I just came back from a lovely Sweeney stage door experience after the Actor's Fund performance. Given most of the people were actors there, there was about 8 of us at the stage door, and well on an aside note, we were all friends by the time Patti came out last. But yeah, the point is everyone in the cast was amazingly sweet, definitely one of the nicest on Bway. Alex and John did walk out fast, and Diana even tried to get John to come over to sign but he got too shy. Me, the pit geek, was very disappointed.
But anyway...I carry a silver sharpie w/ me everywhere I go so most of the other ppl at the door wanted to borrow it so w/ Lauren, Ben, and Manoel we all made jokes about my sharpie: don't leave home w/o it and such. Donna stayed and chatted a little while, b/c I told her how I notice little ways she tried to "conduct" and how great it was, and we chatted a bit more just on the difficulty of playing memorized w/o a conductor and stuff b/c I play and she was soo sweet. But best comment, we were talking about the breaths she gives to start songs sometimes...she said they're gonna be up a creek(or something to that effect) if she has a head cold!
Then Diana came out...and I'm a clarinetist...and put it this way...it's easier for me to talk to Patti than Diana. But shaking, I started getting out "you're...amazing," that I play clarinet, and then we had a bit of a clarinet geek convo, how she had a good reed tonight(how important that is and sometimes they'll be great one night and not the other), the difficulty in tone and tune and high notes quality...ohh she was great. Soo happy I got words out.
And now looking back I just realize one of the many ppl that came out that I couldn't place was in fact Mark Jacoby. Stupid us at the stage door...
Michael actually came out before Patti. It actually was a while, but watching everyone else come out the stage door def made up for the time. He was very sweet, as I've heard, told us Len Carou and other Sweeneys were in the audience, joked about my sharpie, and did something else that made me think oh he's so sweet and I don't know why I can't remember...it's late...but he was sweet.
And Patti came out really late, she said she was in a rush but she signed and took pictures for the little of us. We actually had a car-screaming convo b/c I told her how I loved her comments about audience members and she made an "oh yeah" face at me and I told her about the post someone made here about someone in the audience getting a pizza delivered to them once. She just shook her head, and then I had to tell her about the ppl behind me who made me sit down right away when I stood up(HATE ppl like that). So yeah she screamed to me a bit from her car, and then we were done. But all in all, incredibly nice cast.
"If there was a Mount Rushmore for Broadway scores, "West Side Story" would be front and center. It snaps, it crackles it pops! It surges with a roar, its energy and sheer life undiminished by the years" - NYPost reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli
