Favorite Stage door experience?

[staunchcharacter]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 11:29pm

Mine was after Fences. It was May so the Denzel hadn't won his Tony yet. When he shook hands with me, (He wasn't signing) I said to him "congratulations on your Tony nomination." He gave me an odd look and responded "What?" I nervously responded "Congrats on your tony nomination?" He responded:" Oh! I thought you said congrats you're an asian!" And laughs were had by all.
Updated On: 8/7/11 at 11:29 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 11:37pm

This has been discussed to death, but I actually have a nice memory, so I'll contribute. I don't stage door, but I have waited on rare occasions to thank a performer when their performance has truly moved me. I saw the 2006-7 revival of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris about twelve times in total. I was completely transfixed by it. Around the tenth time I saw it, I decided to hang back after the performance and thank Natascia Diaz for her incredible performance which, after seeing it ten times, always felt fresh, exciting, and luminous. (Truly, I think she might be the greatest interpreter of Brel's work since the days of Elly Stone and Brel himself) I waited outside the theatre until Ms Diaz appeared. I approached her, explained that I wasn't looking for an autograph but that I just wanted to thank her for her beautiful performance, and went on to tell her I'd seen the show ten times and still wept every time she sang "Old Folks" and "My Death". She then wrapped her arms around me and, with tears in her eyes, thanked me for taking the time to let her know how much her performance meant to me. I'm very uncomfortable with stagedooring, but I was glad I did it in this instance. Natascia and I are still in touch to this day.

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 11:40pm

I have to say that my favorite stage door experience was at the Book of Mormon stage door. Despite Josh Gad not coming out, everyone else did. The 2 people who I loved the most were Nikki M. James and Andrew Rannells. I told Nikki that her Tony Acceptance speech was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. She was so gracious and was so happy to hear this. When Andrew came out, I told him the show exceeded my expectations and that waiting in line was probably the reason the show was fantastic. He could not be any more flattered and was so happy that I came and had a great time.

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 8/7/11 at 11:47pm

The stage door gives me anxiety but I shared a beautiful moment with Meghann Fahy at the Next to Normal stage door. I went with friends who were at the barricade waiting for the actors but I stood back because I was still very emotional and I didn't want to embarrass myself. Meghann saw me, ran behind the barricade and hugged me until I pulled away so I wouldn't cry into her coat. She is one of the loveliest people I've ever encountered.

I brought my mom and little sister to see Hair last night and they wanted to get a picture with Allison Guinn so we waited. I met Josh Lamon and said "You're the best" and he was like, "YOU'RE the best! We can be the best together!" The Hair cast is so nice.

[The Josh]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 12:19am

About a year ago, my family and I saw La Cage. Stage-door fairly often, I like to have some sort of signed souvenir from shows I see. My brother, who is autistic, and was 18 at the time, is often very nervous in crowds, but he enjoys the stage-dooring experience nonetheless. It was after a Wednesday matinee, and it was fairly crowded, but Kelsey Grammer stopped to talk to my brother for a good 2-3 minutes. It may not seem like much, but it was very generous, given the size of the crowd. I had always been a fan of his, and a fan of Frasier, but I gained a whole new respect for him then.

[FrauleinKost]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 9:39am

Closing day of the Into the Woods revival; I loved the show, and at the end of the show there are many leaves on the stage. I thought to myself "hmmm, one of those leaves would make a good souvenir". I went through the stage door and explained to the security guy that I wanted one of the leaves because I loved the show...he was a little confused by my request, and called the stage manager. A production assistant came out; I said I loved the show and wanted one of those leaves as a memento. She said "let me go ask".

A second later, there's a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and there's Laura Benanti, with a leaf in her hand. She gave it to me and thanked me for being a fan of the show, etc.

Super nice gesture, and a nice souvenir that I still have, in the playbill from that day.

(I also would like to mention I was like 17 at the time...)

[morosco]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 9:56am

I had the great pleasure of chatting with Paul Gemignani after a performance of INTO THE WOODS. A very friendly and candid guy. We talked for over and hour! If you guys ever have the opportunity he's very approachable both before and after a performance.

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 10:18am

I don't stage door myself, but when I go to shows with my kid(s), I usually wind up being the photographer. Over the years, we've had countless positive encounters. Among the many gracious stars were Neil Patrick Harris, Olga Merediz, and Marin Mazzie & Jason Daniely. However, the best experience we ever had was at the off-Broadway show Dog Sees God. The young cast came out and hung out with their fans, and it was a totally different experiecen from the usual stage door. No rails, no lines, just people hanging out in small bunches, with the stars being incredibly courteous and kind.

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 10:41am

I have a select few that I enjoyed above all (I stagedoor at most shows I see, but not all):

- At BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, I was waiting for Benjamin Walker after the matinee. It was mid-December and 30 degrees, so my hands were red and cold, but I couldn't get my gloves on (because my hands actually swelled). By the time Ben came out, my hands were shaking holding my poster. He turned to me, laughed and smiled, and said "Put on some gloves, man!"

- At HIGH, Kathleen Turner was the last to come out, but when she came out, she was like the life of the party. She was friendly and chatty. She mentioned her favorite role ever was Martha in "...Virginia Woolf" and how she laughed uproariously at BOOK OF MORMON. She was just a gem and I'll never forget her or that show.

[zepka102]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 2:50pm

I don't stage door much anymore, but HAD to after seeing Corbin in In the Heights. Corbin stuck around and signed and talked to everyone. After everyone was gone, I stood there talking to him for a good 5 minutes. I've never met anyone so interested in being there talking to people and not trying to run. Completely genuine and very gratious. At that moment I decided I wanted to marry him.

[dragonlp86]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 7:51pm

TIME STANDS STILL: We went to see the show for Brian d'Arcy James, who is the all-time favourite actor of one of the friends I was with at the time, and it was her birthday. She was so excited, and he somehow found out that it was her birthday (we figure an usher told him). So after the show, when we'd gone out to stagedoor, one of the security guys came out, found us, and brought us backstage to meet with him. He chatted with us for about ten to fifteen minutes. One of the nicest and most gracious people I've ever met. Though I was a little surprised/embarrassed when he recognized me at Next to Normal's stagedoor, several months later.

IN THE HEIGHTS: We'd won lotto, so we were sitting dead-center, first row. At stagedoor, the woman playing Claudia (I can never remember her name) came through the line, got to me, and was like "Hey, I saw you!". It's the first time I really became aware of just how much the actors saw and were aware of on the stage.

MEMPHIS: James Monroe Iglehart came out, gave huge hugs to anyone who complimented or asked for a photo with him. He geeked out over my Doctor Who shirt. And when Chad came out, my friend managed to inadvertently crack me and him up by being fascinated by the fact that my camera found faces.

[LFazin]

Posted: 8/8/11 at 11:17pm

American Idiot: It was my fourth and last time seeing the show and I made it my mission that I would finally meet Tony Vincent. He was one of the main reasons I kept returning to the show because I found him so unbelievably brilliant. Well, luck was on my side that day and I discovered that he was unbelievably gracious, too. He was far off from the actual stage door, so no barricades or anything, and he had a large group of girls surrounding him, myself included. He made sure that every single person got whatever they wanted. What impressed me the most was that he was so organized and fair about it. Someone would ask him for a picture and he'd say "Yeah sure! Let me just take a picture with them because they were first." And then he'd take the picture, sign a few more autographs and at the next photo request, he'd say "Yeah, no problem, after I take a picture with them," and so on. He was just so nice, which was extra special considering he played such a sinister character. That whole cast was awesome at stage door.

The casts of HAIR and Priscilla: both filled with wonderfully friendly and outgoing people.

[darreyl102]

Posted: 8/9/11 at 3:18am

I met Corbin at the Hollywood Bowl Stage door. He could not have been sweeter and kinder. He actually came from behind the barricades to meet people and spent around 30 minutes talking and meeting his fans. Before he went in he asked if everyone had got to meet him! He totally impressed me and i wish him the best of everything in his career!

Catch Me If You Can: Met Linda Hart. We had written back and forth and i had told her i was going to be there. We talked for over 10 minutes on everything from Hairspray, Acting to the weather. She was sooo incredibly nice and couldent have been sweeter. she actually took two pictures with me including one infront of the Catch Me Marquee!

Hairspray at the CLO: Met Ashley Spencer (Currently playing one of the Divas in Priscilla). i had wrote to her before hand and told her i was seeing the show. She actually took me backstage to her dressing room where we chatted for quite awhile and then gave me a playbill that was signed by the cast! She was soo super sweet and when i saw Priscilla she remembered me! When i stagedoored the show the entire cast that came out actually thanked ME for being on their stage and that i needed to "Get my Butt on Broadway pronto!". Long Story short- i had my own center stage dance solo in the show.

Spiderman- Met Isabel Keating. Had written to her before hand. we talked for about 7 minutes and she posed for 2 pictures with me- Totally sweet and kind!! i LOVE her!!

[Aswatrowinkenbo]

Posted: 8/9/11 at 2:38pm

For closing night of "Catch Me if You Can" in Seattle, I had a lovely experience with Karl Warden. He had been carrying out all his stuff from his dressing room but put it down to sign autographs and take pictures, and finally picked it all back up to leave. I had missed him but figured I'd let him go since his hands were full, but as he stepped out he saw me and said, "Oh did I miss you?" He set down all his stuff and graciously signed my Playbill and posed for a picture. It was quite nice of him.

More recently was at Brian Yorkey's production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" at Village Theatre. Village had just produced a teen production of "Spelling Bee" where I played Marcy. Some of the JCS cast had come to our closing performance. A couple nights later I went to go see JCS and stagedoored afterward. One of the apostles saw me and said, "I need to give you a hug! You were phenomenal in Spelling Bee!" We talked for a few minutes too. Seemed like a backwards stagedoor experience, but it was an honor to be praised by a pro actor.

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/9/11 at 3:45pm

I was aked to dinner by an actor in 'Deathtrap" when I saw it on Broadway years ago.

[willep]

Posted: 8/9/11 at 4:08pm

One of my favorites was at Book of Mormon. We had won lotto, so were in the front row, and the friend I was in knew one of the Mormon boys, so she was talking to him outside after. I was just standing around halfway in their conversation when the rest of the Mormon boys walked by, saw me, and Jason Michael Snow goes, "Oh! You were in the front row! You kept us entertained the WHOLE time!" and all the other guys laughed and agreed.