Stage Door Stalkers

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 7:53am

An excerpt from Roger Bart's TV Guide interview. Thoughts?

"ATVGuide.com: Going in, did you figure, "I'm playing a slightly creepy and weaselly pharmacist, so my days are numbered"?

Bart: Yes, I did, but I had hoped it would last longer, obviously. It was kind of an interesting opportunity. In the very first episode he was written sort of Eddie Haskell-y, sort of Leave It to Beaver. "You look so lovely today!" It was so funny, I thought, "Where is this going?" I shot about two scenes and [series creator] Mark Cherry said, "Do you know where he's going?" and I said, "No, but I'd love to know." He said, "Well, he's going to stalk Bree." I thought, "Well, that's kind of fantastic." And it seemed after the few episodes were over — I was originally hired for three — it seemed rather incomplete, I hadn't really gotten into any stalking, I was just staring at the drugstore surveillance tape, which was indeed very creepy. But once I knew I was going to really stalk her, I started to layer in a certain oddness. I find that, as someone who has come out the stage door many times, on [Broadway's] The Producers and in other projects where you're face-to-face with the more exuberant fans, you often find that the edgy ones are one breath away from being very angry at you. They love you so much they hate you. A stalker has that mix of adoration and anger and hate, and I thought that was an interesting balance to play with, kind of like Eddie Haskell meets Tony Perkins meets De Niro in King of Comedy. I used to play it that George loved Bree so much that he hated her, and after about six episodes I found that I had made myself, to some extent, indispensable. As soon as I started to provide "Rexie" with pills, I knew that we were going to have to conclude it."

[Mamie]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 8:05am

Fascinating. And a little disturbing. It makes a lot of sense and leaves you wondering how some of these performers are able to handle it as well as they do!

[beacon1]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 9:21am

Dang.

I thought SOMMS was calling me...

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 9:39am

I was sweetie! Be afraid Mr. Wilson, be very, very afraid.

[crazyfangirl]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 11:08am

I thought that was so dead-on and endlessly funny. Because it is TOTALLY true! I mean, just reading some of the stage door peeps' responses to actors having snubbed them, or gone out a different exit, or not having been chatty enough... you can really see where Roger Bart is coming from. Maybe the love/hate thing with theater fans is a bit of a jealousy issue. As in, who DOESN'T wish they could sing like that? And theater fans get MUCH closer to the actors, proximity-wise, than TV/film fans get to the actors they really love, so I think that automatically creates a springboard for "scary fans" to be born from people who are normally obsessive, but don't otherwise have access to what they're obsessed about.

Does that make sense?

At any rate, I also think that "scary fans" are a minority, and I've also seen some pretty cool things on the few occasions I've been to a stage door. The guy who played The Baker in INTO THE WOODS (and I can't believe I don't remember his name) was BEYOND flattered when (and this was the first time I had ever been to a stage door) my friend Nicole and I asked him to sign our CD librettos--that the people we were waiting for weren't Vanessa Williams--but rather, he, Erin Dilly, and Kerry O'Malley. I mean, he was just ecstatic. His response: "Oh my god, of course! How many do you want me to sign?" It just seemed to bring him just as much joy as it brought us (to ask him) and that was very cool. I thought, he will probably go home in a good mood tonight. And how cool is that? :)

[Anne_here]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 11:54am

crazyfangirl - Was it Stephen DeRosa? He's a sweetheart!

[OddExoticCreature]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:22pm

Ha great little interview! Sometimes I watch Desperate Housewives because my mom loves it, and I loved watching the dynamics of his relationship with Bree develop.

Oh, stage door. It's such a weird thing. It is odd that fans can get that close to the actors and I can see both sides..it being overwhelming and scary, and also incredibly endearing. I wanted to make an documentary about the fans of Broadway...that would be the funniest documentary ever.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:29pm

I think that people on this board tend to want to label other fans as "stalkers" with very little prompting - it makes us feel like we're superior to them - yes, we're fans, but we're not WEIRD like those other fans...it just seems like the word "stalker" is used very lightly here. A real stalker is a dangerous and scary thing. People screaming at the stage door may be unpleasant, but not dangerous.

[beacon1]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:33pm

Poor Mister Wilson...do you think he's "a-scared" yet or figuring that the Universe will intervene on his behalf and my flight will be stuck in a holding pattern over the city???

And, I need to consult with Emcee about proper Stage Door etiquette. When NYPD grabs me should I just smile graciously as they toss me into the van???

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:38pm

psh, I'm a good girl!

[OddExoticCreature]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:44pm

Rath I think the threat title was taken from what Roger Bart said in the interview...

I go to stagedoors. I actually get really shy and don't know how to act unless I'm there to specifically talk to someone. I think those who get REALLY into it and are pretty passionate about the whole experience are interesting, but I try not to judge them. If I find myself thinking "wow...that girl has been there all day, she was there yesterday too, why does she need everyone's autograph a million times?" I try to remind myself, well if I've seen her here more than once, I've been here more than once. I don't know who she is, what's going on in her life, why these people are so important to her, if she lives in the city or if she lives in Alaska and won't be back for a year.

People can be ruthlessly judgemental, and while sometimes it's funny and gets a laugh...in the end...we're all going to do something that someone else is going to consider "weird" or "abnormal" eventually.

(Though some things people have done at stagedoors IS scary and crossing a line. Grabbing people, following them down the street...that's stalker-esque and shouldn't be tolerated no matter how badly someone wants to meet someone.)

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:46pm

I absolutely agree, OEC.

[beacon1]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:47pm

Emcee...

I figure you know all the tricks so I can look like a normal innocent theater-goer and not a deranged fan. (Do you think I can be convincing.)

Actually how much of a threat can I be. I'm a Mormon stalker. That's one step above Amish...

[OddExoticCreature]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:51pm

AHAHAHA anyone else notice I wrote "threat title"? typo...or Freudian slip?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:51pm

You can try, beacs....

Seriously, just be polite. You'll be fine! I'm sure you aren't scary. I certainly put in an effor to be respectful, even if I have an innocently silly request, but I'm just very shy, so that keeps me from being deranged.

[crazyfangirl]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 12:57pm

Lots of good thoughts here... and OddExoticCreature, I totally agree with you. Very well put! I myself don't do the stage door thing (I have a few times) anymore because... I get claustrophobic very easily. I just can't stand there anymore. Maybe it's old age or something, and that's sad, because back when I saw Spamalot, I really wanted to shake Tim Curry's hand (CLUE, anyone?) Also wanted to tell Jeff Goldblum what a good job I thought he had done in THE PILLOWMAN. But I saw all the people and there was just no way. I couldn't do it.

And yes, Anne, it was Stephen DeRosa! Thanks for remembering that! He was so darling, and so tiny, and just very flattered that anyone would want his autograph. I think I was more excited for him being flattered than I was to have the autograph on my libretto.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 1:01pm

I don't really go to a stage door just for the hell of it, or just so I can have a playbill signed by everyone in the cast and their mother. If there's someone I'm really fond of, then I make a point to go.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 1:23pm

Like others have said, I stagedoor when there's someone in the cast that I want to see. And usually, I'm familiar with other work they've done, so I have something legitimate to say to them. I wish other people would realize that doing the stagedoor thing is so much better when you're not just screaming that you love them and shoving a playbill in their face.

[ProducersFan]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 1:40pm

I've never waited 45 minutes by the stage door to see Roger come out... uh-uh, no siree...

Yet I would never say I was angry at him, I just want to see his adorable face.

That was a fantastic interview, I'll have to save it - thanks for sharing!.

[crazyfangirl]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 1:42pm

When I did the stage door thing.... I usually went with a few other specific friends who liked to do it. And we'd have something for the person to sign (usually, it was for our wall--we put everything up) but really, we liked the conversation much more than the autograph--being able to tell a person that their performance really moved us, and having a short dialogue with that person about why something in particular about the performance was meaningful. I think it's great when actors and audience members can engage in dialogue together about a specific piece of work. And in that way, stage doors (when there are few big names involved) can be really productive, fun atmospheres.

Yeah, I'll agree that sometimes it gets out of hand, but I also agree that the "stage door" gets a bad rap. It doesn't have to be seen in a negative light. Not everyone who waits at the stage door (and even some of the ones who go back multiple times) is insane. I've known a bunch of people who have gone to the same stage door multiple times, and most of them were just actors (in school) who really enjoyed talking to the players in their favorite show about their craft. And why not? It's less expensive than paying for an extra class. ha ha.

[SirLiir]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 2:14pm

I always enjoy going to the stage door after a fine performance mostly for a chance to get the show's performers' autographs and enjoy a brief conversation with them. It is a way of feeling you can have a chance to interact with someone that just devoted 3 hrs or so to giving you a good show. The vast majority of stars are great that way. They talk and joke with you and you really feel a connection. Its what makes Broadway so unique.

What I do not care for at stage doors is superficial fans. Basically, the screaming fan girls who can only say, "I love you!" Those people creep me out. Its a major problem at Wicked. When I stage door Wicked very occasionally and the performers come out, all I hear are these girls screaming, "I love you Sho! I love you Meg! I love you David!" Argh. I dont know how they put up with them. I always try to relate with them in different levels because while I enjoyed their performance just now, I always enjoyed their past performances. Rather, I enjoy them as actors, not as a simple role. I made it my point to tell Shoshana how wonderful she was at the Soul Awards. I told David he was great in Tom Jones. And I joked with Megan about her *ahem* Halloween costume. I was dismayed that night that I was the only one to say something like that. Too many obsessed fan girls. Oh, and at DRS everytime, the vast majority of girls are so quick to tell Norbert that they loved him as Fiyero. Thats it. Not one mention of the role he won the Tony Award and the role they just saw. Superficial actions from people( not all obsessed fans are teenage girls of course) who can't look behind roles and care at all about the performer's past roles.

In conclusion, its not so much stalkers but obssessed fan bases. Stalkers can be a serious threat but bubbly girls who have nothing intelligent to say rub me (and I believe the stars themselves) the wrong way as well.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 2:46pm

SirLiir, I know what exactly what you mean. The Wicked stage door was the worst. All these people going batsh*t crazy when Megan and David came out, but only shoving their playbills at the other actors. I had a really nice conversation with Robb Sapp because everyone else was practically ignoring him while waiting for Shoshana (who was sick and didn't come out anyway). I also spoke for a bit with Philip Spaeth (Chistory). Michelle Federer was just quietly going down the line signing playbills and not looking up, but when she got to me, I told her that I thought she looked gorgeous at the Tonys this year (I wasn't planning on it, I just kind of blurted it out). She looked at me, smiled widely and told me thank you.

That's what I meant before. I at least want to be able to say something to them other than "Great show!" or something impersonal like that.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 2:53pm

If it's time for a show to let out, I won't go within a block of the Wicked stage door. It's just that scary.

I have a lot of trouble talking to people I don't know in general, so when someone who I've just watched on stage walks up front of me, I freeze, and have no idea what to say or do. I always regret it, because they deserve more than "hiiiiiiiiiiii, can you sign this? Youweregreatthanksbye! *run!*" But, like I said, I've taken to trying really, really hard, especially if it's someone whose work I really love. I want to say something that'll matter to them, and not just take up their time in *totally* needless manner. Suppose you can say it's paid off.

[SirLiir]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:19pm

Just to amend my post above, I really should not have just focused on teenage girls. I have seen obsessed guys (and no I am not one haha). But the girls are the majority to be honest. Stalkers however tend to be male.

[Plum]

Posted: 12/2/05 at 3:24pm

The more you ruv someone...