BWAY actors in unexpected places

[VivianDarkbloom2]

Whats your favorite instance of an actor known mainly for broadway showing up in something totally off the wall?
My uh,favorite (its not great but it sure is unforgettable) is a mostly lost Disney attraction from the opening days of Epcot, The Astuter Computer Revue. This behind the scenes look at the parks computer system was quickly replaced because it got outdated, but the approach was even more dated- an English music hall/vaudeville ditty about computers by the Sherman brothers and performed by...Ken Jennings, the original Toby from Sweeney Todd/The Boss from Side Show. Playing Early the Pearly, in a bright pink outfit. It was...something. The footage of the show isnt great but heres Ken performing the song at Epcots opening.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3lZW39D1pQ


So what do you guys like? Sherie Rene Scott in Ninja Turtles? Patti LuPone on Steven Universe? Let us know!

[mamaleh]

If you mean simply running into a Broadway performer far from the lights of midtown, I once had the delightful experience of running into Karen Ziemba and her family on the boardwalk at Wildwood, NJ.  I happened to be wearing a very old "Rent" T-shirt from a long-ago Broadway Flea Market. (Wearing instead my "Bullets Over Broadway" hoodie might have led to a longer conversation.) Not really an "off the wall" encounter, as the Jersey shore area draws people from all over, but an unexpected, pleasurable couple of minutes chatting with one of my Broadway favorites. 

[Theatrefanboy1]

I once met Audra McDonald and Will Swenson walking with their child early one morning. As well as Kyle Dean Massey I guess he was just leaving from pippin he was in the district. As well as Sara Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in the New York public library. And Richard griffiths eating next to us at Sardis talking to his agent about wanting a tony award.

[dramamama611]

No, as the OP stated....their work being non-Bway work.

 

All actors, even big names now, take whatever work they can - as you never know when the next job is coming.  Heck, George Clooney does those coffee maker ones now, Alton Brown (who isn't an actor, but he wanted to be) does them --- and of course, bway actors have even more financial concerns.  Sure, the money is bad when you HAVE a gig - but you never know how long your show will stay open, or how long before the next job comes along.  That's why actors are constantly doing workshops, going to auditions - they have to constantly think of next.  Why are so many of them on Law & Order?   Sure, it has some to do with exposure if they want to move into film work - but if they don't?  They need the check.

[BrodyFosse123]

I still remember vividly passing the Brooks Atkinson Theatre around Christmas 2001 while the revival of NOISES OFF was playing and seeing T.R. Knight rushing out of the stagedoor after a matinee and he was wearing a Bed, Bath & Beyond name tag. Having grown up in the entertainment industry, I was fully aware he was heading to his survival job (an actor’s secondary job). People have this fantasy that being on Broadway means “you made it” when many of us know the fantasy is far from the reality. You bust your hump to become an Equity member to qualify to work on Broadway, which has its joys, but alternately, you still have your real life to deal with so a job is a job wherever it comes from. Many chorus/ensemble members on Broadway have day jobs while working in huge Broadway shows. Even a major actress on an ABC TV sitcom now in its 6th season mentioned in a recent interview that she still kept her part-time job way into the serie’s 4th season. She said being a struggling actress in survival mode still stays with her. It never leaves you. All gigs eventually end so “save your money.”

[CATSNYrevival]

I still remember seeing the Ninja Turtles tour with Sherie Rene Scott when I was a kid. I loved her as April and I loved her song too. It was the best song in the show. I still have the oversized souvenir brochure and a VHS tape of the full show that was released. It's kind of a shame it hasn't received even a made on-demand DVD or blu-ray release. It's quite a nostalgia trip for me. Aside from Sherie there were some other notable credits as well. Patti Colombo choreographed, the lighting design was by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer with scenic design by Eugene Lee.

[Kad]

Bernadette Peters was in my crawlspace. 

[Valentina3]

^ read that in "Zendaya is Meechee" melody. It worked.

[SomethingPeculiar]

I ran into Michael once. He was in the bathroom.

[VivianDarkbloom2]

Dramamama, i’m not looking down on people (maybe i’m a little skeptical about using English music hall to sell computers) for taking a job when work is hard to come by. They need to earn a living. I’m not criticizing anyone. It’s just stuff that is surprising or unusual, often in hindsight. If it seemed like I was looking down on anyone then I apologize, that was not my intention.

[JBroadway]

SomethingPeculiar said: "I ran into Michael once. He was in the bathroom."

 

Did you give Joe Iconis a heads up before making this post? 

[veronicamae]

This weekend I was channel surfing and was confused/surprised that Phillipa Soo was on my TV.

And then she turned around and started talking to Adam Chanler-Berat, who was also on whatever that show is.

Not that those are in-person experiences of course.

(I don't follow either of them on social media so the news of their casting on a TV series hadn't made it to me.)

[NOLAguy]

I was at Dat Dog(a gourmet hot dog restaurant here in New Orleans) about three weekends ago and saw someone that looked so familiar.  They sat down at the table next to us and it was Jasmine Cephas Jones and Anthony Ramos.  Let them have their peace, but as I left I looked at them briefly while walking out and said "you both were great in Hamilton, enjoy New Orleans."  They were both super nice and asked me if I had any local recommendations, I gave them a few. 

[broadway86]

I've found myself in elevators with the likes of Brian Stokes Mitchell, Terrence Mann, Alice Ripley, Roger Rees, and Cady Huffman.

[GeorgeandDot]

I once followed Patti Lupone home....

[Katie Hatch2]

Not necessarily an unexpected place, but a few summers ago I was walking through Shubert 
Alley and stumbled upon a giant group of people singing "Wait For It"...well it happened to be the entire cast of Hamilton (no Lin or Renee but the rest of the OBC was there)...along with the casts of Lion King, The Color Purple, and a couple of others. They were filming something for the BLM movement and it was probably the coolest thing I've ever witnessed! 

[Dollypop]

Last summer my grandchildren and I were on a tram at an attraction called "Old Wisconsin" (just outside of Milwaukee) when a very opinionated lady stepped on board. She had complaints about everything . It turned out she was Jane Kaczmarek

[dramamama611]

VivianDarkbloom2 said: "Dramamama, i’m not looking down on people (maybe i’m a little skeptical about using English music hall to sell computers) for taking a job when work is hard to come by. They need to earn a living. I’m not criticizing anyone. It’s just stuff that is surprising or unusual, often in hindsight. If it seemed like I was looking down on anyone then I apologize, that was not my intention."

Not sure what in my post made you think that's what I meant - but I didn't at all (and my apologies for any confusion).   People just didn't seem to be following your line of thinking - not just running into them, but still where they pop up in an unexpected professional setting.

[JBroadway]

@Dollypop, @Katie Hatch, @broadway86, @NOLAguy, @theatrefanboy1, @mamaleh

Literally all of you have misunderstood what the OP was asking!

[VivianDarkbloom2]

Hey, Dramamama, thank you for clarifying! It’s all good. Yeah I didn’t mean like meeting people on an elevator, I did mean professionally. but if people want to talk about that, they’re welcome to do so.
I hope Michael leaves the bathroom and gives someone else a chance! Other people are waiting!


Thanks JBroadway...

[dwwst12]

veronicamae said: "This weekend I was channel surfing and was confused/surprised that Phillipa Soo was on my TV.  And then she turned around and started talking to Adam Chanler-Berat, who was also on whatever that show is.

Woah -- I did a quick IMDB search, and it's "The Code" on CBS.  And I've never seen so many Broadway folks make appaerances in just 8 episodes of television.  Here's a list of names I recognize (and I'm sure there are some I missed).

Chanler-Berat

Soo

Aaron Tveit

Derek Klena

Drew Gehling

Reg Rogers

Jenn Collella

Matthew Saldivar

Matt Doyle

Quentin Earl Darrington

Will Swenson

Lilli Cooper

William Youmans

 

[IdinaBellFoster]

Not exactly unexpected because they're actors, but it was a thrill to see Annaleigh Ashford and Marc Kudish in LATE NIGHT (loved the movie).

[Um Kulthum]

Not totally off-the-wall, but it was funny to recognize Leslie Odom Jr in an episode of Gilmore Girls when I was rewatching before the revival came out in 2016. He's in one episode of season 6, playing a pompous Princeton student who's on a panel with Rory. A Princetonian long before his success as Aaron Burr! 

[BrodyFosse123]

In the alley by the Lincoln Road garage parking lot in Miami Beach: Orfeh and Andy Karl just walking casually.

On Coral Way and Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, FL: Alice Ripley, Billy Porter and a small group walking by the intersection rather loudly.

[JuneJune]

I had to do a double take when I saw Laura Bell Bundy on Fuller House.
I know she's done a lot of acting for film/television, but as someone who only follows her work on Broadway, it was a pleasant surprise.