Kit Connor’s Car Chased By Fan From R&J Stage Door- Page 2

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 8:57am

However you slice it, both Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler are currently very famous, especially among the younger demographics. I teach college, and Romeo + Juliet was the show that all my students were clamoring to see in the fall. Both appear to be very generous with their time at the stage door, so it's disappointing that boundaryless people take advantage of their goodwill. I completely understand why some actors choose to skip the ritual altogether.

(And to echo what has already been said - I've never been much of a stage door person, but I did it a few times when I was a teenager, in the late nineties. It was quite different than the current setup: few people, no barricades, actors generally leaving within minutes of the show's end. Often actors wouldn't stop unless someone asked for their autograph as many didn't assume there would be anyone waiting for them.)

[kdogg36]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 10:19am

willep said: "He’s absolutely nowhere near Richard Burton or The Beatles."

I think it might be fair to say that they're similar in the level of devotion (or craziness) of their core fans, which is what's relevant to the incident being discussed here. Obviously Kit Connor is, at this point in his career, a couple of orders of magnitude away from the Beatles in terms of the breadth of his fame.

(I don't feel that Richard Burton has been a particularly famous person during my lifetime; in fact, I remember when he died that some of my peers thought he was the guy who did Family Feud.)

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 1:49pm

I saw this the other day on Reddit - the poster doubled down with another post stating that it wasn't really as bad as she made it sound - because she thought her hyped up version would make her sound cooler.  And since she was with other fans doing the same thing, it wasn't stalking.   

 

Re: the clip of the SITPWG stage door.  I actually met Mandy Patinkin during SITPWG when I was in college.....but in a very long, convoluted story involving Mary D'Arcy (original Celeste 2) and how much more casual stage door was - but putting it a spoiler to make it easier to ignore.  I'm fairly certain I've shared this here previously.

 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

I was in college at the time, a theater major.  A group of us went into the city, with 2 of us seeing SITPWG, the others seeing Dreamgirls.  Mary D'Arcy was an alum of our college.  We went to the stage door and watched lots of people turned away.  We nearly chickened out - but we had a whole story of why/how we knew D'Arcy.   Told the SDM who we were there to see and he gave us the ok (SO freaking casual then!) but just as we were about to step inside the next door, she came out - and we had no other choice but to go along with the ruse that we were there to see her.  She couldn't have been more delightful, but asked us to walk with her to wherever it was her husband was picking her up so we could continue to chat.   This took no more than 15 minutes.....probably a lot less.   

We returned to Shubert Alley to meet our other friends.  There was Mandy's car waiting for him.  (Not sure how we knew it was for him.)  Since I was the one that drove in, I said we weren't leaving until he came out.   It didn't take long and I was so tongue tied all I kept blathering to him was something like, " That was so beautiful" over and over again. (I had sobbed for many minutes after the show was over.)  Im sure he thought he was talking to a very "special" girl.   But he held my hand and gaze.  I've NEVER been so star struck before or since.   

 

[lilpunkin]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 3:49pm

“ However you slice it, both Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler are currently very famous” 

 

I’ve never heard of Kit Connor before today, and I work in film/theatre. I’m sure you’re right in saying he has an obsessive fan base but the average person has simply never heard of him. Rachel Zegler is famous, not A list yet (certainly not a household name) but becoming reasonably well-known.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 4:07pm

lilpunkin said: "“ However you slice it, both Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler are currently very famous”



I’ve never heard of Kit Connor before today, and I work in film/theatre. I’m sure you’re right in saying he has an obsessive fan base but the average person has simply never heard of him. Rachel Zegler is famous, not A list yet (certainly not a household name) but becoming reasonably well-known."

 

Kit Conner may not be famous in your world but outside of your world  he is quite famous as one of the two leads in the hit Netflix series "Heartstoppers". (A TV show so maybe that is why you don't know him.) Season 3 just dropped a short while ago. He is surely one of the reasons the show sold so well.

 

Updated On: 1/5/25 at 04:07 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 4:27pm

The proof is in the pudding - Romeo + Juliet is minting money and people are mobbing the stage door nightly, no matter how many people claim to have never heard of the stars. It's not because Gen Z has suddenly taken an interest in Shakespeare. Although I'm deeply skeptical of a person who claims to work in theater and hadn't heard of Kit Connor until this very day. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 4:53pm

 I’ve never heard of Kit Connor before today, and I work in film/theatre. I’m sure you’re right in saying he has an obsessive fan base but the average person has simply never heard of him. Rachel Zegler is famous, not A list yet (certainly not a household name) but becoming reasonably well-known.

Um. You've "never heard of him before today" yet you work in theater? So, surely if you do "work in theater" you would have known he was cast in the most famous play in the world within the most famous theater district in the world. Before today. Like, long before.

And they are both household names at this point. Anyone who works in the entertainment business would know that.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 5:17pm

They are absolutely not household names.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 5:27pm

TotallyEffed said: "They are absolutely not household names."

 

I agree neither are household names, but they are getting there - though to be honest, with so many streaming options, I think we will get fewer and fewer of those - I can't tell you how often people get excited people get about a casting and I have no idea who they are - simply because they got famous on a show I never watched.  Kit wasn't brought over to do R&J "just" because he's a good actor.   They were looking for a teen hearthrob that would sell tickets.    

I really have no barometer for her level of recognizability - I have only seen her in WSS, and while I'm aware of some other things she's done, I've not seen anything else.

 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 5:31pm

This discussion about star, average person, household name reminds me of this bit from one of John Mulaney's SNL monologues:

“It is great to be here hosting Saturday Night Live. My name is John Mulaney, and if you’re watching at home and you don’t know who I am, I’m sorry. I’m like Louis Farrakhan – I mean a lot to a small group of people,” he joked.

In our increasing diversified media environment, it is not at all unusual for someone to be both a major star to some and a complete unknown to others.  Connor certainly seems to fit that rubric right now.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 5:39pm

AC126748 said: "The proof is in the pudding -Romeo + Juliet is minting money and people are mobbing the stage door nightly, no matter how many people claim to have never heard of the stars. It's not because Gen Z has suddenly taken an interest in Shakespeare"

Exactly. The reason why it's so huge and the stage door is mobbed every night is because of the two of them. It's not a good production, of course, but Gen Z doesn't care or realize that. All they're thinking about is running to the stage door after and getting as many likes as possible. Bless their dumb little hearts. 

Updated On: 1/4/25 at 05:39 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 6:14pm

Joe Locke had even less to be known for (Kit's Heartstopper co-star) when he replaced in Sweeney Todd.  I believe the stage door for him was equally insane.  This was certainly before anyone knew about Agatha All Along.

 

And lilpunkin - it seems impossible to say youve never heard of Connor before today since he's been commented on JUST HERE since R+J opened  practically daily - he was the only one (I think) to get unanimous reviews - unless you regularly keep you head in the sand.  

[ElizaSchuyler]

Posted: 1/4/25 at 7:15pm

I agree with the point made upthread that The Beatles comparison makes sense in terms of the fervor of his fans, but not in terms of the name recognition.

And yes, regarding people outside of his target demo, someone in the entertainment industry should be more likely to know who he is. He was recently featured in an industry trade (The Hollywood Reporter) on a "Stars on the Rise" list. You're even more likely to know him if you specifically work in theatre, with him leading a Sam Gold production that's making bank at the moment. I say this as someone that did not know who he was prior to the casting announcement for Romeo + Juliet.

The production in general is a very Sam Gold Shakespeare adaptation, that part is inescapable, but he very adeptly rises above that. Probably the best performance I've seen given by a heartthrob star cast. He ended up better reviewed than Holland in the Lloyd production, as well.

Updated On: 1/4/25 at 07:15 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/5/25 at 1:08pm

And now there is a report that last night (? or recently) someone threw a keychain to/at Kit and it hit him in the eye.  (Take with the grain of salt as needed.)