If/Then Stage door

nolegrl88
#75If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 7:34am

These horror stories makes me question whether to even attempt to go the Saturday night I'm there. I'd have a jump start at the crowd since I'm seeing the Matinee, but it sounds like even then I won't have a chance. Especially with all those stupid eBay scalpers. Seriously, if they don't have a playbill to the show in hand, security should ask them to leave.

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Mr Roxy
#76If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 8:40am

Someone should film this insanity and post it so we can all see it. One wonders when the crazies will up it a notch and have a car waiting to follow her limo to her home so they can continue their stupidity there.


Poster Emeritus

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YouWantitWhen????
#77If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 9:53am

Like I said, Idina deserves a freaking medal for dealing with this just about every night. I wish there was a way to filter out some of those who are there to solely make money, as opposed to those who are really fans.

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LYLS3637
#78If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 10:06am

Sometimes fans are the problem though. And of course I don't mean all fans, but when I witnessed that stage door craziness, I saw people literally snatching playbills out of other people's hands, pushing, shoving, even slapping. One tween even called Idina "my mom."

I'm a huge Idina fan, and it's infuriating when a minority of fans continue to ruin the atmosphere at shows and concerts.


"I shall stay until the wind changes."

Wayman_Wong
#79If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 10:47am

'Someone should film this insanity' ...

Here's a snippet of one stage-door encounter; Idina appears starting at 5:10 ...
'If/Then' cast meets fans at stage door

Jufikar
#80If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 10:59am

I agree. There are fans who have paid the big bucks to see Idina perform. They actually have stuff for her to sign. These other people are people who haven't seen the show, and they just get signatures to sell on Ebay. I know that everyone's allowed to go to the stage door, but then people take it too far.

Liza's Headband
#81If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:03am

Why does Idina have a propensity for attracting the freaks to her fan base? Besides Veronica, who gets paid by Idina, are there any sane fans out there? Why do her fans become rabid dogs around her...? I do not get it.

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LYLS3637
#82If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:06am

Oh Liza give me a break. Taylor Swift fans, Justin Beiber fans, the fans of that British boyband, and even Aaron Tveit fans are all just as bad, I would argue worse... Any artist/performer who attracts that demographic of tween girls is going to have those fans.

By the way, I'm a very sane fan-- hell, I'd even call myself a super fan. Most of her fans are very much "sane," especially us older ones who are not a member of the current tween generation.


"I shall stay until the wind changes."
Updated On: 6/26/14 at 11:06 AM

Liza's Headband
#83If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:10am

Of course! I was speaking directly of Broadway starts/performers. Who else has rabid tween girl fans like Idina? I guess Lea, but she really became famous because of television...

Is there anyone else?

ETA: you edited your post to mention Aaron Tveit. Great point. I would agree with that. Updated On: 6/26/14 at 11:10 AM

Jufikar
#84If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:11am

We are all humans. So is Idina. We all have a life. Idina has a life outside of acting. She's married. She has a kid. If I were her, I wouldn't even bother stage dooring. It's just so sad that she can't connect with the audience afterwards because they're too crazy.

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tazber
#85If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:13am

Since stage-dooring is a thing now they should set up some stanchions and have one of the security guys check stubs to make sure those who line up saw the show.

There has to be a better way to organize the crowds.


....but the world goes 'round

Jufikar
#86If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:23am

Exactly! I've always thought they should check tickets at a stage door. Why should people who haven't paid, say at least $150 to see her perform, get the good spots at a stage door?

nolegrl88
#87If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:29am

I wouldn't put a ticket price on it, but I think you must have a show ticket and show related thing for them to sign in order to line up. Everyone else should get turned away. If you have a ticket and only Frozen Merch., you shouldn't be allowed to line up for autographs.

Updated On: 6/26/14 at 11:29 AM

AngelEyez
#88If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:33am

I'm so surprised by these stories that I'm compelled to share mine. I waited after the show a few weeks ago on a Friday night, and I was actually shocked at how calm it was. There were tons of people, but everyone was calm. When Idina came out everyone cheered, but promptly calmed down. Everyone was really quiet as she signed. I was really surprised about that. I guess it may not be the norm, judging by these stories. It was the Friday before the Tony's and I wished her luck and spoke with her very briefly as she signed my playbill and one of her album covers that I brought with me.

lala09
#89If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:48am

AngelEyez - I was there that Friday too! Definitely a fairly calm stage door and everyone was respectful, which appears to be an anomaly. The cast was extremely nice, and Idina was great. If she missed signing someone's Playbill, she'd come back to them and sign it with a smile. Also since the Imperial is next door, the kids from the Les Mis cast came over after most of the fans had left when Idina was finishing up. Idina seemed so happy to talk to them. They wished her luck for the Tonys and took a picture with her. It was adorable :)

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haterobics
#90If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 2:00pm

"I wouldn't put a ticket price on it, but I think you must have a show ticket and show related thing for them to sign in order to line up. Everyone else should get turned away."

The problem is that once you're out of the theater, you're essentially standing on a public sidewalk. So, your ticket stub really has zero value at that point.

You may call it stage dooring, but the key phrase there is door. Once Idina comes out, she has left the theater. I think the theater has some responsibility to make it as safe as possible or to ensure whatever the cast want it to be (signing, just clear a path to the car, or whatever).

I do think Broadway will eventually go the way of Vegas. You buy a ticket and you can add a VIP experience to it, which means X number of people after every show can stag in a special area inside, get one item signed and have a professional picture taken that you can download hi-res off the Internet 48 hours later.

This will happen once the tipping point of insanity and safety swing toward where they appear to be headed.

Not to mention, Idina can donate all of her signing fees to her charity, etc.

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mikem
#91If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 3:05pm

The one-side-reserved-for-ticket-holders at the barricade thing seems to have completely fallen by the wayside. I am trying to think what the last show was that had that policy. (Julia Roberts created the policy.) I thought it made a lot of sense, although it's more work for security. I don't think it would automatically be illegal - there are ticketed events that take place in public spaces - but there may be legal nuances that may have contributed to its demise.


"What was the name of that cheese that I like?" "you can't run away forever...but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start" "well I hope and I pray, that maybe someday, you'll walk in the room with my heart"

Wayman_Wong
#92If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 4:19pm

I believe someone (Haterobics?) had posted that the situation at 'Hedwig's' stage door is that one barricade is for people who came to that night's show ... and the other barricade is for other fans who hadn't. But I don't know how well-monitored that is.

I like that policy. I don't think the people who actually paid to see the show, should be crowded out by others who didn't.

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haterobics
#93If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 5:04pm

Hedwig does do that. Bette did it, as well.

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Auggie27
#94If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 5:25pm

I'm pretty old school about this: when people stop lining up, the woman will have a problem. If it's a pain in the ass, who thinks she'd prefer not to be so beloved and famous? Raise your hands, please. It's the territory. Like Harold Hill, she knows the territory. And even when too tired, wouldn't trade it for all the weddings she could still be singing for on Long Island.


"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling

delongpre
#95If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 7:08pm

I was thinking that maybe some theater could design a way for audience members to stay in the theater and wait for the star to come into the house to meet/sign after the show. It might make the experience more satisfying for all involved.

I think all actors who take time from their already busy lives to stop and meet fans and sign or pose with them are amazing. When I am given the opportunity, I always thank them for giving their time. The abuse of some fans does ruin it for everyone, and I am surprised that someone like Idina still subjects herself to the idiocy night after night. I would have tried to film the mess the other night but I was so crammed in that it would have been a blur of blonde teen heads and rainbow playbills accompanied by shrieks of "OHMYGODILOVEYOUIDINA!"

I know people say that the problems begin when the fans STOP crowding the stage door, but at this point, the fans who really want to offer Idina praise, those who appreciate how she is able to deliver this show, are going to stop showing up because of the wall of obnoxious fanatics who couldn't explain the plot of If/Then if you asked them to.

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haterobics
#96If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 7:24pm

"obnoxious fanatics who couldn't explain the plot of If/Then if you asked them to."

To be fair, that doesn't mean they didn't see it...

Hehe, sorry, that was too delicious to pass up, even for an If/Then fan. If/Then Stage door

delongpre
#97If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/26/14 at 11:54pm


Updated On: 6/26/14 at 11:54 PM

mufish
#98If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/27/14 at 9:59pm

I got back from my NYC trip the other day. Went to All the Way Saturday night and did the stage door afterwards. My seat was on the complete opposite side, so by the time I got out there was a pretty large crowd. As the cast came out, people were very helpful - a couple people assisted me in getting my window card signed as I was too far back for the cast to reach it. Before Bryan Cranston came out, they told everyone he wouldn't be signing but would take some pictures. Certainly couldn't blame him, between his role and having a matinee the next day.

Decided to go back on Sunday to try and have him sign the window card. When I got there there were maybe half a dozen people there already. The stage door security guard was not going to let me line up, assuming I hadn't seen the show. In fact, he was in the process of arguing with someone who definitely hadn't seen it who said he was being deprived of meeting his idol. I had fortunately brought my ticket with me, so I was allowed to line up. Eventually, they had everyone get behind a barricade, making everyone show their Playbill to be able to queue up. After some time, Cranston came out and took pics and signed for every single person behind the barricade.

I guess this was a long way of saying that on some days (perhaps all), All the Way definitely only allowed people who had seen the show to join the crowd at the stage door.

Finished my trip with If/Then on Tuesday, the stage door wasn't that bad when I walked past right after the show, but I decided not to stick around after having heard horror stories from this board and because I needed to pack for my return home.

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TFMH18
#99If/Then Stage door
Posted: 6/29/14 at 11:33am

Saw online that she didn't come out last night due to some kind of "family emergency." Hope everything is okay.
(Or, if she was simply taking the night off from this mayhem after a two show day, GOOD FOR HER).