Good Stagedoor experiences?

[mominator]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 3:54pm

Well we have heard horror stories of being at the stagedoor. How about some good ones? Let me start.
Dave and I took Erin to see Mamma Mia for her 15th B-Day last September. She was excited to go to the stagedoor and hopefully get to see some of the performers.. Joe Machota ( Skye) came out first, saw Erin and came right up to her and started chatting a storm with her (and even said how pretty she looked tonight) Talk about making a 15 year olds dream come true. I thought that I was going to need a mop to clean up a pile of teenage goo. Erin held her own and chatted right back!! ( Better behaved than the 40 year olds!)
Next out was Ms. Maddigan This young lady is (was) sooo sweet! Her kitten was even ther that night. Once again Erin was the first person spoken to, Tina even whipped out her camara and asked for a picture! Erin by this point was elated.
Louise Pitre was next and Erin was spoken to and was able to complement her on a great show that night and told her how she wished she could bring her high school to this show. Jason Weston ( Pepper) was next again Erin was among the first but they all started chatting it up with her.
But the biggie was Judy Kaye.. this is where Erin about fainted!
We have a picture of this one!!
It is sad when shows get so BIG that the performers can't or won't spend time with the folks at the door

I am sure there are other happy stories lets hear some more!
B

[Matt_G]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 3:58pm

I have a ton of good stage door experiences. Both Sarah Jessica Parker & Elaine Paige invited me and my family backstage after waiting over 2 hours for them (seperate occasions) in the freezing weather and talked with us, took pictures signed playbills, etc. Both incredibly nice and classy ladies.

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 4:07pm

I saw WONDERFUL TOWN w/ Donna Murphy about three months ago. She was wonderful, and my girlfriend and I wanted to meet her really badly.

So we get to the stage door and meet EVERYONE (Nancy Anderson, Jennifer Westfeldt, Gregg Edelmann, Peter Benson, etc.), but Donna Murphy doesn't seem to be coming out. It is freezing outside, and audience members are not waiting any longer for her. One by one, they take their Playbills and walk away without having met Donna.

Since my girlfriend and I are such big fans, however, we decide to valiantly ignore the weather and stay.

About a half-hour later, I knock on the stage door and politely ask when Murphy will be out. The stage manager says that she is in a production meeting and will be out shortly.

About an hour later, The Goddess herself sticks her head out of the door and says "Are you the ones who are waiting for me?". With our teeth chattering at this point, we do our best to nod our heads. "Oh my goodness, please come backstage. It's freezing." She continues to apologize as she walks us to stage left. We tell her that it is completely all right, and we start chatting for several minutes. Then we ask her if she would mind signing our Playbills. She smiles and kindly obliges. She even personalized it and wrote short notes to each of us. She thanked us for seeing the show and waiting. Then, she walked with us out of the stage door, saying "good night" as she walked in the opposite direction.

Such a gracious and talented lady. I did not see that one coming at all.

[BwayLover]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 4:46pm

I have only had good stagedoor experiences. I'll tell you about the best one, though. I've told this a bunch of times, but it's always nice repeating it :) - When I met Louise Pitre after seeing her in "Mamma Mia", she was so kind to me and invited me backstage to her dressing room. Needless to say I was elated! We chatted for a few minutes about random things from my name to her family, and she autogrpahed her cd to me, adding a little personal note. Then she walked out with me, giving me a mini-tour of the backstage area as we left, and before I left, took a picture with me. It was a magical night and I'll always treasure the memory. She was just so sweet.

Recently I met Donna Murphy (after waiting for a while) and she was absolutely wonderful to me- so gracious and sweet. When she heard I was from Israel and only in town for a few days, she put out her hand and shook mine, while welcoming me to the States and asking how I liked it so far... She then posed for a picture with me and my friend. Very, very nice lady.

[dano]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 4:50pm

Only one stagedoor experience. Pretty good, I guess.

Saw Wicked in San Francisco pre-Broadway. Got to meet Stephen Schwartz after the show and have my pic taken with him.

Exiting the stage door, got to meet both Kristin and Idina and have my pic taken with each of them. At this time Robert Morse was playing the Wizard. Never saw him come out.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:01pm

i wouldnt know where to start...

[mominator]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:12pm

try Mistress try!!!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:29pm

Oh dear... where do I even begin? I could go on for hours... I've had so many fabulous stage door experiences, but I'll share the short versions of some of my favorites.

Avenue Q: The entire cast came out together, and they were absolutely hysterical. There were only a few people waiting, and the other girl up near the front with me was about my age, and we had been talking for a while about theater and whatnot. When the cast came out, they were so dynamic, and just sort of engaged us in their conversation. It wasn't anything particularly special, but it stands out I guess because it wasn't at all awkward as stage dooring can sometimes be. They were all so genuine and absolutely hysterical. The other girl's father had a video camera, and Jennifer, John and Stephanie sang for the camera. Too cute.

LSOH: I was with some friends who had seen the show so many times that they knew the cast. Wicked_Elphie LOVES Hunter, so I called her and he spoke to her on the phone. He actually talked to her for a while.... he was so sweet.

Wicked: It was absolutely freezing. I was about to have my picture taken with Cheno... whoever was taking the picture was turning on the flash. I was shivering, so Kristin put her arm around me really tight to try to warm me up. She struck me as the sort of person who'd like.... be your best friend. She was so cute.

And my personal favorite.... Cabaret: Again, nothing out of the ordinary, but I guess I just waited so long to meet Adam that no matter what it was perfect. He looked phenomenal and was just so, so sweet. There was no one else there, since we'd bolted out and gotten there really early, and he came right over with his big, gorgeous smile and started talking to us - two teenage girls in complete shock, unable to respond - so it was really personal and just amazing.

Alright, I'm finished rambling. Yay for stage dooring!

Updated On: 5/7/04 at 05:29 PM

[CJR]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:31pm

I wouldnt know where to start either....

[TheGirlinTheFrock]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:45pm

oh wow where to start.

I guess the most memorable one would be when i met Adam Pascal after Cabaret. It was a matinee so i didnt know if anyone would come out. There were about 8 people waiting there. After about 10-15 minutes Blair Brown came out, i was chatting with her - very sweet woman. Then Adam came out and walked over to me. I was so star struck that my mother had to talk. I got his autograph and a picture and he was as nice as could be. Then i walked off in the wrong direction having no clue what i was doing. My mother (who does not know her way around the city at ALL) had to go after me turn me around and point me in the right direction!!

In April i went to see AIDA. It was a matinee and when the show ended it started to rain, we doubted anybody would come out. Sure enough most of the leads and alot of the ensemble came out, sharpies in hand. I got the autographes and pictures from all of them except Will Chase who they said had to go on an audition (maybe it was for A Little Princess) I was talking to an ensemble member and he was like "i saw you!! (i did the RUSH and got 1st row seats) You had that Towson University shirt on!! I went there!! I was trying to get your attention on stage to tell you!!" ha! I am assuming and hoping that it was during curtain call. I told him i was probably busy cry to see him. Then my friend said yeah i was crying so hard. And he said "EVERYONE saw you crying!!!!!!" - my friend is a tad bit emotional. We talked for a bit more and i got my picture with him. It was just really nice and awesome to know that they look at the people in the audience and remembered me!! I'll never forget that!

[TheGirlinTheFrock]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:47pm

ALSO- the casts of RENT and HAIRSPRAY are SOO nice.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:48pm

haha, TheGirlInTheFrock, you're the best. I'm just picturing you walking in the wrong direction... but that's totally something I'd do. Adam just has that power I guess! lol, next week you and I both will be out of control.

[TheGirlinTheFrock]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 5:52pm

The story i told about my stage door experience at Cabaret is what i am told!! It is all a blur all i remember is him walking out and right up to me with the BIGGEST smile and when i took a picture with him. the next clear thought was sitting at the train station. Im such a dork.

[shira467]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 6:13pm

Wow, there are quite a few...

LSOH: I had never been a stage door person before this show. I'd gotten first row tix, but really only went to the stage door because my friend was in love with Kerry Butler and thought she was divine. My friend gets startstruck really easily, so I had to talk for her. The whole cast was really nice, especially the urchins and Rob Bartlett. I hadn't seen Douglas Sills that night, but when I saw him recently he was very plesant and I told him they had to revive the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Urinetown: After waiting 3 hours in the -10 degree weather of January to get the rush tickets for the show in the two days before it closed, I was quite happy to wait a little more for the cast. Fortunately the came out quickly, and were SO nice and surprised that we were waiting. The entire cast was simply the kindest, sweetest, most down to earth cast you could ever meet. I was in awe.

There are others, but those two take the cake!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 6:29pm

My very best stage door experience was when I was walking down the street by a theater that shall remain nameless and I saw a crowd gathered. I walked over to see what the hubbub was about and there was an actress who shall remain nameless completely surrounded by hangers on. She looked DESPERATE to get away so I worked my way through the crowd and whispered a suggestion in her ear about how she could make her escape. Without missing a beat, she repeated my suggestion verbatim: "I'll be right back you guys, I have to get a better pen." She windsprinted the hell out of there and I knew I had done my good deed for the day.

[beacon1]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 6:35pm

No Oklahoma stories LuvstheEmcee??? :o)

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 6:39pm

ah, Namo, I how did I guess that story would surface somewhere on this thread? lol

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 6:42pm

oh my gosh... beacon! I feel like I've let you down. Or maybe I'm just so disappointed in Patrick that I've forgotten. Nah, actually it was just a long time ago. I can't believe it. Ok, well, when I went to meet Patrick Wilson I was really, really nervous. It was one of my first stage door experiences. He was so humble and down-to-earth. I think he could tell how nervous I was, but he was really sweet. He spent a lot of time talking to Wicked_Elphie and I, as well as the other fans that were there. Forgive me, beacon!!

[StraightToHeaven]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 7:21pm

The touring ast of Hairspray was really nice. They were collecting money for BCEFA and they were all really nice and willing to sighn playbills and whatnot. I told Keala Settle how glad I was that I got to see her perform and she was really appreciative.

Once after Rent a few months ago- I had met up with my friend at the theater. Her parents dropped her off and picked her up. After the show we met a few cast members and we were waiting outside. We saw Jeremy Kushnier and Kristen Lee Kelly slip into the bar next to the theater and my friend had wanted to meet Jeremy because she had seen him in Footloose. My Dad offered to go in and get him but we told him no. So anyway, they were locking up the theater and my fried and I knew that no more cast members were coming out but our parents were in a rather in depth coversation so we waited around. Sometime while we were waiting her Dad broke into a lovely randition of 'The Internet Is For Porn'. Our parents were still talking when Jeremy Kushnier and Kristen Lee Kelly came out of the bar and I was surprised because they were very willing to sighn autographs for us and some other people eventhough it was so late.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 11:25pm

I've never had a bad stage door experience. All these people have been extremely nice:

Rent
Cristina Fadale, Mark Richard Ford, Stu James, Justin Johnson, Sebastion (...I really don't know what his last name is), and Matt Caplan.

Into the Woods
Vanessa Williams, Marylouise Burke, Melissa Dye, Joy Franz, Adam Wylie, Amanda Naughton, Trent Kendall, and Stephen DeRosa.

Thoroughly Modern Millie
Sutton Foster, Harriet Harris, Delta Burke, Leslie Uggams, Gavin Creel, and Cheyenne Jackson.

Hairspray
Marissa Jaret Winokur, Kerry Butler, Dick Latessa, Mary Bond Davis, and Jackie Hoffman.

Gypsy
Bernadette Peters and Tammy Blanchard.

The cast of La Boheme.

Chicago
Melanie Griffith, Brent Barret, Camille Sivola (?), and Diedre Goodwin.

Nine
Antonio Banderas, Jane Krakowski, and Mary Stuart Masterson.

Mamma Mia
Louise Pitre, Judy Kaye, and the other two people's names are escaping me: Tonya and the Australian ex of Donna's.

Cabaret
Jon Secada, Katrina Yaukey, Alma Cuervo, Tom Bosley, and Rick Holmes.

Little Shop of Horrors
Kerry Butler, Rob Barlett, and the three urchins (whose names are also escaping me, but they were awesome).

The Producers
Mattew Broderick... Nathan Lane kinda blew everyone off.

All of those people were really nice and I've never had a problem. The casts of "Into the Woods," "Hairspray," "Cabaret," "Chicago," and "Nine" were particularly exciting.

[Crazy4MattMorrison52]

Posted: 5/7/04 at 11:55pm

i never had a bad experience. but i also have good times at hairspray. taboo,mamma mia,rent ,lsoh,taboo and assians were all good too.

[NuggetMonkeys]

Posted: 5/8/04 at 12:06am

NAMO! THATS MYYYY STORY.

theif.

d.b.j

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/8/04 at 12:20am

mominator,

youll have to pick a show for me... and ill tell a story...
hairspray, rocky horror, jesus christ superstar, jekyll & hyde

i think those are the only shows ive really done the stage door thing for... and little shop, but nothing 'exciting' ever happened there except the doorman has a thing for me.

[ilovemattyfresh2]

Posted: 5/8/04 at 12:33am

I have personal connections with Mary Bond Davis, and was invited backstage of Hairspray. Jennifer Gambatese was back there, and we talked for a while about schools and stuff. She is definitly one of the sweetest people I've ever met! We got to see absolutly everything backstage. Also, I went backstage at Wicked to deliver some BCEFA money. Kristin Chenoweth and Christopher Fitzgeral were so wonderful to us! And the rest of the cast was really fun to talk to also.

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 5/8/04 at 12:59am

My favorite stage door experience is when I come out of the stage door after work and people think i'm in the show LOL :P *Soon Darlings :)