Best stage door story

[Corey38]

Posted: 11/27/16 at 9:38pm

Anyone want to share the best interaction/time they had a stage door? I love hearing about them instead of the ones where the actors were rude or the patrons were mean. :)

[whatdoesntkillme]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 12:19am

So many. A few:

Last week I saw the Fun Home tour and was the only one at the stage door. When Kate Shindle came out, we had a quick conversation. In the middle of it: "What's your name?" "I'm whatdoesntkillme" "I'm Kate" "I know" We both had a good laugh. 

When I saw Shuffle Along in June, I was in NYC for a class on Broadway history, race, geography, etc., and I had a wonderful conversation with Stokes about the research I was doing on Ragtime. He seemed genuinely interested in my work, and I appreciated our chat. On the same trip I saw Fun Home with a friend writing her dissertation on Sondheim, and I observed a nice talk she had with Cerveris about Steve and Sweeney Todd. 

At The Color Purple, most people were just sticking their Playbills out for people to sign, but I did my best to greet the actors, giving them a word or two of appreciation and treating them like human beings rather than singing and autograph-giving robots. Heather Headley seemed to appreciate it and gave me a nice tap on my shoulder when I told her to have a good night, and that meant a lot to me. 

When I saw The Spongebob Musical this summer, I talked to Nick Blaemire about how much I liked Glory Days, and it seemed to make his day. That show means a lot to me and he was really excited to hear it, since it's so underappreciated. 

I guess this has turned into stories from the past 6 months of seeing shows, I've just had some great luck with stage doors lately!

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 12:22am

Many lovely stage door experiences, but the best one will always be Cynthia Erivo. I'll never, ever forget how truly genuine and grateful and kind and thoughtful she was to me and everybody else at the Jacobs' stage door that night. She is a world-class woman. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 2:59am

I've had a quite a few fun ones over the years, but one of my favorites was Harvey Fierstein after Fiddler on the Roof on tour in 2010. 

My mom and I were the only people waiting for him. He came out and was incredibly nice - signed my program, took a picture with me, etc. At the end, I said in my squeaky 8th-grader voice "Thank you Mr. Fierstein," and he says in his iconic gravelly voice "You're very welcome, Cookie!" 

[spikethebunny]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 12:56pm

I've honestly been very lucky and have found the actors I've met at the stage doors to be super gracious and sweet, but I also make a point of thanking them for their time and engaging with them about their performances.

A few that stuck with me:

NPH during Hedwig previews. I went to a show very close to the beginning of previews, and maybe he was unsure of himself in the role, but when I complimented him on his performance, he actually got choked up and kept saying "thank you so much. That means a lot." I was just surprised with how sweet and humble he seemed (and in the same vein, Lena Hall was adorable and just the best at the stage door).

Daveed Diggs was probably the nicest person EVER. I am super short and often get tongue-tied around certain actors (I blurt stupid things allll that time), and he had to hunch so far to sign and take a pic with me that I felt bad and apologized for being short (I'm Canadian. We apologize for everything). Daveed laughed and said, "Don't worry about that, darling. It's why I have knees. They bend." I just thought that was a cute reply.

Idina Menzel. Not quite a stage door story, but years ago (pre-Frozen), during one of her concert tours, I won a backstage meet and greet after the show from her fan club. She was crazy nice. I was leaving for Disneyworld on my Honeymoon the next week, and she had just come back from there, so we sat and chatted about Disney and she told me which rides I needed to go on and places I needed to visit. She just seemed very real and chill. She signed all my stuff "Congratulations!!!" because she was so excited about my recent wedding.

And I think the last one that really stood out was Sara Ramirez at the Spamalot stage door. It was pouring that night, and a bunch of us had our playbills drenched as we waited for the actors to come out. Sara was the first, and she saw our playbills and said, "Oh no! That's not right! Hang on!" She disappeared into the theatre and came out with new, dry, playbills for all of us which she promptly signed. That was a step above, and just total class.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 2:17pm

I wrote about this is another thread but after waiting  outside in the freezing cold for quite a while, this lovely actress gave me a ride home in her limo when she realized  I was going to the bus and she was going in my direction.    

I don't feel comfy using her name but it's a memory I'll always treasure. And no if you guess the name, I won't respond lol. But she has a reputation for being nice and she obviously didn't disappoint. 

[ukpuppetboy]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 4:14pm

As an avid Angela Lansbury fan from a childhood of bedknobs, broomsticks and unlikely murders I made a point of flying to Brisbane to catch the end of what (at that time) was to be her one off run in Driving Miss Daisy - having missed all of her previous Broadway appearances. One of my close friends (another admirer) was organising a "Murder She Wrote" themed hen party for a friend of hers who grew up near the Dame's Cork estate and she 'challenged' me in the pub one night to see if I could get the great lady herself to bless the wedding with a card/greeting.

Whilst not wishing to shy away from the challenge I was highly skeptical of managing to rise to it - seeing as the show I was attending was the final Sunday matinee and both the production and I would be leaving Brisbane immediately. However I put pen to paper that morning over brunch and dropped the letter off at the stage door about an hour before curtain up in the hope of getting some kind of response.

I was attending the show with another friend who was living in Australia and by the time we left the bar to take our seats it was pretty much the last call for the beginners. Just as we arrived to our row a young lady hovering at the end in the isle introduced herself (and knew me by name - which threw me as I was only in the city for 2 days). I must have looked VERY puzzled; even more so after she produced the letter I had only very recently left with the stage door keeper, but she explained that she had read the letter to Angela, who had asked if I would like to come to her dressing room after the performance to meet with her to record a message of well wishes for the happy couple back in Ireland. Evidentially her PA had gone to the trouble of finding my booking and come to our seats to personally make that invitation (and surprise the hell out of me in the process).

Needless to say I accepted and the video clip that Dame Angela recorded for them in her dressing room after that final show was the surprise hit of the wedding reception (it was FAR too good to waste on the hen party)!   The challenge was definitely met and I could not have imagined that both Angela Lansbury (and her assistant) would be so generous in time and spirit to have enabled it to happen. 

 

Updated On: 11/28/16 at 04:14 PM

[starcatchers]

Posted: 11/28/16 at 4:22pm

I've had many, but one definitely sticks out in my mind:

A friend and I saw Maureen Moore in Grey Gardens. It was an exceptionally cold day, and the doorman brought us inside to wait. We were chatting just offstage when we heard her coming down the stairs going "I hear girls!" After greeting us like old neighbors, she took us onstage and told us some wonderful stories about the show and the theatre. We never took her up on the offer, but she wanted us to come back one day before the show so we could see the madness pre-show. One of the most genuinely sweet people I've met. 

[Saralou]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:14am

I have only gotten to stage door a handful of times and in general everyone is nice but by far my favorite experience was the School of Rock stage door a month ago. The kids were so self-assured and poised but kind and polite, we were very impressed. Becky Gulsvig was also extremely nice, I told her I saw her in the Legally Blonde tour years ago and she seemed genuinely happy that I remembered that and enjoyed her. But the best part was Alex Brightman who took his time with everyone there and made us all feel so welcome. I showed him a video of my 3-year-old who loves the music singing along and he made him a video in return. such a class act. 

[JaneAugust]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:30am

A couple of months ago, my friend and I won the in person lottery for The Book of Mormon. A couple months prior, we worked on a show for theatre education with one of the ensemble members. We were hoping he would remember us when we went to the stage door and we could take a cute photo. He ended up walking past all of the people and was waiting at the side of the street for someone. We decided to approach him to see if we could at least get him to sign our Playbills. He did remember us and took us backstage. It was the most incredible experience because we didn't even know we were going to see the show until five hours prior. It was also my friend's first time in New York so it was pretty amazing.

 

I saw An American in Paris and we went to the stage door. We had our Playbills signed and Leanne Copes was the sweetest and took selfies with us. As we were waiting for more cast members to come out, I asked the stage door managers if they would sign my Playbill. (I am a technical theatre major so I know how hard they work.) One of the guys said it would just devalue it, but I told them how important their job was and how much I appreciate it. Sure it was kind of tacky, but I could see how surprised they were that someone cared. It was lovely.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:44am

I've told this story before, but it's still one of my absolute most cherished memories. In 2015 I made it a point to travel over 4 hours to see Into the Woods at the Muny in St. Louis. I was a really big fan of Rob McClure, and even more so, Erin Dilly (A Christmas Story is one of my favorite musicals). I knew stage dooring might not have worked out very well, since it was such a big venue, and stage door demand isn't as big at regional theaters, but nevertheless, I waited. Rob came out first and was super gracious with his time and happily took a photo and signed my playbill. The crowd died down a bit after security announced Heather Headley wouldn't be signing. Then came Erin Dilly. Signing for a few people that I think she might've known. So I waited as not wanting to interrupt what seemed to be a small reunion. All this time she was eating chips out of a little nacho tray (we'll come back to this). She finished up with them, and just as she was about to walk away, I asked if I could have her autograph and a picture, she was happy to give then to me. We took the picture first, then we got into a great discussion about how much we both adore "A Christmas Story". I told her what a big fan I was of her, and how making the trip from Louisville to St. Louis was a no brainer after her casting had been announced. She seemed very moved to hear me say that, and proceeded to sign my playbill. As she was giving me my Sharpie back. and as my hand was going down to put it into my bag, it hit her nachos, and sent them flying to the ground. I was MORTIFIED. I immediately started apologizing, and telling her how horrible I felt since that was basically her dinner. I was basically hysterical because I had just flung one of my favorite performers food onto the ground. She grabbed me by the shoulders and reassured me that it was really no big thing. She even went as far as to say she was basically done with it. She then gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and thanked me for my kind words and for coming all that way to see the show. She could've reacted any which way, but she was calm and comforted me. This will forever be my most embarrassing and favorite stage door memory. 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 12:47am

One time I saw a show and it was great and then I went home.

 

[belrowley]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 1:02am

I got to speak briefly with Alan Rickman after Seminar. He was as lovely and gracious as you could imagine. I asked him for advice as a young person seeking a career in the arts. He said, "Know the words and love them."

I've carried those words with me ever since.

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 11/29/16 at 1:57am

I'll just write my sunset experiences. 

I wrote Betty Buckley a lil note before the show and send it back. Pretty much said "I'm excited to see you have a great show" after the show someone came out the stage door yelling my name. Betty was inviting me back to meet her in her dressing room. I had seen a matinee. She was beyond lovely. 

Elaine Paige. I went back to stage door after seeing her a few times. My dad and I were the only people at the stage door. Her assistant came out and said "Elaine says it's too cold come back". I had been a fan forever and this just made me love her more. 

Alan Campbell was very nice. He invited me and a few of my friends backstage after the final performance. 

[Thoroughbred]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 3:18pm

I saw Hedwig in March 2014 with JCM. It was fairly cold out, and he did his usual - coming out and passing out pre-signed Sugar Daddy candies. I had an arm in a sling, so couldn't get close. Another fan grabbed one for me, and then the crowd started to disperse. I was standing on the sidewalk outside the restaurant beside the Belasco, deciding where to go (as I had to wait for a friend's show to finish up). As I was standing there, John walked past me, stopped, and said "would you like me to sign that?" and gestured to my Playbill. I was so shocked I'm pretty sure I just nodded and fumbled in my bag for a Sharpie. I told him how much I had enjoyed the show and his performance, and he took my hand (the functional arm), held it, and said "thank you so much for coming". He was just so incredibly sweet and kind, after a long day and on a cold night. He could have easily just walked past me to his car - I didn't even really see him.

[saxpower]

Posted: 12/1/16 at 6:41pm

More of a funny one.  I saw the 1989 tour of Chorus Line with Donna McKecknie.  A good number of people waited for her.  She was one of, if not the last to come out.  The rest of the cast was signing programs for everyone.  The whole time (while we were waiting and during the signing) this one girls mother kept telling everyone (audience and cast) how the girl was Little Miss Virginia or Miss American Junior or something like that (The woman would give Mama Rose a run for her money).  We were all rolling our eyes, as were the cast (though everyone was polite).  Donna finally come out, was very gracious with signing for everyone.  "Mama Rose" was in overdrive with her - probably gave the kids entire pageant history.  Donna was asking people's name's to personalize the autographs.  She got to me, and still had Mama Rose's pen in her hand, so she used it to sign mine. Since I had said my name,  Mama Rose immediately said "well Tim, remember she signed with Little Miss [what ever it was]'s pen." Donna was standing so she could make eye contact with me but not Mama Rose, and rolling her eyes said in a way that WAS a bit sarcastic, but which she knew Mama Rose would think was serious, said something like "Oh I'm sure Tim will remember that!"  I had to keep from laughing 'til I had walked away,.  

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/21/17 at 11:58pm

Double post. 

Updated On: 8/22/17 at 11:58 PM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/21/17 at 11:58pm

I have a few. Everyone has been great, but there are the most memorable. 

1. After If/Then, I was able to tell Anthony Rapp how much his recording Without You meant to me after my father died. In addition to taking a picture with me and signing my playbill, he asked how long ago my father had passed snd showed genuine concern for me. 
2. This is a two-fer. I saw Buyer & Cellar, the one man show with Michael Urie in the Village. Before the show started I saw Tony Shalhoub getting seated in the audience. After the show you had to wait in the lobby as there is no stage door if you wish to get your playbill signed. Tony Shalhoub came out of the theater and I told him I was a big fan of Monk and asked if I could get a picture with him (pushy I know!). He explained there was a crowd around and he'd rather not so as not to draw attention. I said I understood. Anyway, I waited like an hour for Michael Urie to come out and by this time I was feeling rather stalkerish. Any way, while I was still waiting Tony came out (I guess he'd gone backstage to congratulate Michael) and said let's do that picture now! Then Michael came out after that. I was a little nervous as I was the only person who waited that long and I didn't know if he'd be like his character on Ugly Betty who wasn't very nice. He couldn't have been nicer. He had some friends with him and was so personable. He asked where I had eaten supper. I told him John's on Bleecker Street, which he very much approved of. I told him it was my first off-Broadway show. He wrote "welcome to off-Broadway" on my playbill and asked what I'd seen so far and what I was going to see. We talked about what we each had loved about Newsies, Kinky Boots and Pippin. Not sure I can fit in seeing him in Torch Song in November, but I will be seeing Tony in The Band's Visit so hope I can thank him for his kindness. 
3. Last year was my first London trip.  I saw Doctor Faustus on the West End really only because Kit Harrington (Game of Throne's Jon Snow) was in it. (It didn't hurt that he bares his butt in one scene). Anyway, obviously he has a huge fan base and the staff inside the theater had warned me that there are people lining up outside the theater instead of seeing the show so they can be right at the barricades when he comes out after the show. I had checked my bags at the bag check closet so I had to collect those first after the show. So by the time I go to the barricades I was two or three people back from the barricades. His minders warned us before he came out that if we were pushy with him in anyway they would put them into the SUV and he would not sign or take pictures. When he finally came out he did not initially seem all that pleased but then he started going around snd it seemed like he was just going to sign the first row and then take pictures with them and leave but when he got to the end of the barricades he must've said something to one of his bodyguards who then indicated to the other bodyguard to close the door to the SUV because he was not done signing. So he came back around again but I'm still not that close to him so when he came back around I yelled out that I had come from the United States and he asked where I was from and I told him I was from Oklahoma. So he signed my Playbill and then as he was doing with others he actually took my phone and took two pictures with  him and I. I think he knew we were too nervous to remember how to operate our smart phones. Lol This was also right after the episode of GOT where Jon was brought back to life and I was able to tell him that I was glad Jon wasn't dead. He said, "me too."  By the way the play was a total mind-trip and Kit was great in it.  
4. This year I saw Cherry Jones in The Glass Menagerie and she gave a master class in acting in that show. Afterwards, she came out and in addition to signing my playbill and taking pics, I was able to tell her I felt like I was meeting theater royalty. She couldn't have been nicer and more humble. She spoke with my friend and I about how glad she was we had come to the show. 
5. Lastly, after Cabaret we waited a long time in the NYC November cold for Emma Stone. She signed and posed for pics. She actually thanked us for waiting. This was more meaningful when I found out she was ill during most of her run in Cabaret and probably wanted nothing more than to go to bed. She was spectacular in the show. 

I could tell more stories but that's enough (for now). Lol

Updated On: 8/22/17 at 11:58 PM

[TheThreadMaster]

Posted: 8/22/17 at 1:00am

I have two.

The first was last month at Hello, Dolly!   When Donna Murphy came out she signed, spoke to, and took pictures with everyone. I'm not a big photo guy so I didn't bother but when I told her how much I loved her in The King and I, she just melted. She signed my playbill and I told her about a teacher of mine who is of old age and can't make it to the city anymore to see shows but Hello, Dolly! always stood out to him and I knew something like this would make his summer. And so she took my extra playbill and signed "To Brother Reynolds XO Donna Murphy". I mean really what a woman. It will be a memory I'll never let go of to have such a moment like that with a two time tony winner.

The second was at the War Paint stage door a few weeks ago with Patti LuPone.     I saw her in Sunset Boulevard in London but I didn't bother to buy a program but my teacher did and he was generous enough to give it to me when we began our bond of love for the theatre. I knew that with all of his surgeries and struggles and meds and pain going on he needed something to just lift his spirits and be a great surprise. I just so happened to have that program with me that night and I had plenty of people telling me to put it away and that she would go ballistic on me and it was a bad idea. Quite frankly, I knew about the whole craziness with her and Webber but I figured I would give it a shot. She came out and I was in the back of the crowd so I had to extend it over people's heads and she was briskly moving skipping right over people. But she saw mine and reached up and went "Oh look at you." with a big smile on her face and next thing I know I have Patti LuPone's autograph. I am to return it to him but with a surprise of happiness and I'm sure he will treasure it. Thanks guys.

[SherrieByTheSea]

Posted: 9/9/17 at 7:58pm

I spent 23 days in London recently for the vacation of my life. Got bit by the theatre bug big time. Pretty  much my first real theatre experiences. I hadn't done any Stage Doors as I was unsure of the whole procedure. I was coming out of Half a Sixpence and the stage door was on my way to the tube. I had told all of my family in Rhode Island how excited I was to be able to see Charlie Stemp at the (relatively) start of his career. He came out and was so sweet. I told him that I had told my family that I was going to see a future musical theatre legend that night. His eyes got big and the gave me a big hung and told me thank you so much. And he was very jolly when I kept messing up on the selfie of us. 

Can't wait to see him in Hello Dolly on Feb 18. And you can be sure I'm going to be at that stage door!!!

[Broadwaywest]

Posted: 9/9/17 at 8:10pm

One of the most interesting is when I got a hug from Johnathan Groff after Spring Awakening. The whole cast had come out and was lovely and signed for everyone. And yes, Lea Michele, was very sweet. But Johnathan Groff had not come out, no pun intended. One of the cast members, said he had a vocal lesson after the show. So pretty much the majority of the crowd left except for me and like 5 other people. So he finally came out, spoke to a few people and signed playbills. When I got the chance to meet him. He got very close to me, the barricades were taken down at this point. He was just apologizing profusely about being late and his vocal lesson. I kept telling him it's okay man and then not sure what possessed me to ask this, but I said "Do you need a hug?" He said "yeah, I do" and we embraced for like a good 15 seconds. He said "Thank you, I needed that" then he signed my playbill, we talked for a few minutes and that was it. Not sure what was going on with him that day, but I'm glad I got to make him feel better.

I've had a few other awesome ones. But another one that ranked up there, was the cast of Shrek. We went to the out of town tryouts in Seattle, and the stage door was in an alley, behind the theater. I think very few people knew about this, cuz I think there may have been 10 people waiting. But it was awesome, got to meet the entire cast, with the exception of Brian D'Arcy James. Actually got to have conversations with these people. Got to talk to Christopher Seiber about his knees, with John Tartaligana about Cher, and got to actually speak with Sutton Foster, who supposedly does not stage door very often.

 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 9/9/17 at 8:15pm

One of my co-workers is a swing with Book of Mormon and I got to go backstage after the show, and saw the set and everything. It was really fun to see the quick change rooms, the wardrobe room, et al. 

I even "auditioned" for the show:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYziZJjHbih/?taken-by=poisonivylin

[trpguyy]

Posted: 9/9/17 at 8:16pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "Many lovely stage door experiences, but the best one will always be Cynthia Erivo. I'll never, ever forget how truly genuine and grateful and kind and thoughtful she was to me and everybody else at the Jacobs' stage door that night. She is a world-class woman."

This didn't age very well...

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 9/9/17 at 9:48pm

First time I saw Anastasia, I told Christy Altomare how much of an impact she has had on my life (which is a big one), and she literally cried she was so touched (I did, too). Then she gave me a big hug, and held my hand while she gave me advice/encouragement. And ever since then, she has remembered me every time I've been at the show. The third time I saw the show, she called me "my dear" and told me I could come see her at the stage door anytime, and that the Broadhurst is my home! I can't say enough how much I appreciate Christy's presence on this earth.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 9/10/17 at 7:44am

The current Hello Dolly! cast is amazing in terms of stage-dooring. The night I went EVERYONE came out and not only signed and took pictures but chatted with the fans. Donna Murphy is the sweetest lady and one of those women who's so much prettier in real life than in stage makeup. Gavin Creel was so happy when I mentioned that I'd seen him in Hair. Really nice cast.