Rude Stage Door Experiences — Page 4

If you can't listen to a security guard at a stage door AND you're an adult, the clearly you are a stalker or mentally deficient

friedrichVT, I believe I said several times that I did listen to the manager but was not going to put my book on the ground so there wasn't much else I could do and I had absolutely no problem with the actors, I think it's great that they're willing to take their time and sign anything.

---

Going back to some of the earlier comments made about the initial post, I got a totally different interpretation of what bwaydoc was saying. She was simply voicing her opinion about someone she felt was unnecessarily rude and it seemed like several people attacked her for it (a few idiots who ignore instructions, stalker and mentally deficient).

As a Broadway fan I enjoy going to shows and sometimes getting actor's autographs as a part of the experience if I've truly enjoyed something, and I wouldn't want my experience ruined by either rude fans or rude security guards. I think it's fair to expect to be treated decently when you do something like that.

One of the reasons I don't post more on this board is because a lot of people are outright mean-spirited and rude and it makes it hard and very intimidating for new people like me to voice an opinion.

The worst I have any experianced was Mickey Rooney. When he was in Will Rodgers Follies he literally had his car driven right up on the sidewalk in front of the stagedoor jumped out and muttered something to people waiting. He had no intention of signing anything. 2 years ago he did a show with his Wife at the Jewish Rep in the city, and after show he invited the audience into lobby to meet him where he would sign autographs. He would only sign autographs if you BOUGHT something. Like a CD, or Souvineer program. If you handed him your Playbill he said" IM NOT SIGNING THAT, I DONT MAKE MONEY ON THAT! I have a CONTRACT." Totally obnoxious. His wife however signed anything. I told this story to an Aunt of mine who had a friend visiting, and she said she wanted to see the show. She went, and said to him " Mr Rooney you and I were born on the sameday, and year." He replied "Everybody has a Birthday Lady! Move along!"...Could you imagine? How rude can someone be? If he didnt want to bother with the public why invite them to the lobby?... Not a pleasant man.

Buscee, I think my heart broke a little hearing that story. Thats so sad to hear.

---

Well, my sister said just about the same thing I was going to say but I will add that we talked to the stagedoor manager a little bit and he was very nice to us. I think that while you were agreeing with him, by not putting your grimmerie away, he probably assumed that you were just going to do what you wanted. Chances are he is more used to dealing with non-complient people than anything else. If you couldn't put it away, another answer may have been to tell him, "I understand, and I won't ask her to sign it, I just can't get to my bag right now to put it away." I get the feeling he was just unsure of your intentions. I mean, the crowd that night was pretty wild. People were shoving each other left and right, shouting at the actors and shoving playbills and posters in their faces. I know the woman behind my sister and I nearly jumped on my sister's head to get her poster to Brian.

I thought the whole thing was handled very well. I mean the rotating was a little odd, but with the way the barrier was set up it really seemed the easiest solution. And I give those actors a lot of credit. Despite a large, rambunctious crowd, they managed to sign for everyone there. I've been to a lot of stagedoors where, with a crowd that size, the actors sign for a few people and then just duck and run (which they are certainly entitled to do!). I was really impressed.

And Marc did not have a motorcycle there . . . or at least not right in the immediate area. He walked up the road with a small group of people.

---

I'm just curious...did you bring a bag? No where do you say whether or not you have one...I'm assuming you had one since you haven't mentioned you did. The Grimmerie is a large book, I would guess someone would want to keep it in a bag. Especially if the weather wasn't that great. If you did have one, was it really that difficult to store it away instead of holding it out to avoid further confusion?

Folks, bring bags when you go on trips and plan on having larger items that you may need to store away.

---

Mary Poppins during the last weekend of previews. Some of the worst behavior I've seen. I was standing under the fire escapes waiting for my friend, so I could see the full picture. The stage-door manager set up the baracades and told people to stay off the edge of the sidewalk for pedestrians. The SAME PEOPLE continuously moved to be the pedestrian area to get to the "front." I felt so bad for the manager, he was sweating from stress, and it was totally unfair to him.

The stage door man at the New Amsterdam is the nicest person you will ever meet. He is also one of the best at controling the large groups.

---

The guy at the New Amsterdam (who's been there for a good 7-10 years) is one of the funniest and most approachable people I've ever met. And he's got a great memory.

The best stagedoor man that I've met would probably the guy at the Hirschfeld (Neil, I think). He's really nice, and he's funny.

---

"And to turn this around for a second, my BEST stage door experiences are always at the Palace."

I second that. When I saw All Shook Up there, the cast was one of the most nicest I've ever met. Same goes with Drowsy cast, though they are at the Marquis.

---

"I agree, the New Amsterdam guy is great. It's too bad people aren't more cooperative with him. Even though people were being extremely rude to him, not once did he yell.

He would never yell. Half of his job is entertaining the people at the door (especially the young kids). The cast and crew there love him as well.

---

The stage door guy at the Imperial is a bit odd. When I went to see DRS there was no barracade and he wouldn't stand out there, he'd come out and bark orders for us to clear a certain area and disappear for 10 minutes. Then come back out and bark again and go back. And each time he would shout "Joanna, Norbert and John have already gone home!" and then lo and behold, the three of them came out 20 minutes later.

---

I do think it's strange that the stage door manager would actually discourage an actor from coming out and signing autographs when they want to.

Carl Magnum I had the exact same experience with the guy at the Imperial, he definitely is strange. I don't understand why he even wants to work there if he obviously wants to have nothing to do with dealing with the fans that come.

Are the stage door managers employed by the theatre specifically for that job? Do they have any other responsibilities during the show or is that their only job?