Dear Evan Hansen Stage Door- Page 7

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 3:42am

The block feature is a wonderful thing. I highly recommend it, as It's not hard to tell which posters add nothing to the board.  Save yourself the headache.  

Updated On: 7/4/17 at 03:42 AM

[JennH]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 10:12am

JBroadway said: "@nycat, all very fair points, and I don't disagree. You're totally right about the disturbing hysteria. Sorry if it seemed as though I was calling you out. I just wanted to make the distinction between being hysterical and being entitled. The latter trait is attributed to the millennial generation all too frequently, even though the theatre-goers who are most guilty of this behavior are primarily older (though of course, I acknowledge that there are exceptions).

 

"

Oh the irony. Not to mention it's much of that same older generation that berates these same people for being "entitled, snobbish, Broadway/Hollywood elites", "Nothing but performing monkeys for my entertainment", or whatever else they've come up with. It reminds me of the irony of how the younger generation is perfectly calm when things go wrong when they eat out at restaurants but it's the older generation who lash out. 

Anyways, If I come across another person who thinks Ben owes them that, I'm gonna lose it. I've never been a consummate "stage door-er" mostly because the crowds can get large and I have no wish to be among that. Artist though I may be, I'm still an introvert by nature. I usually only stage door shows that I know someone in so I can say hello, or shows that I've been waiting to see that particular actor for a while so I'm not about to miss out on that, but usually those actors are of the "lesser known ones but should be more famous" variety, therefore those doors usually aren't so crowded. I stagedoored She Loves Me because I wasn't about to miss out on Zach, I'd been a fan for a long time before he was as well known as he is now, and my friend who was with me is the biggest Frasier fan and was waiting on McGowan. I will be stagedooring Oslo and Marvins Room because I have a chance to see Ehle (P and P superfan, I won't lie...) and call me a little crazy but I REALLY want the chance to thank Lili Taylor for a performance of hers in a film back when that has stuck with me for years. So unless it's either of these scenarios, I usually don't do this, but also I learned this piece of wisdom. A teacher of mine said "Once you graduate from here, stagedooring is silly to me, because you'll have entered the real world. These people are your colleagues now." Most profound piece of wisdom on this subject I ever heard. Of course, there are exceptions I make every once a while  

Overall, I don't know how "stagedooring" became such a thing that audiences are beginning to believe that this a normal thing that happens after every show that they think they're entitled to. I'm grateful for the actors who do it as often as they can, but good grief, even if Ben decided to never do it, I feel like considered how beastly the role is, I wouldn't blame him. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 10:48am

darreyl102 said: "Hogan has very little class. It's one thing to not partake in something or not really like it, but to judge others and resort to name calling and over- exaggerating is pretty low. Lol"

well... pot meet kettle but OK.....

This is not a case of not liking something (for which I am extremely tolerant) but of pointing out the inappropriateness of conduct that is at the expense of others. Platt's elegant statement highlights precisely what's wrong with this practice and frankly anyone who does not see that is not a lover of theatre.

[Nycat63]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 11:24am

JennH said: "JBroadway said: "@nycat, all very fair points, and I don't disagree. You're totally right about the disturbing hysteria. Sorry if it seemed as though I was calling you out. I just wanted to make the distinction between being hysterical and being entitled. The latter trait is attributed to the millennial generation all too frequently, even though the theatre-goers who are most guilty of this behavior are primarily older (though of course, I acknowledge that there are exceptions).

 

"

Oh the irony. Not to mention it's much of that same older generation that berates these same people for being "entitled, snobbish, Broadway/Hollywood elites", "Nothing but performing monkeys for my entertainment", or whatever else they've come up with. It reminds me of the irony of how the younger generation is perfectly calm when things go wrong when they eat out at restaurants but it's the older generation who lash out. 

Anyways, If I come across another person who thinks Ben owes them that, I'm gonna lose it. I've never been a consummate "stage door-er" mostly because the crowds can get large and I have no wish to be among that. Artist though I may be, I'm still an introvert by nature. I usually only stage door shows that I know someone in so I can say hello, or shows that I've been waiting to see that particular actor for a while so I'm not about to miss out on that, but usually those actors are of the "lesser known ones but should be more famous" variety, therefore those doors usually aren't so crowded. I stagedoored She Loves Me because I wasn't about to miss out on Zach, I'd been a fan for a long time before he was as well known as he is now, and my friend who was with me is the biggest Frasier fan and was waiting on McGowan. I will be stagedooring Oslo and Marvins Room because I have a chance to see Ehle (P and P superfan, I won't lie...) and call me a little crazy but I REALLY want the chance to thank Lili Taylor for a performance of hers in a film back when that has stuck with me for years. So unless it's either of these scenarios, I usually don't do this, but also I learned this piece of wisdom. A teacher of mine said "Once you graduate from here, stagedooring is silly to me, because you'll have entered the real world. These people are your colleagues now." Most profound piece of wisdom on this subject I ever heard. Of course, there are exceptions I make every once a while  

Overall, I don't know how "stagedooring" became such a thing that audiences are beginning to believe that this a normal thing that happens after every show that they think they're entitled to. I'm grateful for the actors who do it as often as they can, but good grief, even if Ben decided to never do it, I feel like considered how beastly the role is, I wouldn't blame him. 

 

I can't tell if part of this is aimed at me, so let me be very clear.  When I talked about some of the stagedooring problems being generational, I was referring to the chaos and hysteria that seem to have taken over the DEH stagedoor, at least the several nights I was in NYC shortly after the Tony awards (which was very different from my experience there in November, so this may just be a temporary thing). In part this is because some of this is typical teenage behavior, whether we like it or not.  I was NOT talking about the sense of entitlement that many people, young or old, display about various things.  However, let me assure you, while I have stagedoored many shows myself because I do enjoy meeting the artists and thanking them for their performances when I can, I've done it primarily because I go with my daughter. And I hang back and wait for her at the stage doors that draw primarily younger crowds so as to give them a chance to get up closer and not take a spot away from a young fan. I have never once felt entitled to meet an actor or felt that they owe me anything.  I may be pleased when they do come out and disappointed when they don't, but I neither expect them to nor get upset - at them - when they don't, or when they don't engage beyond quickly signing a Playbill.  Both times we've been to DEH, Ben has not come out of stage door, so while my kid was disappointed, we both completely understood and respected why he didn't. I've also told her she cannot leave to run out to stage door until after the curtain call, btw, so if we get there and the lines are too deep, so be it.

I am also not the person who gets upset at restaurants, etc.  I don't even send food back unless it's raw and would be unsafe to eat.  I don't berate actors for being "elitist/snobbish/etc" in any way - hell, I'd like to be one of them. 

I'm a first generation American whose parents came to this country a year before I was born with literally nothing because they came from a communist country, and were already older than most first-time parents.  I've had to learn the value of hard work and create the life I do have now, and respect what my parents were able to provide me - even if not material things - immensely.  So I'm not entitled, and try my best to pass that down to my kids - sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't.

So please, if any of this is directed at me because of a word I used in a post that wasn't even referring to entitlement, know that it's tremendously misplaced.  I completely agree with you that adults display an inappropriate sense of entitlement just as often, if not more, than younger people - but I am assuredly not one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 7/4/17 at 11:24 AM

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 12:28pm

Many performers like signing at the stage door, so I don't think they would call it "loathsome." Indeed, they would probably think that calling people loathsome, just for wanting to get a Playbill signed, is a bit more loathsome. Just a thought.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 12:31pm

And many actors act like they enjoy giving free performances at the stage door so that they don't get called assholes on Twitter.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 12:32pm

trpguyy said: "And many actors act like they enjoy giving free performances at the stage door so that they don't get called assholes on Twitter.

 

"

Actually, I think most actors couldn't give so much as a rat's fart what people say about them on Twitter. I stopped caring what people say about me on Twitter a long time ago.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 12:33pm

 

calling people loathsome, just for wanting to get a Playbill signed

 

Don't engage is straw-man arguments.

No one is calling anyone "loathsome" for wanting a signature, and you know it. That one loathsome woman is being called out for feeling ENTITLED to a signature.

 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 12:33pm

Then I don't think you know too many actors. Mine was a statement of fact, not supposition. 

Updated On: 7/4/17 at 12:33 PM

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 12:35pm

Actually I know plenty. But thank you for playing :)

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 1:10pm

@BroadwayRox you are wrong about how most actors feel about the stage door, and you are wrong about their concerns about what people say on twitter. Wanna go for strike 3?

I've walked out of the stage door many times with actors taking a deep breath and shaking their head right before the door opens (including at least one mentioned in this thread as "liking" stagedooring but who I can assure you despises it.) I suspect fwiw that trpguyy has as well.

 It is well to remember that they are actors (as are most waiters who also don't actually want to be your best friend even if they act like it).

[carnzee]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 1:32pm

PalJoey said: " 

calling people loathsome, just for wanting to get a Playbill signed

 

Don't engage is straw-man arguments.

No one is calling anyone "loathsome" for wanting a signature, and you know it. That one loathsome woman is being called out for feeling ENTITLED to a signature.

 

 

"

I believe the "loathsome " comment is in reaction to the comment #104 in this thread by HogansHero, who is distinctly not a man of straw. 

[hork]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 1:42pm

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a difference between an actor "stage-dooring" and simply exiting the stage door to go home? It's my understanding that actors come out from the stage door specifically for the purpose of signing autographs, and then go back into the theater, and are not simply being waylaid as they're trying to leave. And it's all strictly voluntary. If they want to go home, they can just go home, right? So why would an actor do it if they hate it? I mean, how hard is it to slip away quietly? (My mom once met Jefferson Mays because he was standing off to the side in the lobby after a performance of AGGTLAM and nobody but her noticed.)

Updated On: 7/4/17 at 01:42 PM

[Nycat63]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 2:05pm

hork said: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a difference between an actor "stage-dooring" and simply exiting the stage door to go home? It's my understanding that actors come out from the stage door specifically for the purpose of signing autographs, and then go back into the theater, and are not simply being waylaid as they're trying to leave. And it's all strictly voluntary. If they want to go home, they can just go home, right? So why would an actor do it if they hate it? I mean, how hard is it to slip away quietly? (My mom once met Jefferson Mays because he was standing off to the side in the lobby after a performance of AGGTLAM and nobody but her noticed.)

 

"Most are going directly home from the stage door - some will go back in if they have guests, etc, but then yes, they have come out voluntarily.  But there are other exits for those who don't want to sign at stagedoor so they don't have only one means of escape if they really don't want to sign. 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 2:36pm

some incorrect info above:

1. very rare to go back in.

2. very common to tell guests to bring booze because it is too much of a hassle to endure the gauntlet to get to a bar.

3. if you blast out without doing the ritual, you'll get lambasted on social media.

4. most broadway theatres have no viable means of egress for actors other than the stage door. were you to walk out the front door by the box office, there would be a stampede when you were spotted. and the obligatory social media assault would follow. 

I know there are a lot of good people who don't realize the problem. but that doesn't make it ok, especially now that you do.

[Margo319]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 2:42pm

HogansHero, I gotta ask: Did something happen to you at a stage door?  Were you once an actor who got accosted?  Like, you are insulting people and the act of stage dooring so hard, it seems really, really personal.  I'm very serious, not trying to f*ck with you here.

[hork]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 2:48pm

Assuming Hogan is correct and NYcat is incorrect, re. the availability of alternate exits (and Hogan tends to be correct about things), then I hate the practice even more now, and agree that it is loathsome.

However, if an actor's only worry is that s/he'll be denounced on social media for not signing autographs, I don't have much sympathy. 

Updated On: 7/4/17 at 02:48 PM

[trpguyy]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 2:52pm

Getting denounced on social media is not an actor's only worry, though it is a legitimate concern, especially for those that don't have a well-established career or a rabid online following who would stand up for him/her.

Other concerns involve safety, health, time, other responsibilities, etc.

[EM55]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 2:56pm

There have to be other exits from theaters besides the main entrance and stage door, thats just logical in the even of an emergency.

If there were no other exits then all those actors who do not come out to do the door are what.....hiding inside for hours until they can escape? That makes no sense.

No one is keeping these people hostage, they can leave. And most are not denounced for not stopping, this seems to be the predominately a DEH issue at the moment. Most fan bases for shows or actors are pretty aware of who does the door and who does not.

And since the majority of the DEH cast including Platt did the door in the last few days this whole thing seems much ado about nothing.

[hork]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 3:00pm

No, I get what their concerns are, I'm just saying that if they despise the whole stage-dooring thing, but do it anyway just because they're afraid of what people say about them, I don't have a lot of sympathy.

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 3:03pm

I was there a couple of weeks ago- the week after the Tonys- and only Michael Park and Rachel came out to sign. (It was the same night that Michael obviously got upset, though I didn't see what happened). Kristolyn, JLT, and Colton Ryan (who didn't perform) all came out the stage door and left while the crowd was there. They simply moved the barricade to let them through to go on their way. People cheered when they saw them, but there was no need to usher them away via security or anything else. They just turned and walked toward 8th as they would normally. The security guard announced before anyone came out that Ben had already left for the night- whether that was true or not, I have no idea, but it was made clear upfront that he wouldn't be signing.

In the week or so since then, most of the cast has come out to sign. Ben has been pretty consistent with his Sunday signings, even though I've seen people post here that he no longer comes out. He missed a couple of weeks in June because he was ill and because of their cast cruise on the Hudson, but he was back this past Sunday (as was Michael Park, etc.). I don't know how this whole Twitter thing with affect things going forward, but it will be interesting to see who, if anyone, comes out tonight and the rest of the week.

Updated On: 7/4/17 at 03:03 PM

[trpguyy]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 3:10pm

hork said: "No, I get what their concerns are, I'm just saying that if they despise the whole stage-dooring thing, but do it anyway just because they're afraid of what people say about them, I don't have a lot of sympathy."

Now I understand what you meant. Stagedooring has become a necessary evil for most actors. Fans expect it, and if you don't do it you're an asshole and asshole actors without big fans bases don't get much work these days. Which is part of the reason I suspect Hogan views stagedooring as a loathesome practice. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 3:22pm

@Margo, I am not an actor, but I know many, have worked with many, know their feelings and have very much been asked to endure actors being accosted when all we want to do is go to dinner or to have a drink and relax after a show. I have not intended to insult anyone unless they think they are entitled to stage door (as some have expressed) or defend it after being told by many here (not just me) that what is happening is unacceptable. I chose "loathsome" carefully, knowing it is over the top, because it gets folk's attention, and I think that's important.

@hork, the typical Broadway theatre is old, and cramped. And everything happens over the same sidewalk to get to the curb, no matter how famous the actor or how bulky the set pieces. There are exceptions, including the new ones, and a few where there are more feasible doors. But stagedoor-ers know all the angles and all the tricks and have them covered. It really is exhausting, and don't you think that, even when possible, it is ridiculous that a person has to sneak out of work in disguise to avoid people who supposedly love theatre?  

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 3:22pm

HogansHero said: "CurtainPullDowner said: "DOORING is NOT  a word."

no, but stagedooring is an expression that has entered the lexicon. And to suggest otherwise is to misapprehend the essence of language.

Tell that to Webster, they own the "lexicon".  My computer wants me to correct it.

 

"

 

Updated On: 7/4/17 at 03:22 PM

[JayElle]

Posted: 7/4/17 at 3:38pm

On different occasions I've walked by the Ham stage door and seen a manager or their hired off-duty policeman announce that an actor(s) would not be coming out and asked all to leave.  For "You Can't Take it With You," the staff routinely announced that James Earl Jones would not be out (age) and asked the crowd to disperse.  The Front Page staff made clearly stated that actors would not sign autographs or take selfies.

Perhaps the DEH should just announce "no graphs today."  I did hear them announce "no selfies."

With all the crazies, I wouldn't blame a performer's reluctance.  Christina Grimmie (The Voice) signs autographs for fans in Orlando only to have a lunatic shoot and kill her.  And then, John Lennon 37 years ago outside his home.  Three decades pass, but it's still a risk....and even more so now.

Maybe we need a stage door lottery!  Only those who win at the show get a 'graph. Limit it to ten folks. Give them presigned pics. All get a chance, but only a few succeed.

Only kidding.