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What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter- Page 3

What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter

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Radioactiveduck
#50re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/11/09 at 5:41am

I've been very lucky with stagedoor experiences, almost everyone I've ever met has been wonderful.

Best (of the best...it was hard to pick):

THE BEST BY FAR, was the touring cast of the Chorus Line revival. They were all very sweet, genuine, and incredibly grateful that I came to the show and to say hi at the SD. Nikki Snelson was an absolute doll...she spoke to me as though we were friends, even though I'd never met her before. The whole company was just delightful.

Gary Mauer on the Phantom tour...SO nice. Chatted with us for 10 minutes or so once everyone else had left just about the show, his plans, life in general. He even honked and waved at us as he was driving away.

Tom Hewitt in Dracula. He was in a great mood, laughing, smiling...even joking about the fact that the show was closing...chalking it up to a lot of fun. He went out of his way to make sure that everyone who wanted a picture/autograph got one.

WORST: Idina Menzel in Wicked on B'way...she snuck out through the 50th street exit, while we were being told at the SD on 51st street that she WAS coming out and just to be patient. I can understand not being up to pictures and autographs...I don't feel entitled to them...but to lie about it and make us all wait for about an hour outside in New York in late December...just pissed me off.

mememememe2
#51re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/11/09 at 5:45am

Sister Act Stage Door is great. The cast (especially Katie Rowley Jones, Claire Greenway, Debbie Kurup) often recognise you from the audience.......saw you dancing etc.......and always wait to sign. Julia Sutton is shy and many people dont recognise her as she looks very different. Sheila Hancock is gracious and will sign but not usually chat. Patina is great but quiet. They all have time for you, though

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winston89
#52re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/11/09 at 7:14am

I would have to say that meeting Nikki Snelson at the stage door of The Boston Opera house during A Chorus Line's stint there. I ended up seeing the show the following afternoon and when I went to the empty stage door when she walked out she went right towards me and gave me a huge hug.

I don't think that either of us realized that there was one other fan right there and when she asked me why I returned again I made a very obvious pun about how I only go back to shows that flat out suck. Well, she and I were kinda playing off that for a bit and then this other fan was yelling at me for not knowing my theatre history and yelled at Nikki for not showing pride in her work. Once Nikki told her that we were just joking around back and forth and that neither one of us meant that which we were saying. Needless to say that girl's face turned bright red.


"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear" Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll

lala09
#53re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/11/09 at 12:58pm

I haven't been to many stage doors. Thankfully, none of them were a bad experience. The [title of show] and Next to Normal stage doors were probably my favorite though. Everyone, especially the [tos] cast, was more than happy to sign autographs and take pictures and talk to fans.

But there was the time when Rent was in Philly this winter. My friend and I stayed at the stage door and luckily got to the front of the crowd. Everything was going fine until Anthony Rapp came out. There were so many people behind us pushing and shoving to get an autograph or picture, I thought we were going to get pushed to the ground. And, of course, there were Adam Pascal fan girls who legit made him one of those homemade t-shirts. Then when he didn't come out, they started chanting his name. My friend and I were dying laughing (and of second-hand embarrassment). I mean, I would've really liked to meet him, but acting like that was probably going to make him want to come out less. At least the people from the cast who did come out - Anthony, Nicolette, Lexi, and an ensemble member whose name I can't remember right now - were very nice.

peerrjb
#54re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/11/09 at 5:35pm

Backstage. "Company" NYC 1971. Vivian Blaine, who was playing "Joanne" and I met and chatted after the performance. I'd been in the second row laughing and clapping (she was a WONDERFUL "Joanne", by the by) and when I thanked her for "making the show", she laughed and said something like "Oh, no, dear. We were all seeing you out there. YOU were the show tonight." I guess I was loud. But it was a great introduction to the City, because I'd just arrived the night before.... Which was ALSO a great time -- met the cast of "Follies" for drinks after THAT performance. Sigh. As "Applegate" would sing: "Those were the good ole days!"

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wdwfreak
#55re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/11/09 at 9:06pm

My favorite has to be at the Little Mermaid. During the show I was talking to the lady in front of me and she said how she was a teacher and her student teacher knew one of the ensemble members and she was telling us how she was going to get a backstage tour. I thought that was really cool. So anyways, I was at the stagedoor anyway just to meet the actors and the man at the stagedoor was like there is four of you right and she was like 2. She saw us there and was like do you want to us. So me and my sister were like of course. And we got a backstage tour and saw the costume area, the wig room, and we got to stand on the stage. It was pretty cool.

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aasjb4ever
#56re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 12:44am

Last July, I was just hanging around the Jersey Boys stage door at 11 am and i was going to the 2:00 mat, and im talking about sebastian arcelus, and there he goes, and we just bump into eachother and start talking for 20 minutes. after lunch, i went back and i walked in the door and was talking to the guardman, and he remembered me and my mom and said sebastian went to starbucks pre-show. so we waited outside the theatre, 5 mins to curtain, and here comes Sebastian and we start talking again and i say "hey if you get a chance, can you take us backstage after the show?" he happily agrees, and 10 minutes after the show, he pops his head out the door and signals for us to come in, and we take a quick 5 minute backstage tour, and we stand CENTER STAGE ON BROADWAY. IT WAS LITERALLY THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.

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FlyingMonkey1223
#57re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 1:04am

The Worst-- Molly Ringwald in "Sweet Charity" when it was in San Jose, CA. She came out of the SD looking like a cheap hooker, refused to sign anything or take pictures. A teen girl told her that she was such a fan of hers in "The Breakfast Club" and Molly just looked at her like she was crazy and said "haven't heard that one before" before covering her face with her purse and rushing to the car that was waiting for her like 6 feet away. Absolutely horrible lady. And there were only like 10 people at the SD waiting.


Updated On: 8/15/09 at 01:04 AM

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dramamama611
#58re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 1:23am

I don't stage door very often, but my experiences were good...but the topper has to be this week:

I got to go backstage at Hair. I had no intention of SD'ing, but no one turns down the opportunity to go backstage, right? I was able to catch much of the cast on stage...and they were particularly delightful...I'm guessing since they had no idea WHY we were there -- and we could have been related to a castmate! Jay was incre3dibly sincere and delightful as was Andrew Kober.


If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

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legally_popular
#59re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 1:27am

Wow, FlyingMonkey, that's terrible. I've heard tons of stories about Molly Ringwald acting like that to fans or being a diva on the set of her movie. I can't stand her.

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BornToRun
#60re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 1:33am

I've never really had a bad stage door experience. The worst would have to be the Rent tour, because Anthony Rapp refused to take pictures because he was in a hurry and no one else came out.
The best would either have to be the Spring Awakening tour cast or the In the Heights OBC.

reillyjennings
#61re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 4:46am

Dont know if it counts as "stage door", but getting to hangout at the trailors of the RENT movie cast and talk to all of them without 100 screaming 14 year olds asking for pictures and autographs. It was cool to actually interact with the cast as human beings in a chill environment and see a lot of the movie be filmed. Such a great experience.


"Tell me, what's the challenge if you never try? So watch me fly, cause I'm not afraid." -Songs for a New World

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emo_geek
#62re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 5:54am

Flyingmonkey: Molly did the same thing during the Hollywood stop.


"I never had theatre producers run after me. Some people want to make more Broadway shows out of movies. But Elliot and I aren't going to do Batman: The Musical." - Julie Taymor 1999

fetzles1490
#63re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 11:46am

My best specific stagedoor experience would have to be Raul Esparza after Company. I was very pressed for time because I had to catch a train at Penn station, and Raul had guests he was speaking to backstage so it was taking him longer to come outside. There was only a fairly small group of people waiting at the SD, so I guess they heard me talking to my friend about how we'd have to leave if he didn't come out REALLY soon, and how I'd be really disappointed (I was really only waiting for him), so as soon as Raul came out a woman on the other end of the crowd said "start over there! Those girls have to leave and they're dying to meet you!" and he was so incredibly gracious about it - he walked right over, signed our playbills, took pictures, we talked for a minute, and it was lovely :) That was also the nicest group of SD fans I've seen as well.

Add onto the best SD list, as other people have said, [tos].

As for worst... Well, I'm a huge Sherie Rene Scott fan. I've seen her in DRS, TLM, and Everyday Rapture. She didn't come out at DRS or TLM, which I don't necessarily begrudge her for - she's said she doesn't like coming out the stagedoor and that's her right. My problem was at Everyday Rapture. I was waiting with my friend, and there was ONE other person there. Sherie came out, graciously signed this man's playbill and poster for something else, took a picture, and spoke with him for at least five minutes. When she was done, I asked if she would please sign my playbill and she says, "I'm sorry, I have dinner plans. Not right now." She has every right to not sign my playbill, but at least be consistent! I was the ONLY other person there!

heidi2
#64re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 12:31pm

I think the best one was Tale of Two Cities. Huge cast, but they pretty much all came down the line and were very lovely to talk to. Genuinely interested in hearing opinions, since it was still in previews. And they were all big on eye contact, I remember being surprised by that as well. Gregg Edelman and Brandi Burkhardt were especially chatty and sweet. A young theater student next to me nearly swooned over James Barbour, and I hung out with her dad laughing at the spectacle. He was very kind to her.

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FlyingMonkey1223
#65re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/15/09 at 1:43pm

I'm sure James Barbour loved that. "The younger the better", he says.

Love the Tussin
#66re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/16/09 at 2:45am

"A young theater student next to me nearly swooned over James Barbour, and I hung out with her dad laughing at the spectacle. He was very kind to her."

Okay, I laughed. I don't care if that's the all-too-obvious response.

As for Molly Ringwald, I bet she's incredibly bitter over the sorry state of her career post-1980s. I'll always be a bit partial to her just because of those 80s movies, though.


Let me watch your toes and fingers twitch.

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Marianne2
#67re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/16/09 at 9:24am

I will agree that the West Side Story stage door was a little odd. Not that I'm going to complain about getting all of the signatures. But, I really hope that the cast members sign because they want to, and not because we stand out there wanting them. It did get a little confusing though because there were so many people. I think I counted 20 signatures on my playbill.

My encounter with Sutton Foster was a bit odd as well. I guess I should be glad that she came out and signed. But, she signed my playbill, and did not even say a word to me or look at me because she was too busy talking to the people next to me. I didn't even get to thank her. I will excuse it though because she wasn't being nasty, and she was talking to a bunch of little girls.


"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005 "You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy. Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates

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Stage Door Sally
#68re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/16/09 at 11:08am

Most experiences have been very positive. An encounter with Cris Groenendaal after a performance of Sweeney Todd was amazing, but it happened at a restaurant, not stage door, so that story will wait for another thread.

BAD: I brought my mother to see W;t (Wit) off-Broadway. She loved it and couldn't wait to see Judith Light and tell her how much she admired her performance.

After five minutes the cast started dribbling out, and Grant Show (Melrose Place) blew smoke in my mom's face as he signed her playbill (not cool Grant).

After 20 minutes I asked the attendant if Judith Light was coming out as my mother, a nurse, was hoping to see her. The guy shrugged, said he didn't know. Another 20 minutes went by and nothing. I asked again, and got a shrug and another I don't know. She never came out. After all that time there were about 20 of us still waiting for her. Not saying it was Judith Light's fault, just saying it was a bad experience.

WORSE: After Putting it Together, Bronson Pinchot came out the stage door, sneered at the crowd for a second (mostly gathered to see Carol Burnett and John Barrowman), and then marched off in a huff down the street. His expression said Don't mess with me, I am above this. So one of my friends started calling after him, "Hey Cousin Balki, Cousin Balki, we love you..." and Pinchot kept walking. My friend was a little snarky, but Pinchot deserved it.

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ktabianchi
#69re: What was your best/worst stagedoor encounter
Posted: 8/16/09 at 11:29am

I know my worst easily. Matt Caplan. When I graduated from middle school, my friend and I (who were ages 14 and 13 at the time) were taken to see RENT when he was in the role of Mark. Our seats were legitimately in the last row of the theatre, but we didn't care. But, accordingly, we were one of the last few people lingering in the lobby on the way out. We were in the lobby and Matt comes out and theres no one else around and we stop him and are like, "Hey can you sign these?" and he was like, "Yeah, sure." I looked down to reach into my pocket for my Sharpie and I looked back up and he was gone. Not cool.

Oddly enough. My best was Karen Olivo. Haha. I was on a class trip to see Billy Elliot and West Side Story (Pre-TOny nominations, if that means anything) and we saw the Matinee of Billy. So we're at the stage door, and everyone is screaming over Tommy Bachelor, I look to my left, and I see Karen FREAKING Olivo just chatting it up with Chris Jackson. Now, I am kindof sortof in LOVE with her, always have been. Like, I think she's fabulous. I can't even... I don't even know. Lol. So anyway. Let me tell you, i saw her standing there and I was like, "Billy Who?" And I jet. lol. So Ms. Olivo was like, "You know I'm not in this show anymore, right?" And I go, "I know, I'm seeing you in West Side Tonight." And she goes, "How do you know I'll be good?" And I go, "You're Karen Olivo." ( I could have killed myself, lol) But she laughed it off. And then Robin de Jesus walks out and my life was completed. Then she took two pictures with me after West Side cause she could tell I didnt like the first one (again, I could kill myself). Then she joked she was going to cross her eyes in the second picture to "play with my head." She was too good.

#70Norm Lewis is the BEST
Posted: 8/18/09 at 3:19pm

I've gotta give props to Norm Lewis of TLM. I took my daughter to see the show back in January and it was FREEZING cold out. Most of the cast came out and talked to 2 or 3 people before taking off because it was so cold (understandably so, I mean only a crazy dad with his TLM obsessed daughter would've been out there). But then Norm came out. He put his bag down and worked the line for as long as it took for everyone to get an autograph or picture. He literally went up and down the line several times making sure he'd talked to everyone at least once. He moved immediately to the top of my list, and it will take an awful lot to knock him off it.

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Jordan Catalano
#71Norm Lewis is the BEST
Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:05pm

Just wanted to chime in and say that anyone who gets the chance to meet/talk to Judith Light will tell you what an extraordinary woman she is. I've had the chance to speak with her on several occasions and she truly is one of the classiest women working in the theater today. I just wish she did more!

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defygravity24
#72Norm Lewis is the BEST
Posted: 8/18/09 at 5:48pm

I saw the tour of Spring Awakening and the entire cast was so sweet. My friend and I got all of their autographs and they made sure they got to everyone in the crowd. It was great. I haven't actually had a bad stage door experience, but I heard at Wicked, Idina Menzel would have to yell at the crowd to calm them down.

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byebyebaby12
#73Norm Lewis is the BEST
Posted: 8/18/09 at 9:03pm

aasjb4ever- Sorry, but it is pretty freaking rude to ask. I mean if they offer it is one thing but to ask? Unless they are a close friend or something it is not a good idea.

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Jordan Catalano
#74Norm Lewis is the BEST
Posted: 8/18/09 at 10:30pm

I saw a tour of Cinderella when I was 15 with my father who knew someone involved with the show, so afterwards we went backstage to meet with her. While they were talking I started talking to the guy who played the Prince because I wanted to be an actor at the time and his bio said he lived in NYC which I thought was SO cool. We had what I thought was a really cool conversation between a kid who wanted to act and a working actor. Only now 15 years later when I look back at the playbill with his home phone number, beeper number, service number, address, and an XOXO do I understand the conversation MUCH better.


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