanted to participate."

Good point. The whole "who are you?" thing must be irritating on top of that.

I would love to hear interviews with Broadway performers giving their honest feelings about stage dooring. (Anyone know of any?)

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 10:28am

Good point. The whole "who are you?" thing must be irritating on top of that.

Yes ... I wanted to be like they can hear you.

I had to search for this article that I knew I had read before, has some thoughts from actors with longer quotes at the end: http://www.broadwayspotted.com/stage-door/

This sums it up for me. I stage door if I have something to say.
“Responsibility? No. They have a responsibility to perform? every show at 100%, not to visit after. But people who see theater are often moved or taken on a journey and they want to voice their enthusiasm for what they just saw/experienced, and it makes them happy to share their joy with us and THAT makes us happy! I love seeing people at the stage door.” Ellyn Marsh Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Updated On: 3/24/15 at 10:28 AM

[veronicamae]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 10:32am

"A middle aged man shoved his way towards the front of the pack like he was going for a touchdown. "

These are autograph hunters. On Saturday night, I was against the barricade (I'd arrived early, knowing I would not/could not stage door Sunday) and was surrounded by autograph hunters with cheap Frozen artwork from Kmart, etc. One of the men was asking an unsuspecting fan some questions about Idina's habits and I finally interrupted and said, "Good thing you're asking how this works so you can get a good profit on eBay," and he said, "Not with the chicken scratch she gives us." I was so over his bullsh*t; the cops even sent his crew away when they were waiting there too early. He came with at least 2 other people - one being a young woman whom he gave a playbill to out of a clipboard to masquerade as a fan. And yes, after her frenzied signing, he complained that the results were worthless. These hounds are also to blame for a lot of the yelling and posters in faces. The women behind me - who kept screaming for INDINA - kept shoving their Frozen posters in my face and Joby saw what was going on and did her best to tell them to knock it off because Idina will sign everything but not if they act that way.

/rant

The stage door experience is fun and thrilling, and it's fun to make friends with those around you who are sharing int he experience.

But sometimes you get that girl who loudly proclaims "I'm only an Idina fan when it's convenient," yet boasts that she's seen the show some 30+ times and essentially stalks the theater. Those are the times I wish for people to spontaneously burst into flame.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 10:41am

"This has a clearer shot of Menzel asking Colella to get (shove) Jackie Burns to the center stage, which was quite nice."

I grinned when I saw that part. It was too sweet. :)


I cringe when I see crazy fans or autograph hunters at the stagedoor. When I saw the show and went to wait out at the stagedoor afterwards (luckily there was a tight little spot at the very corner in the front that I managed to squeeze into), there was one man who had this box with Anna and Elsa dolls inside along with a Frozen poster that he kept trying to get Idina to sign by shoving his way to the front and trying to block off other fans who were quite patiently waiting for Idina to reach them. It was a bit satisfying to see when Idina eventually shoved his things away and said, "Sir, please. Knock it off." Needless to say, his stuff didn't get signed that night.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 10:44am

This boy definitely needs professional help and fast.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 10:51am

"It was a bit satisfying to see when Idina eventually shoved his things away and said, "Sir, please. Knock it off." Needless to say, his stuff didn't get signed that night."

Oh, that's very satisfying. Good for her. I suppose it would've been easier if she refused to sign anything from Frozen at all, but there are always exceptions like the occasional younger child hoping to get an autograph and Menzel seems happy to oblige with kids (though I honestly think that's the idea of the parent).

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 11:41am

"Oh, that's very satisfying. Good for her. I suppose it would've been easier if she refused to sign anything from Frozen at all, but there are always exceptions like the occasional younger child hoping to get an autograph and Menzel seems happy to oblige with kids (though I honestly think that's the idea of the parent)."

I wish there was a way to do the stage door thing and have only people who actually saw that performance. It just seems too crazy when a big star (Idina, Daniel Radcliffe, Sting etc) do a show and the mob scene it creates. I give these people all the credit in the world, don't think i would want to do it when it is bedlam every night.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 12:01pm

For what it's worth, some shows set up their barricades, so that one side is for people with ticket stubs for that show's performance, and the other side is for fans in general. I believe 'Constellations' did that, and so did 'Hedwig' (when Neil Patrick Harris was in it). ... I also imagine that Idina could've refused to sign any 'Frozen' merchandise, and only made exceptions for little kids. ... Sometimes, I've seen someone at the stage door announce that the star will sign ONLY Playbills and posters of the show he/she is appearing in.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 12:13pm

^That's most reasonable. I read about that in the Constellations thread too. I understand when stars would like to engage all their fanbases or whatever, but it's better to just make some hard and fast rules to filter the experience to something manageable for everyone involved (except autograph hounds) for situations like this.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 12:48pm

After watching Idina's gif of her "karate kid" moment (I think in "Here I Go") from the weekend, I had images of her replicating the kick for some at the stage door. I think she has gone above and beyond, and been pretty amazing and accommodating, and as others have said, she can't win...

I also think that this cast has an affection for each other that seems so sincere and genuine. That played (at least in the performance I saw). Idina and LaChanze in particular seem to have become good friends, and the rest of the cast seemed very protective of Idina during her admittedly crazy year. For me, that speaks volumes about both Idina and the rest of the primary leads. I think for James and Jen, this was the longest running show either of them had been in on Broadway - and a lot of that was due to Idina putting folks in the seats.

I may see it again if it tours, just to compare the experience. I liked the show a lot. I get those who did not, but it worked for me.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 2:06pm

^Well, the fact that Menzel emblazoned a permanent mention to the IF/THEN cast in her holiday album liner notes certainly speaks volumes. I'll be curious how the tour cast compares.

And thanks NJ_BroadwayGirl for the link. I think it's notable that the interviewed performers aren't of the celebrity strata that Menzel now inhabits, which isn't quite the level of Hugh Jackman or NPH but definitely goes beyond Broadway. The story about John Stamos isn't surprising. (Though the comment that apparently some stars do have stage dooring written into their contracts is rather interesting. Wonder how common that is.)

[delongpre]

Posted: 3/24/15 at 11:10pm

I used to work as an Asst. director in film and TV,and my job usually entailed taking care of the cast. I got to see how actors responded in certain situations and heard a lot about what it was like for them. When I am at stage door now, it is to share my appreciation for a performance I enjoyed. The autograph is not as important to me as making the connection to the person and sharing my thoughts. It's about giving BACK to the artist who just gave you an incredible couple of hours. When it gets wild, I feel for the actors so much, and I naturally want to protect them. My AD instincts kick in and I have to refrain from wrangling the crowd away from the talent. I don't understand how some "fans" can be so disrespectful and selfish, and audibly rude.

[loliveve]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 2:51pm

Pootie2- Just to throw in there that I second your thought about having a ticket to be at the stage door. I think it would make it so much less chaotic. I think the most organized stage door that I've ever seen was for "First Date" where they announced that you could ONLY have Playbills signed by Zachary Levi, and checked for tickets the night I was there. After he signed everything, if you wanted a photo, they just asked that you form a line while he stayed in one spot to make the process go quickly.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 4:12pm

You know, originally I was thinking that checking tickets would be too much hassle and add time, but it's not like the cast (especially Menzel) came out the door immediately, and requiring ticket stubs would definitely reduce the crowd by removing those autograph sellers and fangirls-who-didn't-see-the-show, which in turn would make signing faster. I think it'd work out, if they put the effort into such a system. Maybe that means the guards would have to be paid more, who knows.

If there was a system in place to reduce or remove the chaos, I'd actually consider stage dooring (to, as delongpre and others say, share my thoughts and feelings about a given show). But still all optional. Maybe performers would feel more obligated to stage door when they go through such a systemic effort, but nothing will stop someone from feeling offended if an actor didn't come out in either case (chaos vs. organized), I guess.

[delongpre]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 5:26pm

This could all be remedied if they allowed the signing to happen in the theater lobby. They might sell more drinks and merchandise too.
Monitor the door and let nobody from outside in. Yes, I know this can't happen because of the need to close the theater, etc....just thinking.....

[mufish]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 6:31pm

I don't know whether it applied every day, but All the Way had a rule that you had to have seen the show. The night I saw the show the stage door was a zoo by the time I got out there and Bryan Cranston didn't stay too long, not entirely surprising considering it was a grueling role and a Saturday night with a matinee the next day. I returned on Sunday just a few minutes before the show ended, and the person working the door was making sure people that were lining up had seen the show. He turned away a number of people, most of them autograph hounds. After the show they adjusted the barricades so that more or less those that they were keeping the people who had seen the show in. Many of the cast exited the stage door as usual, but Bryan Cranston ended up exiting the lobby. Since they had already corralled everyone, people went through in a single file line to get a photo/autograph/a moment with him, starting with the people who had seen that particular performance. ll this to say, I think some sort of system like this is doable to try and limit situations like If/Then and others.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 3/25/15 at 7:06pm

That does sound so much better than the usual free-for-all stage door experience. Overall, it's got to be more win-win too. At least for the big names, and Cranston is certainly bigger than Menzel, so if that system works there, scaling is probably easy. They should standardize it! :)

Posted: 3/26/15 at 12:23am

The final note of Almost Starting Over. Was a choice...

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 9:45am

Are you referring to the choice to nail that note and hold it 20 seconds?

[veronicamae]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 10:31am

*Always Starting Over

What do you mean, it was a choice. Isn't literally everything we do in life a choice?

It was an amazing choice, I'll tell you that.

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 10:35am

Damn right it was a choice. An f'ing amazing one! Between that note and the audience's response, the theatre shook with such force, I saw dust falling from the ceiling as I was sitting back down in my seat.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 10:45am

OK

[TFMH18]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 12:54pm

That song in that performance was one of the most bone chilling experiences of my entire life and I will surely remember it always. What a moment for everyone inside that theater, experiencing it together.

[NJ_BroadwayGirl]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 1:24pm

TFMH18 - Amen! I felt the same way. It epitomized the whole point of going to live theatre - to experience a one time event in community with others.

[IvyLynn]

Posted: 3/26/15 at 1:56pm

"and Cranston is certainly bigger than Menzel..."

Well, by Hollywood standards, sure. But by stage door standards, I really don't think that is true. No one has a more veracious stage door audience than Idina. Maybe NPH and Hugh Jackman were on par, but even those two, I don't believe, had to endure the kind of raucous that that woman put up with. Totally don't blame her from cutting (way) down on the SD as the run went on. Could not have been enjoyable.