pooling money for backstage tour of Mary Poppins- Page 2

[Kelly2]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 12:01am

No, Gavin was not in costume, and about 10-15 other people took the tour.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 4:21pm

Wow I bet this must be Matt's first u/s gig as Bert? Congrats! I saw him in a summer stock musical a few years ago and ever since I thought he was a great performer. I wonder how he felt about "Stop In Time" dancing scene?!

Does MP sell an autographed poster? If so how much? Not that I want one as I have my own already :)

[poppinslionking]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 5:25pm

Kelly,

You have metioned that you got onstage photos with Gavin. Is that with your own camera or do the tour guides use their own camera.

I am assuming there are no pictures are allowed anytime in the theatre even after the performance.


Also did you receive any parting gifts after the tour?

[JLSatUD]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 8:53pm

My friends and I did the tour Saturday night the 31st. It was about 45 minutes, but we had to leave at 11:25 to run to the Port Authority to get the 11:30 bus. One of the asst. stage managers walked us around to see a bunch of stuff, an ensemble member who was friendly with her stopped by and just chatted about random things with us, and then we got to meet the kids and Gavin. Both kids were really friendly even though it was obvious they were exhausted! Gavin told us some funny stories as well. I think they sold 4 tours that night at $250 each. It was for a tour immediately following the show so I doubt you could transfer it to another night. We got to see tons of stuff though, and it was $62.50 well spent each. :) Most fun I've had at a show in awhile and they were very generous with being able to take pictures on and backstage. Ashley wasn't part of our tour either, but we were guessing maybe her and Gavin took turns or something.

[Lois]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 9:58pm

I wanted to do the Mary Poppins backstage tour a couple weeks ago, but as I was seeing the show alone, with a last-minute ticket that I'd bought right before the show, I had no one with whom to split a tour, and I was extremely disappointed by the total inflexibility and unhelpfulness of the people in charge of the BCEFA table regarding their tour. They wouldn't allow me to try to pay a portion of the group price (I'd have been willing to kick in a bit more for a good cause as a "single supplement," but not quadruple what other people were paying!) or to join a group with less than four people and split the cost, which I thought was extremely unfair considering that they wanted me to pay $250 for what other people were getting for $62.50. As far as I could tell, they weren't fully booked for the backstage tour, so lack of space didn't seem to be an issue at all, they just had no interest in my money unless I was willing to pay four times the going rate for the tour. I was especially disappointed because I'd seen the show that night specifically because I enjoyed Gavin Lee's performance so much the two times I saw the show in London, and he was set to give the tour that night.

In total contrast to the singles-unfriendly attitude at Mary Poppins, a few years ago I happened to see The Producers during BCEFA fundraising, and they were offering backstage tour packages for two people. I was also seeing that show alone, but the cast members there were extremely helpful and accomodating, and not only did they allow me to split the Producers tour cost with a family who also wouldn't have had a chance to do the tour at full price, but they let the two kids do the tour for the price of one adult (their mother didn't do it), so the kids and I were all very happy, and The Producers raised an extra tour package amount for BCEFA from us that they'd otherwise not have gotten if they'd had the inflexibility of the Mary Poppins people. I wonder which attitude is more common for BCEFA backstage tour packages, the niceness of the Producers people or the unhelpfulness of the Mary Poppins people? Has anyone had experience with BCEFA tours at any other shows, for comparison?

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 10:22pm

Actually, they claim that the auction is "special" every night. I have heard they do it every night.

It's still a good cause and a nice thing to do.

[poppinslionking]

Posted: 4/10/07 at 11:11pm

When I saw the show on Saturday night April 7, it was announced that Ashley was giving the tour. There was a Bert Understudy during that performance. So that might have some influence. If Gavin or Ashley gives the backstage tour, someone must visit the stage door after the show to give autogrpahs. So I think it is a long shot to meet both Ashley and Gavin during the backstage tour.