Actors not coming out stage door- Page 2

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 6:47am

No, really. Any which way anyone phrases that sounds bad.
Yes, 8 actors can all have genuine obligations after the show.. or some have obligations and some choose not to sign, whether choice, health, time, etc... they don't poll each other to see who wants to go sign.
Doesn't matter what the little girls want.. they received a performance. That's it. End of story.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 7:32am

Before 'stage dooring' became a thing you were lucky if you even got a glimpse. I don't expect anyone to ever comne out, to come out consistently, to sign,take pictures consistantly or not.

I don't expect to see Mark Wahlberg after his movies, Letterman coming out after the Late Show or Bono to stage door a U2 concert. Why are Broadway actors critizied after at least some of them make themselves mroe available to fans at least some of the time? No good deed goes unpunished.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 7:45am

Can you imagine if one of the leads of Wicked came out and said "Hi, thanks for waiting. I'm not staying"? If for nothing else that than one helicopter parent who will throw a fit that their pride and joy wants to meet Nessarose or as *I* have personally seen, cluster of girls who will follow said actor down the street in an effort to catch them at a red light.

It's winter. Sickness has been going around, the weather has been fowl. The Gershwin is part of a building a block wide and nearly a block long. There are multiple exits, so how dare the cast members use an exit facing the direction they need to go? I can name three or four exits from the Circle in the Square without blinking and that's 600 seats in a basement of the same building!

Perhaps a few people came out and no one recognized them. Alli Mauzey looks very un-Galinda with her brunette hair and people don't always notice her... and she is a lead! Let's not even get into people bundled in winter layers. I've seen Donna Vivino far away from the theatre wearing a coat that I could only compare to an Ewok. Is she avoiding the stage door on the Upper West Side? Unless you are in the first rows or you are sitting outside that stage door playing a "where's Waldo?" guessing game with Playbill head shots, you may miss people walking directly by you.

[NotTheComfyChair]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 9:20am

I was walking past the Broadhurst when EQUUS was on and noticed a lot of the actors come out through the Lobby to avoid the stage door zoo for Richard Griffiths and - mostly - for Dan Radcliffe. I completely understand that.

Sometimes, actors don't appear quickly because they have friends who come backstage and they do a small tour for them or have them come to the dressing room. I understand that.

[bobs3]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 9:22am

Sutton Foster was notorious for leaving the Marquis through the main entrance and taking the escalators down to the jewel box (that is what the Marriott calls their small first floor lobby) and leaving through a side door.

[jemjeb2]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 9:51am

Bobs3 - be careful with your word choice ie. "Sutton Foster was "notorious" for ..." . Since notorious means famous for doing something bad, it seems a little judgemental. Exiting a theatre in the manner she chose is hardly " bad behavior", just disappointing for those people who want strangers to put their name on a piece of paper.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 10:01am

There are two definitions of the word "notorious." While most of us associate that word with the more commonly accepted negative connotations, I'm assuming bob was referring to this Merriam-Webster definition: generally known and talked of.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 10:01am

jem,
I take that to mean "notorious" among the autograph seekers, who WOULD consider that to be "bad behavior", not notorious among the rest of society.

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 11:25am

This is the most bizarre thread regarding entitlement issues.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 11:48am

I still can't believe someone thinks actors should come have to come out of the stage door to talk to fans.

[scripps]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 11:51am

I'm curious, I used to stage door and will admittedly still do so on the rare occasion, but when did "stage dooring" become a part of the ticket price to a live show? Almost every show, from starry prestige productions to long running shows have barricades up at their stage doors nightly for crowd control. When did this become a "thing?" I think my first experience with stage door barricades was in '99 for THE ICEMAN COMETH, and it has quickly been creeping into ubiquity since.

[James885]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 1:05pm

This is the most bizarre thread regarding entitlement issues.

You said it. It never ceases to amaze me how some folks think that they're entitled to time with the actors at the stage door. Your ticket entitles you to a performance. Nothing more or less. The actors are not required to sign autographs, take pictures or do anything else after the show's done.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've stage-doored in the last 7-10 years, and each time it was because I knew someone in the show and I was waiting for them to come out.

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 1:10pm

"I can count on one hand the number of times I've stage-doored in the last 7-10 years, and each time it was because I knew someone in the show and I was waiting for them to come out."

I've done the same, but don't really call it stagedooring if 'm waiting for someone I know in the show.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 1:20pm

This topic pops up from time to time to the same results. Side A thumps their chest and demands that they are right and Side B does the same. There's never going to be an answer.

I used to stage door and will admittedly still do so on the rare occasion, but when did "stage dooring" become a part of the ticket price to a live show?

Twitter and Facebook are the cause of that IMO. The "stars" suddenly seem within reach and thus seeming to be more approachable.

We all do something that someone else might think is "weird" or "stupid". No one is exempt from that and that's what makes the world go 'round.

As for the stage door - I have no problem with it as long as you go in without great expectations. You don't deserve anything and they don't owe you anything. I met one of my best friends at a stage door and if I had skipped the stage door that day I would have never met her and that thought makes me sad. She's a great addition to my life and it's great having another "theatre buddy".

Chest thumping over

[Emma White]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 6:24pm

Some stars do seem to genuinely enjoy stage dooring, at least for the first few months. There's a video on youtube of Laura Osnes stage dooring on the opening night of Grease and it's quite cute, considering she has voiced several times that she enjoys stage dooring. She says she remembers being on the other side of the barricade (she specifically mentioned stage dooring a Sutton Foster show and freaking out over Sutton) and so it's a nice feeling to get to be on the other side now.
When it comes down to it, I believe actors are ENTIRELY within their right to not stage door, but viewers are also entirely within their right to be disappointed. Not angry, that's a whole different ball game, because that shows they believe they are entitled to the star's time. But disappointed, I think, is okay. Like, when I was disappointed when I found out I wouldn't be seeing Laura Osnes in Cinderella. I wasn't thinking "that bitch, how dare she have a life and other projects when I still haven't seen the show!" I was just thinking "aw, I wish I could've seen her!" It's two different things. Same thing with seeing understudies for your favourite performers - be sad, not angry.

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 6:29pm

Oasisjeff, yes you're right. If you are specifically waiting for your friend to come out so you can get together afterwards, go to dinner, etc...that's not stage dooring at all. That's just waiting for your friend.

Yet, you'd be surprised how many people refer to actors as their "friends," just because they have an autograph & picture with them from the stage door.

[Emma White]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 6:32pm

"Yet, you'd be surprised how many people refer to actors as their "friends," just because they have an autograph & picture with them from the stage door."

Ooh, that makes me friends with KRISTIN CHENOWETH! I can't wait to tell everyone.

[veronicamae]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 8:37pm

"Oasisjeff, yes you're right. If you are specifically waiting for your friend to come out so you can get together afterwards, go to dinner, etc...that's not stage dooring at all. That's just waiting for your friend. "

"Yet, you'd be surprised how many people refer to actors as their "friends," just because they have an autograph & picture with them from the stage door."

If you're friends, why would you be stage dooring at all? Just to be silly?

Anyway - no one owes fans anything beyond their performance. If fans are disappointed because they don't stage door one night when they usually do, tough cookies - time to understand that life isn't fair!

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 10:28pm

I'm going to have to agree with AntV on this one. If you come out and sign some times, you've created an expectation among your fans and should be required to do it all the time. I would even take it further. If a performer really is unable to stay and sign, he or she should still come out and provide the people waiting with a detailed explanation as to why they can't stay and sign that day. Then a vote is quickly taken of the fans waiting as to whether the excuse is "acceptable". If a majority rules it is not, the performer is required to stay and sign anyway even if they really need to go. I think that is only fair. After all, without loyal fans coming to see the show, there is no show, right?

[delongpre]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 10:31pm

Give it a break. I would say I am older than most people on here and I'm just mentioning that to say that YEARS ago fans waited outside to see actors leave the theater for HOURS. If they didn't come out, so be it. If they did and only waved, so be it. If they only signed a few and then hopped in a car, so be it. Like many have said, you were entitled to a seat in the theater and a performance and that is it. People were respectful of the talent and did not demand so much from them at the stage door.

My daughter and I saw Wicked again last night. Yes, we waited, because my daughter the Elphaba fan wanted to say something to Lindsay Mendez if she came out. She came out. She signed, smiled and posed with the few people out there. So did Alli Mauzey, after a long day in the middle of a 16 performance stretch. If they hadn't we would have walked away without a gripe because they owe us NOTHING.

Think about that everytime an actor comes out that door, smiles at you, signs a playbill or poses after a long day of hard work. Yes, they are public figures but they owe nothing to the fans beyond their performance. I appreciate every moment that they share with the public. I think it is amazingly unselfish of them. BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE IT SELFISH for those who DO NOT choose. They are not dissing the little girl out there but choosing to maybe go home and see their own little girl. Like someone above said, imagine an actor coming out and saying "sorry, no autographs." He's more likely to lose fans in a face to face like that than if he slips out the side door. Could you see a crowd react to a lead actor coming out and walking straight to a car? I have also seen poor actors being told how to pose, told to wait for camera batteries to be changed, told to write certain things, and get scolded for writing the "wrong" thing. I have seen actors having to bite their tongues and maintaining their cool when you KNOW they wished they had gone out the back way. Stage-dooring is a tradition that has gotten out of hand with a public that feels entitled. No level of expectation is justified.

Updated On: 2/21/14 at 10:31 PM

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 11:23pm

Last week I was making a phone call on 45th Street and saw 3/4s of the cast of The Glass Menagerie slip out one of the doors at the back of the house to avoid the mob at the stage door. I felt their pain.

As a performer who is not famous but has been in shows with people who are, I can tell you that it's kind of terrifying to have a massive clump of strangers waiting outside when you just want to head home. I can't imagine how I would feel if those large crowds were actually waiting for me. It's not just signing Playbills any more. Everyone wants a picture or for you to record their voicemail or something even more ridiculous. People are more interested in impressing their Twitter followers and Facebook friends than anything.

At Gypsy of the Year a few months ago I was seated next to a group of women who were talking about all their Broadway performer friends. These women were not in the business. They were avid stage door people. They showed me endless pictures from stage doors and 54 Below events. Ugh. Following someone on Twitter and greeting them night after night at the stage door does not make someone your friend.

Personally, I never stage door. The whole enterprise makes me super uncomfortable.

Updated On: 2/21/14 at 11:23 PM

[veronicamae]

Posted: 2/21/14 at 11:33pm

At the National in DC, I exited the stage door with Idina. Walking toward and out that door, into a wall of screams and camera flashes, is not the glamorous experience I used to perceive it to be. Instead, it's blinding and a little terrifying. I can't imagine having to do that every night, and having to slow down and address basically everyone there. I got out of there as quickly as I could.

Related, Anthony Rapp keeps promising via Twitter that he will sign EVERY NIGHT. I wonder what the reaction will be when he inevitably misses a night?

[SweetLips]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:02am

My one and only[good name for a musical]stage door experience-I waited for over 2 hours after seeing Lena Horne and told numerous times by theatre staff-she's not coming out.There was just a woman and I by now when Lena Horne came out of the theatre and got in a big black car.The woman pushed me out of the way and put her arm in the car so they couldn't close the door-she got her autograph-I didn't.I have no idea what the moral of that story is apart from 'Patience is not always rewarded'.I had sat through the most amazing 2hrs of musical brilliance and just suppose I wanted to tell this Legend how I felt.I was disappointed not to get a signature but funnily enough just to look at her alone[almost] was thrilling enough-it certainly was a highlight of that visit to NY [better than getting mugged on the way TO the theatre-but that's another story for a differt thread].

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:16am

I had the good fortune of being invited backstage once to meet a well known actress. I nearly had a panic attack when leaving the theatre, opening the door and seeing the throngs of people waiting for her. They all lurched in and their energy was overwhelming. I haven idea how actors do it nightly.

Also, working actors are just people-even if they have been on the boards a long time and have a following-they often dont feel famous. They dont think people want their autograph. They lead low key anonymous lives outside of that stage door.

[cknick]

Posted: 2/22/14 at 12:50am

I like to stage door, but I only do if it's someone I really want to see or truly admire (and of course I've seen the show). I'm usually very shy at the stage door and pretty quiet. I didn't even get Debra Messing's signature after Outside Mullingar because she was trying desperately to leave and some girls who had obviously been there before were keeping her. I didn't have the heart to stop her.

I understand the mixed feelings here. It certainly would be very taxing on actors to do it every night. With the number of celebrities on Broadway, it's hard to expect people not to stage door. I like to go just for the opportunity to see the actor up close, out of character, and maybe exchange a few words. I've always had great experiences and it's give me some great memories. That being said, I get pretty ticked when people are at the stage door who haven't seen the show.

There have also been times when people I really wanted to see did not come out, like Ben Walker after Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or Cherry and Celia after The Glass Menagerie. I was a little sad, but just though "oh well" and went home. I think you're allowed to be upset, but as people have mentioned, don't hold it against the actors. In both of my cases, they gave very demanding and intense performances. I don't blame them for not sticking around!

Updated On: 2/22/14 at 12:50 AM