why i will never stage door on broadway again

[@chrisallegra9905]

I just did stage door at Merrily We Roll Along and I was impressed by how well organized it was- Daniel Radcliffe saw hundreds of people in a really short amount of time. Supposedly he comes out after almost every show. Really nice of him to do that considering how famous he is. It kinda sucked how many people were there with Harry Potter merch instead of a playbill or poster for Merrily. No one else from Merrily came out and I don’t blame them bc of how nuts it was

[@OliviaNguyen95]

Daniel is so sweet ❤️

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Yay I'm glad it was a positive experience with Daniel and that there were structures in place to make it organized and safe!

[@josephlim6854]

I'm in my 30s and I still stage door and have noticed some of the best stage door experiences are those that are not crowded. Some of my most memorable are: The Last Visit - Chita Rivera gladly autographed our Playbills and even took photos but only asked that we formed a line so she could stay put in one spot with her bodyguard. Oh Mary - surprisingly small crowd during previews but Cole Escola and the cast took the time to answer our questions (a few of us watched it off-bway and noticed some changes), made jokes, and took photos with us. I hope you will stage door again but just like you, I avoid the super crowded ones.

[@Beautifullytragic6]

Agreed. I had a great experience years ago at Cinderella with Victoria Clark. She was so kind and there weren't a bunch of people around. I just had an uncomfortable experience at Cabaret. Eddie Redmayne literally looked at me, was going to sign my playbill, but then walked away. I guess he was sort of whisked away? I know the actors don't owe me anything. There were tons of people. It felt unsafe and awkward. Not a huge stage door fan.

[@broadwaybestfriend]

So great to hear there are still positive stage door experiences particularly at the less crowded ones

[@NewsiesForeverSecondToNone]

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG THE JEREMY JORDAN PIC ON THE RIGHT AT 0:07 AND 14:10 IS MY PICTURE!!!!!!!

[@lucitheduckking]

aghhhhhhh and it’s his cute little smile and he’s so adorable and just eeeeeeeeeeee🥰

[@NewsiesForeverSecondToNone]

@@lucitheduckking IKRRRRR

[@broadwaybestfriend]

that's awesome great pic! hope you had a great time!

[@NewsiesForeverSecondToNone]

@@broadwaybestfriend I DID!!! I am a HUGE Jeremy Jordan fan and it had always been my dream to meet him so I was so happy to have that amazing opportunity

[@overlydramaticpanda]

I'm in the UK, and I've only very rarely stage-doored. My only times were once in 2015 after 'Miss Saigon' (got an autograph from Jon-Jon Briones), once in 2018 after 'Young Frankenstein' (got an autograph from Hadley Fraser), and once in 2019 after the 'Les Mis' staged concert where I got autographs from...pretty much all the leads and a fair number of the ensemble. In the first two cases, the only reason I went round to the stage door at all was specifically to try and get those autographs; and for 'Les Mis', going to the show was a birthday present from my family so stage-dooring kind of rounded it out; I actually wasn't even seeking autographs or waiting for anyone in particular on that occasion, I just wanted to say "good job" to whoever came out the door and all the autographs I got were from people who offered to sign my programme of their own accord. But generally it's not a practice I like to engage in. And especially not post-pandemic since social behaviour has kind of gone down the drain... I feel like a big part of the issue with stage-dooring in general is that an increasing number of people tend to see it as almost like a guarantee. As though their ticket means that they're automatically entitled to see whichever actor they want and get whatever they want from said actor at the stage-door, often without asking - the number of times I've seen footage of stage-doors both here in the UK and on Broadway where screaming "fans" will just shove things at actors or in some cases outright grab and hold them to take a selfie with them is frankly appalling. And mildly disturbing. Especially considering how angry people can get if an actor refuses to give them what they want; I remember back in 2017 there was a whole thing over a woman tweeting that Ben Platt was trash just because he didn't come out the stage door after 'Dear Evan Hansen' and audiences have only got worse, especially when someone famous is in the show. I saw David Tennant in 'Hamlet' way back in 2009 and learnt afterwards that he (and Patrick Stewart) were basically smuggled out of the theatre around the back just to avoid the crowds waiting for them because it had been a 2-show-day and it was 10.30pm and it's a long and draining (emotionally and physically) play and they just wanted to get back to their accommodation and rest up for the next evening. And of course there were people loudly complaining about it, saying "oh but we've already been waiting an hour" as if they hadn't *chosen* to wait that long when no one at the theatre ever remotely promised or guaranteed or even implied that either actor would be giving autographs - if you choose to spend time waiting at the stage-door to no avail, that's still ultimately your own decision and you are not owed anything from anyone. That was my own "I will not stage-door" experience. And I do get feeling disappointed if you want to try and see an actor and for whatever reason, you can't do so - I'd have been disappointed not to get Jon-Jon's or Hadley's autographs, for example - but equally, it's *not* the be-all-end-all of the overall experience; even if I hadn't got those autographs, even if I'd waited for hours at the stage-door and absolutely no one had come out, I'd had a great time at some great shows watching some truly great performances. And ultimately, *that* is all I'm entitled to. Stage-dooring as an activity is *not* a right. It's a privilege. And it's one that, to be completely honest, any given theatre still has in their power to just completely take away if things get out of hand enough times. An actor's obligations to an audience begins and ends with their onstage performance; anything else is a bonus but it's not something you're automatically entitled to.

[@broadwaybestfriend]

I'm glad you got to have those positive stage door memories for Les Mis, Young Frankenstein, and Miss Saigon. I agree the entitlement translating into people's behavior at the stage door has made the whole experience at times increasingly uncomfortable for the performers and for others at the stage door. So true that the stage door experience could be taken away depending on future incidents

[@hannahgreen8999]

Thanks for sharing this, it's really interesting. I also used to stage door all the time here in the UK but since the Pandemic I've only done it maybe once or twice depending how busy it was. It used to be really fun and we'd make friends with other theatre fans etc but over time it got out of control and people act so entitled or like the actors are their best friends etc. I would always ask the actors if they have time to stop for a signature and never expect somebody to come out but it's got out of hand now. Also from a practical point of view I've got to the point where I don't want to miss a train home because I was waiting at a crowded stage door to potentially not even see anyone.

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Ooh yes meeting others in line at stage door was another aspect I enjoyed too. So true though that logistics, crowds, and entitlement all contribute to why it's not as appealing anymore

[@justenbarks9090]

I appreciate your perspective and insight.

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Thank you 😊

[@behindthemirrorofmusic4351]

Just an addition: stagedooring is not a recent phenomenon. During the early years of theatre it used to be a tradition for artists to come out of the stage door after a performance to receive another ovation from fans and then sign autographs. That used to be a big press moment. Then much later, in the 1980's after the launch of Phantom on Broadway there were stage door queues for Michael Crawford that went round the block. It's always been part of theatre tradition.

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Good to know thank you! Especially about the queues set up for Michael Crawford

[@DJGNYC]

First off, very much enjoyed your content throughout Tony season. Here’s the bottom line & you hit the nail on the head…it’s essentially stalking people at their jobs. Actors don’t owe anyone a post-show meet ‘n greet because you came to see their show, so the fact that some people feel entitled to it now is weird. You bring up a good point about contractual obligation & I would be curious to know if that’s an actual thing now or if stagedooring is still completely voluntary for the actors. Keep up the good work!

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Thank you! 😊 So true that the meet and greet entitlement is weird

[@aaronlovesfrogs]

patrick page stagedoored for hadestown at reeve carneys last preformance and he wasn’t even in the show anymore (he was there to watch and contribute to a speech after bows) so some performers definitely do just enjoy doing it. i think it’s something eva noblezada has talked pretty openly about too

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Didn't know this! Wow that shows he does truly enjoy it

[@courtstar413]

Craziest (not in a good way) stage door experience I had was when Lea Salonga was in the 2007or 2008 Les Mis revival. I’m surprised she even came out because it got dangerous at one point with people pushing the barricade and pushing other people around. Best stage door experience I’ve ever had was meeting Eden Espinosa after Lempicka. There were so many people at the stage door but made she sure she signed everyone’s playbill (that she could reach at least) , took pictures with whoever wanted and really made sure to stop and look you in the eye when you were talking to her. She was so appreciative of everyone who came to the show and for any gifts people brought or made for her, she didn’t rush anyone or rush through the line at all. I’m sure there are others who are like that but as someone who has been a fan for a very long time it was incredibly memorable That being said the crowd at Lempicka was incredibly respectful (at least when I went). Even with a ton of people there, like 4 rows deep) everyone was cool, those of us in the front tried to help pass playbills up from those in the back but no one was pushy or like crazy about it. I don’t stage door often but there happened to be an opening on the barricade when I walked out of the theater so I went for it. It does get a little wild though and you make a lot of valid points

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Wow I didn't realize the stage door was so crowded for the Les Mis revival back then even before stage dooring has become more popular with social media. That's great to hear Eden was so thoughtful and present with fans after Lempicka - I'm sure that experience just added to the positive memories people had from that show despite its unexpectedly short run

[@sterlingross919]

I usually see evening shows and started stage dooring about a year ago (I’ve seen over 30 shows the past two years, over 40 if you include repeats). My general rule is just to be nice to them (I usually just say thank you or tell them they were amazing) I also NEVER take pictures of the actors. I get that people want to remember the moment but it just seems so icky to me when I see people take pictures of performers without their permission. In the past year since I started stage dooring I have only ever asked three people to take a picture with me (and two of them-Patrick Page and Andre de Shields-were at Eva’s last performance of Hadestown and not actually at stage door). And re: Suffs/Notebook stage door I saw Suffs last week and pretty much the entire cast, sans Jenn Colella, stage doored. Shaina Taub was actually the first person out and the entire cast was lovely and took the time to sign everyone’s playbills. I also saw the Notebook twice and stage doored both times, first time only a few people signed (they had a GMA performance in the morning) and the second time most of the cast signed. I was disappointed because Joy Woods didn’t stage door-shes the main draw for the show for me-but Marianne Plunckett came out the second time and she’s absolutely adorable and is the first performer I’ve met who actually signed her full name.

[@broadwaybestfriend]

So exciting you've gotten to stage door over the past year! I feel similarly about the photo thing and asking the actor. Great info about the current state of the Suffs and The Notebook stage doors - hopefully those aren't too crowded and fans can continue to meet those who come out. Bummer about Joy but glad Maryann came out though.

[@OliviaNguyen95]

Lempicka didn’t have a crowded stagedoor at all. I don’t ever hold it against a performer if they don’t stagedoor for many reasons ..

[@broadwaybestfriend]

Hoping Lempicka was a positive stage door experience! Wish it could've run longer

[@OliviaNguyen95]

@@broadwaybestfriend oh definitely ❤️one of those shows that struggled to find their audience unfortunately..

[@neresq]

I am 68, grew up near NYC, and have gone to many, many Broadway shows beginning when I was just a kid. But I can only recall stage-dooring once in my entire life -- back in 2004, for Hugh Jackman (whom I idolized) who was starring in his Tony-winning performance in "The Boy from Oz". I not only got his autograph on a giant program/poster, but he actually took a few seconds to talk with me. Other than that experience (which was back before stage-dooring became a social media "thing" with hoards of people), I have never felt the need to do it. Also, as someone who performed in musical theatre in high school, college and then in local regional theatre for a while, I agree with you that it's very unfair to the actors - who already have a grueling schedule with as many as 8 shows per week. They really just want to get home, shower, eat and relax. If it's a musical, they really need to rest their voices. And none want to be exposed to a host of crowd-borne illnesses.

[@broadwaybestfriend]

That sounds like a such a special memory from meeting Hugh Jackman 😊 I'm glad you got to experience that before social media made stage dooring more of a thing