Have you ever...

[ashley0139]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 8:50am

Opened up an old playbill or program, only to realize you saw someone a long time ago who is now a well-known actor or someone famous?

Last night, I was looking through some old programs and realized that in a Lion King tour a long time ago, I saw THE Ms. Fredi Walker-Browne as Rafiki (I wasn't a RENT fan, then). That was really exciting for me to realize. I also found that I saw P.J. Benjamin (the current Wizard in the Wicked tour) in Chicago as Amos.

Ever happened to anyone else?

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 9:31am

Patrick Wetzel in the tour of EDWIN DROOD when I was young- even got his autograph and hung out with him I was surprized to see him in DROWSEY (per the CD, I have not seen the show yet.)

Updated On: 7/30/06 at 09:31 AM

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 9:32am

I realized (it was a while ago, but still) that I had seen Jane Krakowski in Starlight Express and Grand Hotel. Actually, when I first saw her on Ally McBeal I said she was the one from GH - but didn't realize I'd seen her in Starlight also.

Same thing happened with Norbert Leo Butz -- I saw him in Rent but didn't know who he was until maybe a year before DRS came out. However, I'd always remembered the name and as soon as I saw him pop up somewhere else (maybe it was on The Confidence Man CD...) I remembered having seen him...somewhere...

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 11:51am

This has happened to me a lot. I most recently found out that I saw Lenny Wolpe in the LSOH tour. If I had known this earlier, I wouldve talked to him about it at the Drowsy Chaperone stage door.

[bwaymizfit]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 11:59am

In 2001, I saw Stephanie J. Block as Polly in "Crazy for You" in a regional production in Southern California. What's also funny about this is that she mentioned she was working with Stephen Schwartz on his "new musical" Wicked. When I first reread that after the coming of Wicked, I was amused.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 12:00pm

My ones from the 60's are a veritable treasure trove of names

Gary Beach - Nigel Rancour - Something's Afoot
Sheryl Lee Ralph - Faith - Reggae
Phillip Michael Thomas - Esau - Reggae
Meat Loaf - Priest - Rockabye Hamlet
Beverly D'Angelo - Ophelia - Rockabye Hamlet

Updated On: 7/29/06 at 12:00 PM

[mustard]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 1:33pm

Molly Ringwald. When I was 5, I saw her as the dormouse in a community Alice in Wonderland.

[Marissa2]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 2:46pm

Well, I saw Aida when I was like 10-11, so I had no idea who Adam Pascal was. I saw it w/my grandma for my birthday, and went again a few months later with my school, and I remember I really loved his voice and was excited to see him again... and now, I'm a fangirl like no other (I only wish I still had a Playbill from it.)

[jsand25]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 2:50pm

I saw Norbert Leo Butz as the emcee in Cabaret on tour, and had no idea he was in it until I opened a Playbill I found a few years later!

[brdwybound2]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 2:50pm

Well this isn't like a huge star or anything, but I saw Spamalot this January, and I was flipping through the playbill of the show I'm in now (Grease) and realized I saw Greg Reuter in Spamalot and he's now in the show with me as Kenickie!

[Mythus]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 2:56pm

I saw Christian Borle, Barret Foa, and Francis Jue in Just So at NSMT in 2001. And I actually found the program the other day (after searching for months), which was pretty exciting. Updated On: 7/29/06 at 02:56 PM

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 2:58pm

This story is slightly different. I own the Original London Cast Recording of LES MISERABLES. I was just browsing the internet one day, and I found out that none other than Patti LuPone was on it as Fantine. That came as a VERY pleasant surprise to me.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 2:59pm

Several.

George Hearn as Dickinson in the first national tour of "1776." Barbara Lang and Walter Charles were in it too.

Karen Ziemba in the chorus of 42nd Street.

Paige O'Hara (the voice of Belle in Disney's Beauty & the Beast) as Ado Annie in a national tour of "Oklahoma!"

Phylicia Rashad in the chorus of Dreamgirls.

Rob Marshall, Alison Fraser and Judy Kuhn in the chorus of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Many others...

Updated On: 7/29/06 at 02:59 PM

[John3]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 3:28pm

I saw Stephanie J Block at disneyland and in the musical Haven. I also saw Matthew Morrison in something at OCSHA a long time ago.

[sidneybruhl]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 5:38pm

Well, I'm going to date myself here, but I saw Scott Bakula in a summer stock production of "Shenandoah" in the late '70s. He played one of the sons. Of course recently, he played the father (Charlie) at Ford's Theatre in D.C. And many posters may remember him from "Quantam Leap" as Sam Beckett.

[Yero]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 5:43pm

A bunch of people at NSMT...
Janine LaManna in Aida
Elena Shaddow in West Side Story

Probably a bunch of other people.

[JamesMacon]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 5:45pm

I realized I had already seen Greg Jbara in Damn Yankees. And I did not know until recently that I saw Kerry Butler in Beauty and the Beast.

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 5:55pm

Bah. The only one I can say is that I saw Troy Britton Johnson in Hairspray before I saw him in The Drowsy Chaperone. I don't think that even counts.

[ActingAndy]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 6:07pm

I was looking through an old program of mine at the St. Louis Muny. I was in the kid chorus of Cinderella and was very surprised to see that I was in the show with Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) she was part of the equity ensemble!

[SarahBeth]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 6:11pm

I saw Brian Stokes Mitchell in Man of La Mancha and then some time later I realized that I had seen Brian Stokes Mitchell. It was my first time seeing a musical on broadway so I wasn't too familiar with the actors.

[Marguerite Chauvelin]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 6:20pm

Shoshana, Barrett Foa, and Chad Kimball. I saw all of them in Godspell before they acheived fame.

[Gingersnap]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 7:33pm

Hugh Panaro - loved him as Marius in the Les Miserables tour and he was surprised I remembered when I told him about it last summer.

Also saw Carolee Carmello and Anthony Crivello in the tour.

And Robert Cuccioli when he went on as the understudy for Lancelot when I saw a Camelot tour with Richard Harris in the mid 80s or so. I remember I didn't like him very much.

There's probably more, but I'm too lazy to hunt for my old programs and Playbills. But I used to see a lot of shows on tour back then.

Updated On: 7/29/06 at 07:33 PM

[Sluggy]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 11:05pm

Yes! This happened when I was looking through my program for the national tour of The Secret Garden, @1992, and discovered that the Ayah was none other than Audra McDonald! (Although she may be listed as Audra Ann MacDonald. I'd have to check.)

[SMiller]

Posted: 7/29/06 at 11:12pm

Mr. Roxy,

Where did you see Gary Beach do Something's Afoot?

SMiller

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/30/06 at 5:48am

Plenty of times, Richard Blake, when i saw him in TWS, i knew i've seen him before, then i realized i saw him in Hairspray. The same with Jenn Gambatese and many others.