re: The Good/The Bad...Worst stagedoor experiences — Page 6

The cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Into the Woods (the only two shows I've staged doored at. I'm planning to do the same for Spring Awakening) are the nicest people in the world. Ellen Marlow even let me shake her hand.

And I met Victoria Clark after The Light in the Piazza. They were doing donations for Broadway Cares. I complimented her performance and congratulated her on her Tony. She was so nice.

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One of my best stage door experiences was at Avenue Q. Everyone was so polite and friendly, especially Barret Foa. He's such a sweetheart. and one of my friends jokingly asked him to go to prom with her, and he smiled, said yes, and kissed her cheek for a picture. :)

Also, Joey McIntyre was really nice at the Wicked stage door. I saw Wicked four days before Idina left, so stage door was PACKED, yet Joey still took a picture with me and signed my playbill and talked with me for a few minutes. Sadly I didn't get to see Idina that night, since it was getting really late and she didn't come out yet.

My one experience at a stage door that I wish was better was at DRS. Norbert wasn't taking pictures with people, and was kinda in a bad mood while signing autographs. But Lucie Arnez and Greg Jbara were soo nice. :)

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I waited at the stage door for The Color Purple and it was pouring rain. The stage manager let my friend and I in BACKSTAGE. We met the entire cast, got to peak on stage and took a bunch of pictures. LaChanze and the girls are incredible. :)

I had a good stage door experience at the Wedding Singer when I went a couple of weeks ago. I didn't get to see Stephen or Laura, but all the rest of the cast came out and signed Playbills. Constantine came out and signed and took pictures for a long time. He seemed really happy to be there. There's some video available of him at the stage door on the site that can't be mentioned here. You can see him taking care of anyone that wanted a photo or autograph.

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My best stagedoor experience are when I'm invited to meet the actor in their dressing room. I had the pleasure of getting invited to meet the amazing Montego Glover and Anne Duquesnay after a production of "Cookin' at the Cookery" as well as another time to meet Tovah Feldshuh after Golda's Balcony.

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I did finally post my Betty story...it is back on page 1

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Jimmcf, that is definitely a story. Did the poster have a photo of Glenn Close on it? If so I can sort of understand Betty's reaction, but if it didn't have a photo on it I think she was just being a stuck-up diva.

DRS
I found Norbert Leo Butz to be incredibly nice, especially considering the night I saw him. It was President's Day weekend this past February, right after New York had gotten the huge snow storm and it was absolutely freezing. After the show my friends and I decided to stage door it because my friend was crazy about Norbert from when she'd seen him in Wicked. What we didn't know is that that night they were shooting photos for the new program since Jonathan Price had recently joined the cast. Jonathan Price was a total sweetheart and came out to sign autographs in the middle of doing photos, still in full costume and makeup. As cold as it was, my friend didn't want to leave without seeing Norbert so we waited...and waited...and waited. Finally at about 11:30 Norbert came out, and although I'm sure he was tired and ready to leave after the long night he graciously signed autographs and took pictures with anyone who asked. I was very impressed.

Ave Q
My first time seeing Avenue Q was that same weekend. During "The Money Song" when the puppets/actors come out into the audience Nicky, controlled by Jennifer Barnhart, kissed my sister's cheek. After the show we waited at the stage door, which wasn't that busy. Everyone who came out was very nice, especially Mary Faber. Finally we were the last people there and everyone else had left when Jennifer came out. She remembered my sister from the show and talked with us for about 15 minutes about what we thought and how much she enjoyed doing it. She couldn't have been nicer.

Wicked
I've done the stage door for Wicked several times and every time I've had a great experience. I always found Eden to be very personable and willing to spend as much time signing/taking pics as people wanted. Kate Reinders was also a sweetheart and worried that the picture we had taken didn't turn out well so she had us take another one just in case.

So, nothign too exciting but I've been pretty lucky to have good stage door experiences so far.

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Hairspray-
I have never had more people sign my playbill! It was crazy. The entire cast basically came out signing, talking, and taking pictures. It was a lot of fun.

Avenue Q-
All of the actors came out and signed and chatted. It was a sweet, intimate stage door experience. Everyone was so nice and so thoughtful, especially Mary, Barrett, Rick, and Jennifer.

Spelling Bee-
Spelling Bee was so much fun becuase I was a speller, so they knew who I was and talked to me. Like Avenue Q, another enjoyable and intimate stage door experience. The whole cast is simply amazing. Sarah Saltzberg is wonderful!

Les Mis-
For the 5th preview, it was awesome! Pretty much everyone came out and signed. No one was in a rush, and they chatted with everyone. Daphne, Celia, and Gary were sweet and charming.

Everybody knows how nice Ted Neeley is. I mean, jeez, he's stayed at theatres talking to people till 1 in the morning.

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This saturday my friend asked Frenchie Davis for a picture and she said no because she had just gone to the gym and she was sweaty. Frenchie is very nice, but she is a huge diva.

Frenchie Davis goes to the gym??? Mmmm, ok, whatevah...

And for my two cents - yes, it's true that all these performers are by no means obligated to sign autographs, take pictures, etc.
However, I do not believe there is a single profession in the world that justifies not being polite, and especially to those who contribute to your success.
Do they have to do it? No ... but, that does not mean they can get away with not being polite and / or corteous.

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"Frenchie Davis goes to the gym??? Mmmm, ok, whatevah... "

Yup, she goes to the gym after matinees for about an hour.

And then she goes over to McDonalds for dinner.

I forgot about one more at "The Best Man" revival with Chris Noth and Christine Ebersole and Elizabeth Ashley among others. We waited for everyone to come out. Most did and were gracious. Michael Learned was a joy. She signed the picture that I took at the flea market even joking that it made her look fat. Chris Noth and Christine Ebersole signed politely even though they looked like they just wanted to get home. Everyone else did. Then some woman in a baseball hat snuck out, stared at me for a second and moved on. We waited and everyone except Elizabeth Ashley came out. Then the guy at the stage door said the woman in the hat was Elizabeth Ashley! He said he felt bad but if he told me, he would have been fired. And she had every right to just sneak out. But I thought it was a bit weird that she went to such lengths to not sign. It doesn't really take all that long.

The only other experience that sticks out is with Bebe Neuwirth at Mario Cantone's show at the American Airlines theater a few years ago. I had asked her for a picture because it is too hard to get one at the flea market. By the time you get there, she's out of the photo booth. She was actually very nice, explained that she hates pictures and just does it for charity. Not rudely at all. I then told her how I took my sister to see her in Chicago just before she had brain surgery and that my sister had just died and thanked her for the nice memory. She was very moved and said that of course she would take a picture. But then I realized (and told her) that I wouldn't make her do that because if I started posing for a photo, everyone out there would also run up and ask her and it would put her in the bad position of declining. She thanked me but that just stuck in my mind. A nice experience.