Stage Door Egos — Page 3

Harvey signed outside Fiddler, but was very cold, although not rude. Bernadette Peters also signed after Gypsy and seemed too tired to be nice, I mean she just walked around signing and saying generic thank yous without paying much attention to anything anyone was saying.

Standouts for niceness: Hugh Jackman, Brooke Shields, Kerry Butler, Karen Ziemba, Ute Lemper, Rebecca Luker and Elaine Stritch.

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Joshua, it's entirely possible that Miss Walsh (who I loved in Falsettos and therefore was very happy to see in Hairspray) is as mean and nasty and thoughtless as she came across to you. It is also possible that that particular day, she was dealing with something urgent or upsetting or just really pissed off with whoever she was talking to on her cell, or was having a conversation that simply couldn't be interrupted.
I had been waiting eagerly to speak to Deborah Gibson, who I have loved since she debuted as Debbie, and after seeing and loving her in Company last year, she zoomed past everyone at the post-show reception and like you I called her all sorts of names inside my head and swore never to love her again. But fan that I am, I soon forgave her and even added to my D. Gibson collection of CDs/Videos. Cut to a few months later when she was doing Briagdoon. This time, she stayed to talk to her fans and was extraordinarily gracious when I spoke to her about how much her music had moved and thrilled me over the years. I felt bad for having misjudged her. Why did she behave that way after Company? Maybe the same reason Miss Walsh was that way after Hairspray. Or maybe not. :)

Maggie Smith is the rudest person I've ever encountered at a stage door setting. After a performance of "The Breath of Life" in London, I decided that I would love to meet her and Judi Dench, who were both extraordinary in the show. Judi came out first, and was an absolute sweetheart. She spoke to everyone personally and signed everything. Maggie Smith came out shortly after, just walked past the waiting fans, and didn't sign anything. She had a look on her face the whole time like, "I can't be bothered".

Harvey Fierstein. Miserable, full of himself man.

Carly Jibson didn't give me the best vibes as I stood there in the snow pouring out my heart, telling her how much her performance meant to me. Her response: "Thanks. Where's your program?" But I'll forgive her because we were in the middle of this past winter's blizzard...

Don't know who it was. But whoever was playing Catherine's sister in 'Proof' when Anne Heche was starring, came out the stage door, I asked for her autograph and told her I loved the show, she gave me the finger, said, "F.U." and kept walking.

Quite a few Maureens in RENT haven't been very pleasant.

Linda Lavin - "Hollywood Arms". I know these performer's faces. I study them up on stage more than anything. But she came out all dressed up, trying to sneak in a limo. Me, the b*tch that I am, screamed, "MISS LAVIN, PLEASE! YOUR AUTOGRAPH!!!!" She got stuck for a good 25 minutes. Ooo, I'm bad....

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Very interesting. I've never considered it an actor's duty to sign autographs or be friendly with fans at stage doors, but it's very nice when they do.

That said-- Harvey Fierstein was very nice at an early preview of Hairspray when I asked him to sign several playbills of shows he'd been in and copies of plays he'd written. There was a huge crowd at the stage door, and when he saw the amount of things I'd brought and the amount of people also waiting for him, he asked me to pick two things for him to sign. I did so (I now have an autographed copy of Torch Song Trilogy!), and he was very gracious about it all. Considering the massive crowd screaming for his attention, I'm amazed he was able to keep his cool.

I'd only gotten Nathan Lane's signature by having programmes sent to his dressing room (even went I sent numerous items, they were all returned to me signed), but had never been able to tell him in person how much I appreciated his work. After The Frogs, I waited at the stage door, where there was not as insane a crowd as there had been at The Producers. He emerged, signed my programme, and was very gracious and polite.

I'm sorry other people have had bad experiences with these (and other) celebrities, but everyone is entitled to an off day. It's hard to make a fair assessment of a person from only one meeting in a rather extreme situation.

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