Stagedoor Experiences

[jigblob]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:08am

So I'm just wondering if anyone would share their experiences with certain performers after the shows at the stage doors. I have never done it myself, but I have heard some good and bad things. From what I've read, I hear Sierra Boggess is very sweet and nice, and that the Spring Awakening cast are all very friendly and talkative. I've also heard good things about Stephanie J Block and Sutton Foster. On the otherhand, I've heard that performers like Idina menzel, sherie renee scott, and laura bell bundy weren't quite as amiable. anyone willing to share?

[outovfashion07]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:21am

Laura Bell was a sweetie when I met her after LB. It was even raining and she took the time to take pictures with everyone in line. (can't say the same for Natalie Joy Johnson tho who just ran straight for the limo waiting for her).

[myManCape]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:28am

These threads turn against you very quickly. Be warned.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:28am

Please, please, someone find or resurrect the "MISTER PIZZA MAN!!!!" story. I can't find it.

[bebe de broadway]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:31am

Anneliese VanDerpol was a DIIIIIIVA towards the end of BEAUTY'S run. I'm talking kids crying, and she signed three posters (a friend of mine's being oe of them) and it was a curl... not even a letter. Which surprised me because the first time I met her she spoke with me for some time because I was waiting for a friend of mine in the cast.

Jonathan Pryce was AMAZINGLY nice. Kristen Chenoweth was fun to talk to because I spoke with her about my experience in the Miss America prelim pageants (which she did in '91).

Sutton Foster and Bob Martin were awesome. As was Danny Burstein. ... Well... the entire cast of DROWSY were just amazing. My roommate and I went backstage for that one to meet with Danny. He was incredibly gracious.

I think my favorite person, though, was John Tartaglia when he was in BEAUTY. My friend is kind of the Lumiere/Babette expert so she "knew" to some degree all the people in those roles so he stood and spoke with us for a while. I <3 him. lol I'd love to work with him someday. He's so dynamic and warm.

[CJR]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:36am

Search. The search feature is your friend. Im not going to search for you because it's something you should have done yourself but there's LONG ass thread about this already.

Yeah, Im taking up the resident bitch role today.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:38am

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=919779

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=946890

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=947027

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=945201

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=945096

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=943003

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=940349

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=942583

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=939913

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=902952

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?boardname=bway&thread=905160

[jigblob]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:45am

Thanks lizzie! Sorry I'm new to this whole forum thing I didn't even know where to begin. and thanks CJR, for your friendly, non-pretentious reminder about the search feature!

[myManCape]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:52am

Im sure there are more too. Plus there is a typical "They dont have to do the stagedoor" reply.

[mywonderwa11]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 2:31am

I really enjoyed talking to Noah Weisberg from Legally Blonde at the stage door. That guy talked forever! He really seemed to appreciate the audience. He asked me and my friends where we were from, what we do, why we were in the city, etc. Such a nice guy!

When I did the Legally Blonde stage door I thought Natalie Joy Johnson was very nice and posed for pictures, signed playbills, and talked to the fans. Laura Bell Bundy on the other hand...while she posed for photos and signed playbills, she didn't really talk and wasn't very personable.

The ENTIRE cast of Spring Awakening is so pleasant to talk to. Every one of them stop to actually talk to you. I joked around with Jonathan Groff and had a nice conversation with him and John Gallagher Jr.

I loved John Tartaglia when I met him after Avenue Q. It was snowing outside and once he found out I was from Texas and wasn't used to the freezing cold snow he rubbed me warm...literally...and posed for a photo with me. He was so sweet.

Just a list of people I've enjoyed at the stage door:
Joey McIntire
Kristin Chenoweth
Stephanie D'abruzio (sp?)
Lea Salonga
Norm Lewis
Sierra Boggess
Mary Testa
Andrea Martin
David Hyde Pierce
Bernadette Peters
Hank Azaria
Sutton Foster
Jennifer Hope Wills
Jennifer Laura Thompson
Adam Pascal
Stephanie J. Block
Matt Doyle

[Here I Am]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 4:53am

uhhh, why in the world would Natalie Joy Johnson have a limo waiting for her??

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 12:43pm

I am not the biggest Spring Awakening fan but I think Jonathan Gallagher is one of the nicest performers I've ever met. He's so generous with his time and very fun to talk to.

I also think memorable stage door experiences would include Sutton Foster outside YF. She was lovely.

My avatar (Christine Ebersole) is a delight, it goes without saying.

I also found Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy to be lovely.
dancing-thanks for reminding me-Drowsy's cast is always very nice. They seemed to love what they were doing and were very personable.

Updated On: 12/6/07 at 12:43 PM

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 12:47pm

I have, for the msot part, had really good stagedoor encounters. There were some standouts, though.

Jonathan Groff
John Gallagher Jr.
Christine Ebersole - We all sang happy birthday to her
the entire cast of a Chorus Line
the Wedding Singer cast (when it was stil around)
all of the Drowsy cast

[mikeyb16]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:41pm

I met both Idina Menzel & Helen Dallimore last October in london and they were nice to me.

[Marianne]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 1:56pm

Norm Lewis isn't just "smile and chat a bit and make sure all the kids get their autographs" nice, he's incredibly friendly and he just seems so happy to see fans at the stage door and talk to them. Very sweet man.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 2:35pm

Ahhh the "stage door" experience.

I don't understand why people think they are "entitled" to an autograph or to be so-and-so's BFF cuz they're their #1 fan.

Perhaps one night Bernadette is free after the show and people will have good experiences in getting a picture or autograph...however perhaps the next night she has to run to her limo because she has a meeting with her agent? A friend who's in town? A producer offering her her next job? She's sick and needs sleep?

If you're so desperate for the autograph...there is an excellent tip in Seth Rudetsky's book "The Q Guide to Broadway" regarding stage dooring.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 2:38pm

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 2:40pm

Nikki Snelson is always a pleasure at stage door. She is honestly one of the friendliest people and one of the sweetest...a lot of the LB cast is. Also, I found Norm Lewis to be extremely personable and I agree with everything said about him above. Man, that guy is talllllll.

When it was around, the whole [tos] cast was also so sweet and great to talk to.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 2:48pm

I've never had a bad stagedoor experience. Some actors are nicer than others, but during my trip to New York back in May everyone was terrific!

The Jersey Boys are fantastic and so appreciative of their fans. They are all willing to pose for pictures and I remember Christian Hoff was asked a question by a fan about his family, specifically about his daughter. He spent like 5 minutes saying how wonderful his daughter was a just a joy to him and his wife, which I thought was really sweet and personal of him.

The cast of Wicked was great! Everyone was nice and kind.

I had the seen the Pirate Queen and Stephanie J. Block is just hands down the sweetest person ever!!! I love how she is the kind of person who pretends like she has known you your whole life. I even saw her a couple nights later when I had went back to Wicked and she was waiting outside for Sebastian. She was so warm and struck up another conversation with me and introduced me to Sebastian and even signed for some of her fans on the back cover on the Wicked playbills.

The Legally Blonde cast was great also! Michael Rupert and Natalie Joy Johnson were stand-outs. Extremely friendly! Laura Bell Bundy was nice too.

I'm sure the next time you see a show, the actors will be very friendly and nice. Most are!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 3:28pm

I fully get that it's up to the actor if they want to sign things, and I totally respect that. I make it a point to have something to say specifically about the show besides the standard "Great show" or whatever. Keep it brief. And always please and thank you. :) Courtesy and respect goes a long way. Pretty much everyone has been nice or at least polite (one notable exception who will remain nameless but who seemed royally pissed I wasn't trying to fall all over him). But a few stand out in the exceptionally awesome category.

* Everyone in The Vertical Hour was fantastic to me. :) From Julianne Moore to Rutina Wesley. EVERYONE in that cast rocked.

* Vanessa Redgrave didn't always come out, but she was more than gracious the night The Year of Magical Thinking closed, taking time to talk with everyone who had waited. (We had the bonus of Joan Didion coming out as well...though considerably earlier than Vanessa.)

* Beth Leavel is always awesome and wonderful.

* The whole cast of 110 in the Shade ~ especially Steve Kazee and Audra McDonald.

* And at A Moon for the Misbegotten Eve Best was always extremely gracious, even when she was in a hurry to get somewhere.

Updated On: 12/6/07 at 03:28 PM

[Kelly2]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 4:01pm

After last night, I have to agree with everyone saying wonderful things about Norm Lewis. He was so sweet, and looked so genuinely interested in the things people had to say to him, and just so kind. And SO talented. Wow.

Overall, I'd have to say I'm very impressed with Krysta Rodriguez, she always seems very happy to have a conversation or ask how you're doing, and I think that's fantastic. I have to also agree with the [Title of Show] cast, they were all so incredibly nice when I met them, and very very genuine and personable. Definitely going the extra mile.

Other actors who I think are VERY genuinely kind:
Andy Karl
Tracy Jai Edwards - WOW. Sweetest woman on Broadway by far, I think.
Cast of Xanadu - They're all always SO kind, and FUNNY, and willing to joke around onstage and off. Love being around them.

That's all I can think of for now!

[BroadwayBaby21]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 4:11pm

I haven't stage-doored alot of shows because most of the time I went with school trips and they wouldn't let you stay (boo on them, first off. lol)

My favorite stage door experience was defintely Spring Awakening though. The cast was amazing and so nice and talkative. John Gallagher Jr is one of the sweetest guys I've ever met. I saw SA the Wednesday before the Tony's, so everyone was buzzing with excitement, wishing people good luck and asking about their performance. It was great. :)

I also loved the Avenue Q stage door, back in fall of '05. Barrett Foa was very nice and was really funny too. There wasn't alot of people at the door, basically just me and my group of friends and like 2-3 other groups. The entire cast came out and signed and posed for pictures with everyone, chatting and laughing with us the entire time.

Joey McIntyre was also really sweet at the Wicked stage door, posing for SO many pictures and signing like a million autographs. The stage door was swamped that night, as I saw Wicked during Idina and Joey's last week there. Idina never came out, but oh well.

[amoni]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 4:37pm

Has anyone seen Kevin Kline coming and going at Cyrano de Bergerac over at the Richard Rodgers Theatre? Even in the opening night photos or the backstage photos with the entire cast, he's no where to been seen.

[Here I Am]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 6:13pm

That's a good question amoni.... does anyone know?


Updated On: 12/6/07 at 06:13 PM

[stella985]

Posted: 12/6/07 at 6:19pm

I don't think he ever has. Or at least not through a door that people see.