Ticket Requirement at Stage Door- Page 2

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 11:30pm

Better idea than all of the above: do away with this horrific, embarrassing disgrace called "stage-dooring" altogether. One step from texting during shows on the scale of odiousness.

Or... OR you could just not go to a stage door. You may be surprised, but some actors actually do like to stage door and hear from their audience. Shocking, I know. Are there bad eggs out there? Of course, but there's nothing embarrassing or horrific about stage dooring itself. It's a Broadway institution and has been for decades. Don't like it? Don't do it.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:06am

Wrong in every respect. And of course I don't do it.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:19am

Is waiting outside of the stage door of a show you didn't see really THAT much more embarrassing than waiting outside of a stage door of a show you did see?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:32am

People should get wristbands as they enter the theater. They should also be given those vibrating things that tell you your booth is ready at nice restaurants like Olive Garden or your food is ready at Panera. Then after the show only people with wristbands get to go near the stage door and the gizmo can vibrate when the actor you deserve to meet is exiting the theater.

Simple.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:33am

How is he wrong? what? you want evidence of actors saying they like stage dooring? cause if you need that, I can give it to you. There are some actors who enjoy the experience. And unless you know ever actor that has ever been on stage and how each and every one of those people feel about the stage door experience, then how can you say TheatreFan4 is wrong in saying that some do like the experience.

Updated On: 5/18/14 at 12:33 AM

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:40am

As someone who doesn't stage door, I will link this video of Laura Benanti, Beth Leavel, Bebe Neuwirth and Alice Ripley talking about stage dooring at American Theatre Wing roundtable. Bebe Neuwirth has some interesting things to say about it. They start talking about it at about 44:18.


Leading Ladies (Working In The Theatre #380)

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:52am

^^^ Thanks for that link. I was surprised by what Bebe said because I know she's such an introvert. It was great to hear her perspective.

Alice, I found not surprisingly, was annoying.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:57am

Talkin-no, both are horrible.

Darrey-Like everything in the world, there are folks who like everything, but that does not make those things any less reprehensible. There are, as an example, people who would rather watch a dog fight than a Broadway show. That doesn't make it cool. It isn't.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:00am

Hogan, believe it or not, no matter how strongly you state it, that's still just your opinion and others feel differently. You're not wrong and neither are they.

Updated On: 5/18/14 at 01:00 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:09am

Honestly, I have never seen anybody write worse metaphors than Hogan.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:18am

Fisherman--I totally understand that. And I also believe everyone can do as they wish unless and until someone can legally stop them. But I also believe that sometimes it is worthwhile to point out how others view what they choose to do. As an example, here is another analogy the guy below won't like: you can wear white before Memorial Day, but in some precincts you'll be judged unfavorably for doing so.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:22am

@ HogansHero- you just said that TheatreFan4 was wrong for what he said- which he wasn't. If you don't like stage dooring, then just don't do it- don't knock others for doing it.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:33am

Hogan is right. Stage-dooring is like when you see an abused animal on the side of the road and you go over and kick it because it might like it. At least that's what I got from what he wrote.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:39am

"But I also believe that sometimes it is worthwhile to point out how others view what they choose to do."

You're right Hogan. For instance, using as one's avatar and bringing attention to a disgraced sitcom star who routinely videotaped numerous sexual encounters without the knowledge or consent of his partners and probably "got dead" as a result of these practices might be considered by some as horrible and reprehensible. Not by me, of course. I probably wouldn't do it but it's no skin off my nose if others choose to... just like stagedooring.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:44am

Speaking of Zachary Levi, if there were ever a Tony for best stage-door manner, he would win. Many celebs will sign Playbills for those closest to the front of the barricades and then dash off. Not Levi. If you had a Playbill, he would stick around until he signed every single one he was offered. Then ... if you wanted a photo with him, they would start another line; 1 picture per person, or group. People would be asked to show a Playbill or ticket stub. Plus, he was happy to chat. I loved 'First Date,' so I saw it more than a few times, and the crowd would number anywhere between 100 to 200.

I've never seen another celebrity treat his fans so well at the stage door. Levi says it's a tradition that started in community theater: He would thank people for coming. He says: 'Here's the way I figure it. I have to be at the theater at half-hour. I have a 90-minute show. If I spend an hour signing, that's a 3-hour day. That's not a bad gig.'

[darreyl102]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:49am

@ FishermanBob said it! I was thinking it! Thank you. LOL

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 1:56am

"if there were ever a Tony for best stage-door manner"

It's hard to take any point seriously with that phrase in the middle of it.

[adam.peterson44]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 2:34am

"Those folks along with professional ticket scalpers should be rounded up into a large stadium, the doors all locked and... well you know the rest."

They should be forced to sit through a Justin Bieber concert at the stadium before being allowed to leave?

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 4:06am

Hogan, you see when you're discussing things on a Message Board it is important to EXPLAIN your reasoning for things. Now what did I say that was wrong? What makes you say that stage dooring is embarrassing? It's a mutual agreement, nobody is being forced to be out there signing & taking pictures. It's everyone's choice.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 11:24am

TheatreFan4-I have been pretty clear that I consider stage-dooring wrong. As I also explained, it is a non-sequitur to justify it by suggesting that some of its potential victims may actually like it. Many people, both those directly affected and those just observing, find it embarrassing and pathetic. You say it is by mutual agreement. Is that a joke? The alternative for anyone who wants to go home is the stage door. The only reason Broadway has the disgusting spectacle is because theatres were designed at a time when this was not an epidemic. The nature of the theatre district makes it generally difficult to avoid crossing the sidewalk to one's transportation. They are forced to endure the gauntlet unless they want to sleep in the theatre. Plus the publicists would freak out if they didn't.

I understand that there is a constituency on here of people who think this is hunky-dory. But that doesn't make it right and it sounds like some of you are oblivious to what I would call a faux pas.

Darrey-Not doing it doesn't make it go away. I AM going to knock folks for doing it, just as I would knock folks for attending a dog fight. Sometimes it is not enough to avoid something.

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 11:34am

I can't recall where I read this, but I know it was last season when Bette and Hanks were both in shows, and someone hinted (which leads me to think it was Riedel or some other columnist) that some of the big names who were being gracious at the stage door actually had signing some Playbills at the stage door literally in their contracts. The implication being that they weren't just being gracious, but honoring their contracts, by signing for people.

So, there is the possibility that this beast is being fed from both sides.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:06pm

I don't like mushrooms so I don't eat them. If others want to eat them it has no impact on me. I don't understand why someone would want to eat them but I know they like them so I just stand back and acknowledge that their enjoyment is had by others.

Saying that people who eat mushrooms are wrong would make me look like an Asshole.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:08pm

probably "got dead" as a result of these practices

There's absolutely no indication anywhere ever that this was the motivation for the Bob Crane murder, Fisherman. HoganHero's bad analogy virus might have rubbed off on you. Get out the Purell.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:12pm

haterobics-there are a panoply of nuisances high profile actors are expected to endure, either contractually or otherwise. Early morning TV, late night radio, endless parties, interview after interview. Regrettably, playing along with the stage door nonsense is a part of that. I realize there may be some folks who honestly enjoy it but I think there are a lot more who are still acting when they smile and sign as they pass the gauntlet when what they are really craving is a tub to soak their feet it or a martini or just a few relaxing minutes. Just something to think about.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/18/14 at 12:17pm

There is no way in hell the theatres will create a protocol and add expense of wristbands, checking tickets, etc. The barricades and security are set up to get the actors safely out of the theatre and to their cars, not to allow seamless stage door experiences for fans.

Also, how is someone who is fan of an actor a loser just for hoping to meet them without having seen the show. Maybe they can't afford to see it. Actors have huge bodies of work and they may not be an autograph hound, just a fan. Everyone is in the same boat if you ask me-a fan is a fan.

The people who are the losers are the ones with entitled expectations of a celebrity or expected a theatre to go to great lengths to get them access to an actor.