re: The Good/The Bad...Worst stagedoor experiences — Page 4

Best:
Greg Jbara. He is such a sweet guy. He always asks about my family because I email him as much as I can. And he always responds.
Kevin Cahoon. Not just because he saw that I was shaking when I first met him and he was as nice as ever (It was because I was excited and I lost my jacket in Planet Hollywood earlier... and it was freezing out). But the following 4 times after that he remembered me and he is sooo nice. He loves all of his fans. He's just so nice.

The worst stagedooring expieriance would have to have been with Shoshana. She was so rude. I cannot get over it. She signed my playbill and gave me a dirty look. And I asked her for a picture and she said "no". Then she walked off.

Before I get to my stories, I have to agree with what some of you have said about how it is more of the stage door fans than it is the actor. What really irritates me is when people don't take the time to call the actor by their real name only referring them to their character name.
Also I do not understand people who obviously did not see the show who are waiting to get autographs.

Now my stories:
1. I think that one of the worse is Charolette d'Amboise. She seems so rushed and just not happy to be there.
Also, after seeing Drowsy for the first time, I was waiting for 2. Bob Martin, Sutton Foster and Georgia Engel(sp?) to come out only to find out that they left through another exit.
3. After seeing Sweeney Todd, we waited for over 45 minutes for both Patti Lupone and Manoel Felciano. Ms. Lupone rushed out because she was sick that night and I understand her not wanting to stand around and pose for pictures and sign autographs. With Manoel, I am not sure what happened. My speculation is that Jane Krakowski(sp?, who was sitting behind me) was in the audience that night and they had made eye contact at the final bow, she rushed out and he never came out. So I am not if they had something going on afterwards, still not upset that I was unable to get their autographs, still grateful to have seen both of them perform.

GOOD:

Chris Sieber - Spamalot London - He came out and I'm the only one who could recognise him! And he REALLY loved my jacket, can't stop touching it and looking at it! And we took a pix and he was AWFULLY nice!
Gavin Creel - Mary Poppins London - Im not sure whether its the Americans who are more cosy and friendly or wtever... but the first thing he did when I asked for a pix is hug me... I was like 'omg... Gavin Creel is hugging me!'
Tonya Pinkins - C/C London - She was SO sweet... asking my name and kept saying 'Thank You' and I was like 'nonono! Thank YOU!' haha
Brenda Edwards - Chicago London - She was signing EVERYTHING and giving out autographed glossy pixs of herself and posed for pixs for like 30 mins!
Yanle Tong - Avenue Q London - She's Ann's understudy and we chatted since we both speak Chinese... haha nice girl!
Sienna Miller - As You Like It London - I have to say... she's not cold and bitchy, she's warm and VERY nice and VERY pretty! We had a 5 min chat, she signed my programme and took a pix! And Jude Law was standing next to me... how great can this EVER get?!
Cast of Guys & Dolls - London - It was the show's 1st Anniversary so I waited for 1 hr til they come out. And when they realised how long I waited, they all gathered round apologizing to me and took quite a few group pixs (drunk lol) !
Idina Menzel - Wicked London - she ran from east to west, north to south, trying to satisfy everyone, signing everyone's stuff and taking pixs and shouting 'get ur cameras ready! Im in a hurry and I wanna make sure everyone has wat they want!' and she did EVERYTHING in like 6 mins which is INCREDIBLE!
Billy Elliot - the 8 times I saw the show, the stagedoor's been WILD! And I knew one of the ballet girl's mom and she introduced me to James Lomas' mom and everytime I watch the show for the BIG events, we go to pub and chat which is like SUPER COOL to me!
Cast of Mamma Mia - Hong Kong - It was their last night, and I drew all of them cards with characterures (sp??) of them on it and were all SO friendly. The Sophie even kissed me on the cheek and hugged me and had tears in her eyes :P
Cast of RENT - GREAT people! Caren was so happy with my card she gave me a free copy of her solo album! haha and the other cast members came together and took pixs which was nice!

BAD:

Woman In Black London - I was waiting after the evening show for the actors. The stagedoor is freakishly dark and COLD! And after seeing the SCARIEST show on earth, I waited for 15mins and just cudn't stand the discomfort of feeling something next to me and just left
Brooke Shields - Chicago London - didn't come out of the stage door when I left at 12!
Kathleen Turner - she did sign stuff but wudn't take pixs which was understandable. But when this boy came up to her, his mom said 'you're his fav. actress!' and Kathleen went 'yeah that's great' in a yeah-wtever tone! Which was SO rude in my opinion!
Lynda Carter - total Diva... signed 2 autographs and just went 'Im tired, try me another day' I was like 'WHAT?!'

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"Nathan Lane never comes out and when I asked him to sign my Tony playbill, he did it but was quite rude about it."


I actually took a chance waiting for him after he did "Trumbo" and he came out and couldn't have been nicer. Granted, there were only one or two people waiting for him (a couple other people talked about waiting but decided he wouldn't come out so why waste time). He had no problem signing things, one person even had something from "The Producers", and he even talked for a few mins. I hate to hear him get a bad rap about meeting fans. I'm sure it gets overwhelming!

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"Before I get to my stories, I have to agree with what some of you have said about how it is more of the stage door fans than it is the actor."

In all honesty, I've never really had a "bad" stage door experience. Some have been good, some better. I'm referring to the actors. I've seen plenty of bad fan behavior.

"What really irritates me is when people don't take the time to call the actor by their real name only referring them to their character name."

The only time that didn't bug me when it was a nice tourist woman...she wasn't familiar with the cast in question, but did well with every name but one...and she didn't want to fumble with the Playbill to look it up. It's worse when that carries beyond the stage door and people in real life or messages boards persist in calling an actor by the character's name. It's creepy and makes you wonder if they've got a concept of reality.

"Also I do not understand people who obviously did not see the show who are waiting to get autographs."

I can think of an exception. I know someone who went to see "Beauty & the Beast" and had a poster signed (it was a surprise gift for a friend). But her daughter was tired after the show so she had to leave before getting whoever it was playing the Beast. So, she went back the next evening for it. No problems there...but I don't care for people who just show up at stage doors of shows that didn't see at all to get autographs "just because." Or to sell.

No real horror stories with actors for me. The only incident I can think of was the first night of Lestat preview. Colleen Fitzpatrick came out well before Carolee. As she was signing stuff, she snapped, "I hope you don't think I'm Carolee!" Well, no...I didn't, my friends didn't. She was nice the other times I ran into her, though.

I can think of a few fan moments, though. Hugh Panaro's last show was pretty bad. I'm not talking about the enthusiastic fans who were there to say goodbye to him. They weren't bad...jusy a lot of them. But some people got on my nerves that night. There was this one woman with a spoiled little girl. The girl didn't care that there was a party going on for him and that's why he was late coming out. She kept announcing that if he didn't get out RIGHT NOW she was going to punch him. She was a regular little Veruca Salt and her mommy looked sooooo proud. When he did come out, the mother asked him to sign...the POTO companion book FOR THE MOVIE. It just seemed sort of rude to both actors to have one sign the picture of the other.

And then there was the young woman at Lestat. Nevermind she'd hit on every male in the cast from the autograph line. But, after the line broke up, she marched up to Hugh...who was rushed, but stopped to talk to someone he knows...and shoved her cell phone in his hand to talk to her friend who wasn't going to see the show before it closed.

The worst I've seen...and I was thankfully on the other side of the street, waiting for someone by the Imperial...was with Chita at "A Dancer's Life." Her limo was waiting and there was a crowd between the door and the car. Every time the stage door opened to admit a delivery or let out a crew person, people would start yelling, "CHITA GET THE F*** OUT HERE." I remember thinking, "Sweetie, if I'm Chita and you're acting like that, I'm just going to sit in here until you freeze to death."

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"i think my major problem with stage door is the people who don't ask before snapping pictures. what makes them better than the paparazzi? i always ask and don't expect them to say yes."

I've seen that a lot. People just taking picture after picture at random of actors while they're signing other people's stuff, talking to other people...blinding people with the random flashes.

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Tina Maddigan is an absolute doll but that's a duh. Tim Howar is hilarious and truly an awesome person. He'll talk to you even when he's all in his bike gear all set to go, and is so gracious. Stephen Lynch is very kind but kind of reserved at the stage door if you don't break him in a little.

I've never really had a problem with Constantine, but that's just cause I really don't care for him so I don't expect much. Two weeks ago I was there and I was the one of the few left at stagedoor and some girls had just been freaking out after getting a picture with him and he turns to the guy guarding the door and like not even two feet away from the girls goes. "Those girls are really ****ing annoying. They were recording the whole show and screaming and we were all really ****ing pissed. I hate people like that, so annoying." I just thought it was funny that they were all flipping out about him being so sweet and awesome whilst he was trashing them right there. He had a right to be mad though.

Um, not really a bad stage door experience, but an interesting one.

I saw Grey Gardens a few Saturdays ago, and waited at the stage door afterward to meet the cast. Well, Christine Ebersole finally came out and frankly, she looked completely stoned. I mean, I've never seen anyone stoned before, but that is what I'd imagine a stoned person to look like. She had a weak smile plastered on her face and she didn't really move her eyebrows at all. I assume it was because she hates stage dooring or something, but it was so bizarre to see someone go from being so dynamic on stage to so (seemingly) heavily medicated off-stage.

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My worst stagedoor experience is probably Christian Slater after The Glass Menagerie. He signed my Playbill and I asked him for a picture. He looked around and said, "Um...yes...one second..." and then turned away and signed more stuff. Fine. I got everyone else's autograph in the meantime. Then I looked up and he was at the end of the line, posing for pictures with a bunch of girls. I ran over and asked if I could have my picture now and he said, "No, I'm really sorry, I have to run, I'm late." Then he and his bodyguard walked into a strip club across the street.

I've had a lot of great experiences, but one who really went above and beyond was Deborah Cox, after Aida. It was one of my first times stagedooring, so I wasn't up on the etiquette, and I was very nervous that I was going to get to meet Adam Pascal. The door manager had warned us that we would not be able to take pictures with them, only of them. So when Deborah got to me and signed my book, I held up my camera, said, "Smile!" and took the picture. The flash went off, which I didn't intend because it was still daylight, and I was about a foot away from her face. If that had been me, I would have been really pissed. But she kept smiling and moved on down the line to take more pictures. I was embarrassed that I had been so rude, but it still amazes me that she didn't respond similarly.

To echo others, Idina and Tim Howar are absolute sweethearts, and let's not forget Anthony Rapp. I've never met anyone who cares so much about his fans.

Oh, the weirdest experience I've had was a couple weeks ago at subUrbia. Kieran Culkin was the last one to come out, so there were only a couple of us still waiting. He signed my book and we chatted for a couple minutes about the play. He seemed very friendly, so I asked him if I could take a picture. He said, "No, I'm sorry, I don't do pictures. They freak me out." Ooookay...

I know they totally don't have to sign or take pictures or anything, and I'm always grateful when they do, but they don't have to be overly rude.

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"I've had great experiences with actors at the stagedoor. Sometimes the "fans" can be a little obnoxious, though! "

Amen.


Good Experiences- Outside Phantom(Mcgillian),Tarzan,Wedding Singer,The faith healer,Spamelot,The Evil Dead ,The Jersey boys,
Sweeny Todd,Threepeny opera.All the actors were nice,signed my playbill and took pictures with My friends and I.

Here are some Bad experiences- Rent (fans/anthony Rapp), Spamelot(Tim Curry no show), Lestat/Phantom(fans),Drowsey (Foster walked right past us)

Do we have an ETA on those Betty Buckley stories?

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I too have been at the stage doors after shows. With the My Fair Lady UK Tour at the Wales Millenium Centre in Cardiff a while ago, I waited for half an hour to meet Amy Nuttall & Christopher Cazenova, but unfortunately my mum spoiled it for me when she came over to the stage door and said "come on, dad's waiting" then as soon as we leave, i see Amy & Christopher come out, I was in a bad mood for the rest of that night.

I recently stagedoored WICKED at the Apollo Victoria Theatre back in London and It was really good because it wasn't crowded as it was on a weeknight. I met Martin Ball who was so friendly and INCREDIBLY nice to talk to. Helen Dallimore was such a doll and looked absolutely stunning. Idina Menzel was shy but was EXTREMELY nice at me when I told her that she is an amazing Elphaba, she said in a very cute voice "why thank you very much sir". Miriam Margoyles signed a couple but by the time she got to me, she said that she wasn't signing as she was extremely tired so I didn't bother to ask. I nearly had Katie Rowley Jones but some fat boob pushed right in front of me. Almost had Adam Garcia but he then got stampeded by a big gang of girls. I alredy missed James Gillan by the time I got there. Apparantly Nigel Planer never comes out and I am not sure why.

I also stagedoored at the New Theatre in Cardiff when the current CATS National UK Tour made a stop there. I was allowed to only have 1 autograph because my mum wanted me to go. I was going to have Dianne Pilkington's (who was incredible as Grizabella) but apparantly shes so fast at getting out the stage door quickly so unfortunatley I missed her.

I also would like to know the Betty Buckley Stories


Also, I was going to have Elaine Paige's autograph last night but my sister beeped the horn 5 times so I missed her out

well, i have heard that Betty can be a bit..."spacy"...a bit ...overly holistic, compared to the general population. she is lovely to her fans and adores performing. She just operates on a different...plane, is all. but, to quote Tom Stoppard: “We are actors. We’re the opposite of people.”

i hear Betty is really sweet, kind and dedicated. she simply marches to her own drummer, that's all, no biggie... like everyone else in this industry.

I'm not a die-hard Betty fanatic (I do like her work, however), but I do recall these 3 tidbits:

1) She did a film with Sara Michelle Gellar, Dylan Baker and Patricia Clarkson entitled SIMPLY IRRESTIBLE. Betty played Sara's aunt and all of her scenes were with Sara, as they worked together in the family restaurant. In a newspaper interview, I distinctly recall that they asked Betty how it was working with Sara. You could tell that the the experience was unpleasant for Betty. However, Betty rose above it and gave a very brief answer, which was polite and honest. She could have bashed Sara, but was a pro and didn't lower herself. She was polite.

2) An ex-acquaintance of mine saw Betty in the B'way. musical TRIUMPH OF LOVE back in late 1997. It featured Betty and Susan Egan, F. Murray Abraham, Christopher Sieber, Kevin Chamberlin, Roger Bart and Nancy Opel. The show was fun, but was having trouble finding an audience and was slated to clos ein early 1998. He said that after the bows at the show he saw, the cast remained on the stage and Betty gave a little speech. In it, he said she sounded very real, sweet and down-to-earth. She goodnaturedly told the audience what a joy it was working on this production, how she loved her talented cast members, etc. She then seriously but humorously told the audience that if they enjoyed the show to please tell their friends to buy tickets before they closed. She was bummed they were closing. He met her afterward and said she was a tad eccentric, but very kind and witty.

3) In December, 1996, Betty made an appearance on the tv show "Remember WENN", a hilarious tv show. It dealt with trials and tribulations at Pittsburgh radio station WENN back in the late 1930s, when radio was king. You saw behind-the-scenes craziness and "onstage" broadcasts, not unlike the musical "THE 1940's RADIO HOUR". This obscure radio station was preparing for a radio broadcast, and Betty pops in sing a number on the broadcast. She was playing a famous 1930's singer, and the cast felt lucky and humbled that her character was coming. They suppose she will be a diva, but she is quite a humble character. Anyway, the cast of the tv show in reports said that when they were lucky enough to sign Betty for the cameo, they were terrificed, due to her star status. However, they reported that when Betty turned up for rehearsals and the eventual taping, she was professional, inspiring and most of all, graciously down-to-earth.

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My best stagedoor experience by far was meeting Ben Vereen after Wicked. He was the nicest guy ever and told me that I was "gorgeous." I literally skipped back to my dorm on West 85th that night.

The entire cast of Color Purple (including Alice Walker) were incredibly gracious and nice.

The only semi-bad experience I had was Christina Applegate after Sweet Charity. She was just very cool.

Anyways, I do agree like the zillions of others that it is extremely rude to harass actors especially while their eating. They're normal people just like all of us. But, that does not give them the right to be a**holes to us either. I understand we all have our bad days, and Bway performers work long, tiresome hours but I also paid good money to watch them convey their talent onstage.

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