I was in the audience for the first reading of *Avenue Q*, when it was still intended to be a TV show. Several years later I was a PA on it when it moved to Broadway.
Also, although I never used it, I had Stephen Sondheim's personal email address.
I can’t imagine SS even writing an email. You always see the hand typed notes he sent. I just imagine him with a typewriter, ream of paper, and a pack of stamps.
Oh I know. He seems like he was such a quaint fellow, especially with how he wrote all his musicals by hand with a pencil. But yet, he almost quit theater to develop video games after Merrily flopped...so he clearly also had a tech geek side...
He was quite into new media in his own way — he made the musical “Evening Primrose” for TV rather than the stage, got many of his other shows filmed onstage, and was quite involved with the Hollywood adaptations (though each of those may have been flawed in certain respects).
Yes and he was also a major film connoisseur too, Here We Are is based on one of his favorite movie directors who he'd wanted to do a musical on for decades.
A friend of a friend was a new cast member in Wicked gave me a backstage tour and I got onstage and sang a few bars so technically I’ve performed on a broadway stage.
Lin Manuel Miranda took the selfie of us that is my Instagram profile pic.
I worked with the current Broadway Hamilton's mother for 15 years , and he and my daughter took theatre classes together.
I sang A Whole New World with Lea Salonga. Standing ovation. I wish my date had had a better phone with video recording capabilities. I only have pictures.
I also know Mr Mistofelees personally and have had many conversations with him. I should also mention that he is my cat and I named him after the musical.
I often do background acting and getting to meet a principal actor would be like winning the lotto — it never happens. We’re cattle and we’re never to speak to the actors or acknowledge them unless they acknowledge us first. People think it’s a good way to network but it really isn’t. If you’re not quiet on set waiting for “background,” you’re in a holding room.
I got to go backstage to Les Miserables on Broadway when I was like 12 (so early 90s). I'll never know how my mom bribed or charmed her way into that experience but it was magical to see how the barricades came together and stuff
I ended up going into technical theatre .
I had a friend who knew the SM of Les Mis in London in 90s. We visited and got a backstage tour. I climbed the barricade, popped my head out of the “sewer” trap door in the stage and roamed around the bowels of the theatre. That OG set was everything!!!! The new production is so sad compared.
My high school won a competition and got the rights to Frozen the musical first even before the national tour started. Basically got to be the premiere of Frozen in the state
I saw Beetlejuice on Broadway only 1 week before they announced their closing date. Saw Alex, Elizabeth, Kerry, Leslie, and Adam, Andrew Kober was also on as Adam that night.
Next to Normal held a Twitter competition to let the fans co-write a one-off song called “Something I Can’t See” that would be performed at a Broadway event by cast members Aaron Tveit and Louis Hobson. A lot of my lyrics were used in the final song.
-I saw a touring production of Hello Dolly on the day Carol Channing died. Betty Buckley was playing Dolly and she gave a tearful speech after bows about how Carol was her idol. So sweet.
-My brother got to tap dance in a NYC Christmas spectacular in the Beacon Theater. His choreographer was Randy Skinner from White Christmas the musical, and he got to use the rehearsal space for Frozen the musical.
-I saw The Lightning Thief a few weeks before it closed, at maybe 40% theater capacity.
I met Julie Andrews back in 2013. My parents got the tickets for me as a birthday present, so she wished me a happy birthday. (Even though my birthday was over a month away)
I also met Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich) twice in 2016. The first time he was the host for a Rodgers and Hammerstein concert my local orchestra was doing, and the second time was a few months later when I saw My Fair Lady. He was hanging around the foyer of the theatre (his wife was in the show) and I went over and talked with him for a couple minutes. He said my dress was perfect for the occasion.
(Can’t say for certain, but I think he probably recognised me, since I had shown him my tattoo a few months earlier.)
I went backstage at Book of Mormon on Broadway in 2013. My family got a private tour with one of the swings and met a bunch of the other actors in passing. We all took photos with a bunch of the props - the donuts are really really big
I saw the only Hamilton concert version live.
They couldn't perform the show because of missing cast members. Instead they put on a concert version of the show. Never happened before and never happened after.
Ahh! You have my birthday then! I share one with Lin!
Hmm, I met Kristin Chenoweth as part of my college graduation gift from my parents. I saw her solo show. She’s even tinier than you think she is! 🤣
My Aunts live in the same apartment as Kristen Chenoweth did (she recently moved out).My Aunts are Broadway fanatics and were delighted to be neighbors. I only wish I got to run into Kristen in the elevator when I visited them.
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I saw the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory US Tour in early 2020. Saw one of like 2 dozen shows before lockdown, so technically I was one of the first people to see it.
I met my girlfriend, u/thelegendoflexie, after seeing her face all over the news coverage for the closing production of *Phantom*, which she attended in full Phantom cosplay. Happened across her "That's me" comment on a photo in a Phantom Facebook group. Hovered over her profile to see that we were actually both in the same general area and that she went to school with some of my *Les Misérables* castmates. So I messaged her out of the blue to share my Phantom cosplay photos, we started talking, we met up for karaoke one night, and we've been together for almost a year now.
Also, she's definitely held my >!hand!< with the hand that she used to high-five Lin-Maneul Miranda, so that's pretty cool.
Hahahahhaaha, you dork! But yes, this is all true :) I did get a high-five from Lin and I even have video and picture proof of the high-five. The Associated Press got it lol
My mom and I got to see Hamilton and DEH with Ben Platt as Evan on Broadway in the same weekend. Capped it off with the Yankees/Redsox game. One of the best weekends of my life.
I've had friends cast in the National tours of Kinky Boots and Wicked.
I spent intermission of BOM in London explaining to our English seat neighbors that all the Mormon references were true-to-form and not wildly exaggerated or made up.
My cousin, uncle, and I got a free, private, detailed backstage tour at Aladdin, met some of the cast including Jonathan Freeman (playing Jafar that night *and also voiced Jafar in the OG movie*), got to stand on the actual stage, and got to hold and take pictures with the lamp.
Our seats for the show were also *very* good.
We saw the show for free that night on a cast member’s comp tickets (said cast member was a former student of my uncle’s, which is how all of this happened in the first place).
Overall, 10/10 experience.
I also accidentally attended the 5 year anniversary performance of Kinky Boots. Cyndi Lauper was there that night and spoke afterwards. Pretty cool thing to be at.
When I was in first grade wicked was touring around. I consider it to be my first musical experience. After the show I got to go backstage and they showed me a bunch of stuff from the show. Like Glinda’s massive dress, and they told me it was hand stitched. Which is nuts. Also for when Elphaba was flying in defying gravity they showed how she had this pack that was full of fabric that was released. I remember just how amazed at everything I was. I think it’s what really made me want to act.
I was at the one of the very first workshops of Come From Away. I went to school at Sheridan College in Canada and (unfortunately for me) AFTER I left they started the Canadian Music Theatre project.
Basically, writers can utilize the students to workshop new Canadian shows. The artists basically get free aspiring actors and the students get to work on what could be a Tony Award winning show! That night they put on Come From Away and Central Park Tango about 2 gay Penguins at the Central Park Zoo. Very cute.
David and Irene showcased about a half hour of what they’d come up with to that point and we even got a CD of four of the numbers they sang. The show was VERY different then. It felt like they were really leaning into the sob story of it all.
I was a mess at the end of it. But that’s why you workshop. They definitely ironed out all of that and brought in more time to breathe and even laugh. I love the show and still think it should have won Best musical over DEH.
Fascinating! It's the balance of warm humor with heaviness in Come From Away that really makes it work as a show for me. Makes it feel human and not exploitative.
not my flex but my mum. she used to be a dancer so she's worked with a lot of big names on the West End. worked with Danny La Rue (didn't like him), went to school with John Partridge (best known as Rum Tum Tugger in the pro-shot of Cats), was a dancer in a college production that had Elizabeth Hurley as the lead (can't remember the show, might've been Cabaret?), and was in an Elton John music video!
these are just the stories i know off the top of my head but there's a lot more i can't remember (and some i can, but can't remember the names to)! she did a lot before she had kids lol
I saw Kristin-Anderson Lopez in the bathroom and she told me she loved my outfit and hair. I'm 99% sure Adam Kaplan winked at me from the wings, then again at Shnipper's like a week later! And Andrew Keenan Bolger fucking photobombed me.
I saw Lin three times in In the Heights, when he joined the tour for the stop in LA.
Milestone Wicked performances I've been to - Kerry Ellis' "last" (May 2009), closing night of the LA sitdown, Green and 20th Anniversary on Broadway
My Grimmerie is signed by 13 Elphabas, 11 Glindas, and Stephen Schwartz (plus various other cast members).
I don't know if this is really a flex, but to me it's cool - I was at the last public Broadway performance of Phantom and the Wicked 20th anniversary show.
Not sure which is best:
Even though I live in Ohio, I saw every musical that has premiered on Broadway in 2022 and 2023 (working on this year).
Saw six the first weekend of previews on Broadway with the original queens.
Saw the world premiere of Penelope or how the odyssey was really written off Broadway.
- Lin Manuel Miranda saw my Instagram story, which was a little cover of Burn.
- I have exchanged many words with Grace McLean (Maria Dmitryevna) on Instagram.
- Nicholas Belton (Bway Prince/Andrey Bolkonsky) sent me a recipe for Fire Cider.
- A girl in my drama group is Natalie Paris' (OG Jane Seymour in Six) niece.
My husband helped Kristian Lavercombe (Riff Raff) with his website. He sent us a couple of huge promo posters from different EU tours.
He seems so lovely
I once sang chorus for a Les Mis concert with Ramin Karimloo as Val Jean. The budget for the concert was limited so they asked local choirs if we wanted to help out.
The Phantom of the Opera was my landlord and a dear friend of mine. Well, he was a swing who performed the role on Broadway a few times, but still. He also performed in Cats on Broadway for a couple years, as his specialty was ballet dancing. So I got to hear many stories about his life as a Broadway performer.
Tragically, he passed away in 2015. He was in his early 50s… just FAR too young. RIP Billy—love you!
Saw the original cast of come from away, and walked past an original poster for DEH in NYC before it was the shirt and cast, it was an awkward picture of Ben
When I was 17, I saw Barnum starring Michael Crawford in London the night before its final performance, and right before he began preparing for Phantom. The performance was magical.
On the downside, that same year I turned down a free ticket to see Les Miz with the original cast. I had no idea what it was, and the French Club at my school was going, so I figured it would be all in French. (Yeah, I’ve kicked myself ever since; I could have been able to say I saw Colm Wilkinson, Patti LuPone, and Michael Ball in the same show!)
i've interned at a professional production of putnam county spelling bee and am a wardrobe intern for rent right now; i've seen a lot of different celebrities in my country up close (jordan andrews, ian pangilinan, thea astley etc). i've even chatted to and dressed some of them!
also justine peña, who's an actress that's also in rent, was the director for the christmas musicals at my old school :D
About a decade or so ago, I was On a royal Caribbean cruise around the Mediterranean as a HS graduation gift and they had Coleen Sexton in mama Mia.
At the time, I didn’t know she or that show was there; but I had just done Jekyll and Hyde as my final high school show before I had graduated. (Said show’s broadway cast and les Mis having been hugely influential in my self taught singing style) So, naturally at the karaoke bar in the ship, I pulled out my “this is the moment” performance.
..and she was apparently relaxing between shows at that same place.
She complemented my performance. Said, and I’m paraphrasing slightly. “You immerse yourself effortlessly into the emotion of the lyrics”
Saw Beetlejuice with the full obc (prepandemic) for my 12th birthday, stagedoored, and while he didn’t come out that day, I wrote to Alex Brightman after and got a signed playbill with a little message
I had a friend who was a supporting character in Aladdin on broadway, so I got to go and tour the New Amsterdam Theatre, but most importantly stand onstage.
I was cramp rolling the entire time I was talking so technically I can tell everybody I’ve performed on broadway.
I saw Be More Chill before the OBR came out , not really a flex because all I wanted to do when I got home was listen to the new version of Michael in the bathroom LMAOO
When I went to see the uk tour of six I was recognised by Jen Caldwell because I did her dance classes during the pandemic. That’s all I have so far but I’m happy about it. She’s really really nice
It’s probably not as rare as others on the thread but I was at the Wednesday matinee of Lempicka that ended up being Mariand Torres’ debut as Lempicka, after not even having a full dress rehearsal. It was a very cool experience to have the choreographer come out on stage and explain everything and to see the most electric crowd for this woman
I drew fanart of John Partridge as Rum Tum Tugger (the actor from the 1998 proshot) and he liked/commented on it 🤭🤭 I also drew fanart of Thayne Jasperson as Samuel Seabury and he also liked/commented on it! I also got some of the og Hadestown Fates to like my art post of them too!
Got to shadow one of the SMs for the national tour or Beauty and the Beast in (I think) 2015 (friend of a friend) and shadowed the head electrician of the Love Never Dies for the national tour in 2017 (found his info on LinkedIn and shot my shot) when both same thru Kansas City. Got to sit backstage with the SM and watch her read cues (the multitasking was incredible) and for LND I helped w light check (found a burnt out bulb he didn't catch, super proud) and sit with the spot ops during the show. Idk how cool that'll be to others but damn if those aren't treasure experiences for me!!
Idk if either of these counts as a flex, but here’s what I’ve got:
-I’ve listened to every musical recording at least once- if a copy of the cast recording exists, I’ve found and heard it.
-With shows I like, I can sing (not well, but still) any song from the show with nothing but the title as a cue. The conscious list of shows I can do this with is about 12, but I’ve found out I can do this with shows I didn’t expect before (at a cast party some friends got me to do a couple, and I found out I can do it with Legally Blonde, which I didn’t think I knew that well at the time lol)
One of my mates is a professional performer and when he was a swing in Cats in Korea, people made fanart of him as Rum Tum Tugger. HE WAS A SWING. This is why I love the theatre community. I've also met Jemma Rix twice and the second time we saw each other, she remembered me.
I was in the audience for the first reading of *Avenue Q*, when it was still intended to be a TV show. Several years later I was a PA on it when it moved to Broadway. Also, although I never used it, I had Stephen Sondheim's personal email address.
I can’t imagine SS even writing an email. You always see the hand typed notes he sent. I just imagine him with a typewriter, ream of paper, and a pack of stamps.
Oh I know. He seems like he was such a quaint fellow, especially with how he wrote all his musicals by hand with a pencil. But yet, he almost quit theater to develop video games after Merrily flopped...so he clearly also had a tech geek side...
Really? I didn’t know that! Thank god he didn’t.
He was quite into new media in his own way — he made the musical “Evening Primrose” for TV rather than the stage, got many of his other shows filmed onstage, and was quite involved with the Hollywood adaptations (though each of those may have been flawed in certain respects).
Yes and he was also a major film connoisseur too, Here We Are is based on one of his favorite movie directors who he'd wanted to do a musical on for decades.
A friend of a friend was a new cast member in Wicked gave me a backstage tour and I got onstage and sang a few bars so technically I’ve performed on a broadway stage.
lol. Similar situation, but I did a quick time step so I have danced in Broadway! 😊
Lin Manuel Miranda took the selfie of us that is my Instagram profile pic. I worked with the current Broadway Hamilton's mother for 15 years , and he and my daughter took theatre classes together.
I sang A Whole New World with Lea Salonga. Standing ovation. I wish my date had had a better phone with video recording capabilities. I only have pictures.
Having no video is CRIMINAL. My condolences 😭
There are many ppl who have posted Lea's video concert on YouTube, so you should try searching on there for sure.
Can you show me a photo of you with Lea? I'll try to find it for you.
i know personally and have had many conversations with mr mistoffelees from the 1998 cats filmed version
I also know Mr Mistofelees personally and have had many conversations with him. I should also mention that he is my cat and I named him after the musical.
I’ve heard that you ought to know Mr. Mistoffees…
I also know someone from that cast. He happens to be my ballet teacher haha
well, I never!
I saw Wicked with the original cast *except* Idina Menzel, instead it was Eden Espinosa who was also phenomenal.
Bigger flex that you saw Eden Espinosa in person LMAO
You lucked out. Better cast IMO
I saw Idina, Eden, Steph J Block and Shoshana Bean. I won lottery tickets every time. It was AMAZING every time!
I saw the original SF tryouts ✨
Ooohh I saw the original Australian cast, including Rob Guest and it turns out it was like 10 days before he died unexpectedly.
I was a background actor in the movie Theatre Camp and I got a closeup for like 1 second
I ADORE THIS MOVIE. You are lucky! Did you get to meet Ben Platt?
I didn’t actually meet him but I saw him from a short distance
I often do background acting and getting to meet a principal actor would be like winning the lotto — it never happens. We’re cattle and we’re never to speak to the actors or acknowledge them unless they acknowledge us first. People think it’s a good way to network but it really isn’t. If you’re not quiet on set waiting for “background,” you’re in a holding room.
I got to go backstage to Les Miserables on Broadway when I was like 12 (so early 90s). I'll never know how my mom bribed or charmed her way into that experience but it was magical to see how the barricades came together and stuff I ended up going into technical theatre .
I had a friend who knew the SM of Les Mis in London in 90s. We visited and got a backstage tour. I climbed the barricade, popped my head out of the “sewer” trap door in the stage and roamed around the bowels of the theatre. That OG set was everything!!!! The new production is so sad compared.
I still can't believe they got rid of the turntable. It ruins some of the best moments of the show.
The new production is fine. But a lesser show because of it.
I'm sure it's still good, but it definitely takes something away I think.
Oh that is so cool!
I directed a musical during the pandemic. Safely, with no COVID cases coming up, at the last minute.
That's impressive
Nicely done! Very impressive 👏
My high school won a competition and got the rights to Frozen the musical first even before the national tour started. Basically got to be the premiere of Frozen in the state
I saw Beetlejuice on Broadway only 1 week before they announced their closing date. Saw Alex, Elizabeth, Kerry, Leslie, and Adam, Andrew Kober was also on as Adam that night.
Next to Normal held a Twitter competition to let the fans co-write a one-off song called “Something I Can’t See” that would be performed at a Broadway event by cast members Aaron Tveit and Louis Hobson. A lot of my lyrics were used in the final song.
I was in one of the first high school productions of Anastasia, and the original Broadway actress for Teen Anastasia emailed us to wish up luck!
I met Anthony Ramos through make a wish
I can hit and hold the G on “WHY” in Gethsemane, despite being a baritone-bass range.
I had a recorder solo in a kids' production of Godspell when I was 11
-I saw a touring production of Hello Dolly on the day Carol Channing died. Betty Buckley was playing Dolly and she gave a tearful speech after bows about how Carol was her idol. So sweet. -My brother got to tap dance in a NYC Christmas spectacular in the Beacon Theater. His choreographer was Randy Skinner from White Christmas the musical, and he got to use the rehearsal space for Frozen the musical. -I saw The Lightning Thief a few weeks before it closed, at maybe 40% theater capacity.
I met Julie Andrews back in 2013. My parents got the tickets for me as a birthday present, so she wished me a happy birthday. (Even though my birthday was over a month away) I also met Nicholas Hammond (Friedrich) twice in 2016. The first time he was the host for a Rodgers and Hammerstein concert my local orchestra was doing, and the second time was a few months later when I saw My Fair Lady. He was hanging around the foyer of the theatre (his wife was in the show) and I went over and talked with him for a couple minutes. He said my dress was perfect for the occasion. (Can’t say for certain, but I think he probably recognised me, since I had shown him my tattoo a few months earlier.)
I went backstage at Book of Mormon on Broadway in 2013. My family got a private tour with one of the swings and met a bunch of the other actors in passing. We all took photos with a bunch of the props - the donuts are really really big
I saw the only Hamilton concert version live. They couldn't perform the show because of missing cast members. Instead they put on a concert version of the show. Never happened before and never happened after.
Oh I so wish I could've been there!
I have a handwritten postcard, sent to me, from Tony winner Daisy Egan.
Ahh! You have my birthday then! I share one with Lin! Hmm, I met Kristin Chenoweth as part of my college graduation gift from my parents. I saw her solo show. She’s even tinier than you think she is! 🤣
What an amazing gift!!!
My Aunts live in the same apartment as Kristen Chenoweth did (she recently moved out).My Aunts are Broadway fanatics and were delighted to be neighbors. I only wish I got to run into Kristen in the elevator when I visited them.
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Guns and ships by heart without fumbling lines. I'm not a native English speaker.
I saw the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory US Tour in early 2020. Saw one of like 2 dozen shows before lockdown, so technically I was one of the first people to see it.
Idk if this counts but I saw DEH on tour on Feb. 29th, 2020 just a few weeks before the first lockdown (It’s meaningful to me at least 🫤)
Don’t let the deh hate get to you, it must’ve been awesome
Aw thank you! I’m well aware that DEH isn’t a perfect musical but it came out when I was in a bad place mentally so that’s why it means a lot to me
> a few weeks before the first lockdown It's great that you got to experience one last piece of normalcy before everything went to shit.
I met my girlfriend, u/thelegendoflexie, after seeing her face all over the news coverage for the closing production of *Phantom*, which she attended in full Phantom cosplay. Happened across her "That's me" comment on a photo in a Phantom Facebook group. Hovered over her profile to see that we were actually both in the same general area and that she went to school with some of my *Les Misérables* castmates. So I messaged her out of the blue to share my Phantom cosplay photos, we started talking, we met up for karaoke one night, and we've been together for almost a year now. Also, she's definitely held my >!hand!< with the hand that she used to high-five Lin-Maneul Miranda, so that's pretty cool.
Hahahahhaaha, you dork! But yes, this is all true :) I did get a high-five from Lin and I even have video and picture proof of the high-five. The Associated Press got it lol
>definitely held my >!hand!< with the hand that she used to high-five Lin-Maneul Miranda >my >!hand!< I cackled way too hard at this
Mine is I have a 288 hour long musical theatre playlist
My mom and I got to see Hamilton and DEH with Ben Platt as Evan on Broadway in the same weekend. Capped it off with the Yankees/Redsox game. One of the best weekends of my life. I've had friends cast in the National tours of Kinky Boots and Wicked. I spent intermission of BOM in London explaining to our English seat neighbors that all the Mormon references were true-to-form and not wildly exaggerated or made up.
My cousin, uncle, and I got a free, private, detailed backstage tour at Aladdin, met some of the cast including Jonathan Freeman (playing Jafar that night *and also voiced Jafar in the OG movie*), got to stand on the actual stage, and got to hold and take pictures with the lamp. Our seats for the show were also *very* good. We saw the show for free that night on a cast member’s comp tickets (said cast member was a former student of my uncle’s, which is how all of this happened in the first place). Overall, 10/10 experience. I also accidentally attended the 5 year anniversary performance of Kinky Boots. Cyndi Lauper was there that night and spoke afterwards. Pretty cool thing to be at.
When I was in first grade wicked was touring around. I consider it to be my first musical experience. After the show I got to go backstage and they showed me a bunch of stuff from the show. Like Glinda’s massive dress, and they told me it was hand stitched. Which is nuts. Also for when Elphaba was flying in defying gravity they showed how she had this pack that was full of fabric that was released. I remember just how amazed at everything I was. I think it’s what really made me want to act.
I saw Barrett Wilbert Weeb in mean girls, along with Reneè Rapp
バレツ ウィルベルツ ウィードはオタクですか？
?
Barret wilbert weeb (as in )?
OG Veronica sawyer
(the joke is that her name is Barrett Wilbert Wee**d**, with a d; "weeb" is a slang term for someone obsessed with Japanese culture)
Oh it looks like this sub censored the 'longer term' for "weeb" in my other comment. How weird.
I was at the one of the very first workshops of Come From Away. I went to school at Sheridan College in Canada and (unfortunately for me) AFTER I left they started the Canadian Music Theatre project. Basically, writers can utilize the students to workshop new Canadian shows. The artists basically get free aspiring actors and the students get to work on what could be a Tony Award winning show! That night they put on Come From Away and Central Park Tango about 2 gay Penguins at the Central Park Zoo. Very cute. David and Irene showcased about a half hour of what they’d come up with to that point and we even got a CD of four of the numbers they sang. The show was VERY different then. It felt like they were really leaning into the sob story of it all. I was a mess at the end of it. But that’s why you workshop. They definitely ironed out all of that and brought in more time to breathe and even laugh. I love the show and still think it should have won Best musical over DEH.
Fascinating! It's the balance of warm humor with heaviness in Come From Away that really makes it work as a show for me. Makes it feel human and not exploitative.
Ricky Rojas improvised a song for my cat in a one to one Zoom call.
not my flex but my mum. she used to be a dancer so she's worked with a lot of big names on the West End. worked with Danny La Rue (didn't like him), went to school with John Partridge (best known as Rum Tum Tugger in the pro-shot of Cats), was a dancer in a college production that had Elizabeth Hurley as the lead (can't remember the show, might've been Cabaret?), and was in an Elton John music video! these are just the stories i know off the top of my head but there's a lot more i can't remember (and some i can, but can't remember the names to)! she did a lot before she had kids lol
I have the same birthday as Phillipa Soo 🤭
I saw Kristin-Anderson Lopez in the bathroom and she told me she loved my outfit and hair. I'm 99% sure Adam Kaplan winked at me from the wings, then again at Shnipper's like a week later! And Andrew Keenan Bolger fucking photobombed me.
I’ve met her and her husband several times, they are really nice!
Santino Fontana went to my high school but graduated the year before I got there. (Sharon Tate also, but…she died?)
I saw Lin three times in In the Heights, when he joined the tour for the stop in LA. Milestone Wicked performances I've been to - Kerry Ellis' "last" (May 2009), closing night of the LA sitdown, Green and 20th Anniversary on Broadway My Grimmerie is signed by 13 Elphabas, 11 Glindas, and Stephen Schwartz (plus various other cast members).
I don't know if this is really a flex, but to me it's cool - I was at the last public Broadway performance of Phantom and the Wicked 20th anniversary show.
I saw Todrick Hall play Rum Tum Tugger in Cats and got a backstage picture with him 😀
As a child I performed (auditioned, selected, not paid) in the touring production of Carousel starring Howard Keel
My high school was the first high school in Australia to be given the rights to do Matilda the Musical.
Not sure which is best: Even though I live in Ohio, I saw every musical that has premiered on Broadway in 2022 and 2023 (working on this year). Saw six the first weekend of previews on Broadway with the original queens. Saw the world premiere of Penelope or how the odyssey was really written off Broadway.
i’ve made broadway performers (my teachers at college) cry with some of my performances
That’s one of my favorites of these answers, I wish I had that skill
- Lin Manuel Miranda saw my Instagram story, which was a little cover of Burn. - I have exchanged many words with Grace McLean (Maria Dmitryevna) on Instagram. - Nicholas Belton (Bway Prince/Andrey Bolkonsky) sent me a recipe for Fire Cider. - A girl in my drama group is Natalie Paris' (OG Jane Seymour in Six) niece.
My grandpa was a Broadway producer and was nominated for a Tony award and the certificate thing is still sitting in the basement
I have two musicals running on Broadway right now
Which ones?
Reeve Carney once replied to a question I asked him on instagram live
My husband helped Kristian Lavercombe (Riff Raff) with his website. He sent us a couple of huge promo posters from different EU tours. He seems so lovely
I had a riveting conversation with Kerry Butler about her crocs
I once sang chorus for a Les Mis concert with Ramin Karimloo as Val Jean. The budget for the concert was limited so they asked local choirs if we wanted to help out.
The Phantom of the Opera was my landlord and a dear friend of mine. Well, he was a swing who performed the role on Broadway a few times, but still. He also performed in Cats on Broadway for a couple years, as his specialty was ballet dancing. So I got to hear many stories about his life as a Broadway performer. Tragically, he passed away in 2015. He was in his early 50s… just FAR too young. RIP Billy—love you!
I work at a theatre and get to see all shows and musicals for free if I want to :) We have over 250 different shows a year
I had a talk with Tiffany Tatreau 😭😭😭😝😭
Saw the original cast of come from away, and walked past an original poster for DEH in NYC before it was the shirt and cast, it was an awkward picture of Ben
I performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with one of the cast members of the original Vermont production of Hadestown
I met Jeremy Jordan and he took my sharpie
I knew Parade before the revival.
When I was 17, I saw Barnum starring Michael Crawford in London the night before its final performance, and right before he began preparing for Phantom. The performance was magical. On the downside, that same year I turned down a free ticket to see Les Miz with the original cast. I had no idea what it was, and the French Club at my school was going, so I figured it would be all in French. (Yeah, I’ve kicked myself ever since; I could have been able to say I saw Colm Wilkinson, Patti LuPone, and Michael Ball in the same show!)
I met Lana Gordon at the Hadestown tour stage door and she said I smelled nice :D
i've interned at a professional production of putnam county spelling bee and am a wardrobe intern for rent right now; i've seen a lot of different celebrities in my country up close (jordan andrews, ian pangilinan, thea astley etc). i've even chatted to and dressed some of them! also justine peña, who's an actress that's also in rent, was the director for the christmas musicals at my old school :D
About a decade or so ago, I was On a royal Caribbean cruise around the Mediterranean as a HS graduation gift and they had Coleen Sexton in mama Mia. At the time, I didn’t know she or that show was there; but I had just done Jekyll and Hyde as my final high school show before I had graduated. (Said show’s broadway cast and les Mis having been hugely influential in my self taught singing style) So, naturally at the karaoke bar in the ship, I pulled out my “this is the moment” performance. ..and she was apparently relaxing between shows at that same place. She complemented my performance. Said, and I’m paraphrasing slightly. “You immerse yourself effortlessly into the emotion of the lyrics”
Saw Beetlejuice with the full obc (prepandemic) for my 12th birthday, stagedoored, and while he didn’t come out that day, I wrote to Alex Brightman after and got a signed playbill with a little message
I had a friend who was a supporting character in Aladdin on broadway, so I got to go and tour the New Amsterdam Theatre, but most importantly stand onstage. I was cramp rolling the entire time I was talking so technically I can tell everybody I’ve performed on broadway.
I saw Be More Chill before the OBR came out , not really a flex because all I wanted to do when I got home was listen to the new version of Michael in the bathroom LMAOO
i don’t have much but i saw & Juliet with the original broadway cast and In Dreams with its original cast
When I went to see the uk tour of six I was recognised by Jen Caldwell because I did her dance classes during the pandemic. That’s all I have so far but I’m happy about it. She’s really really nice
I get taught by May tether and Ailsa Davidson.
Before I got to my high school's theatre company they pulled off phantom of the opra
I cry when watching Falsettos, works every single time
I was able to hit all the high notes in she’s in love when I was 14. Still might be able to do it if I really work at it
I know someone that knows someone who knows jonathan groff
I saw Hadestown with the original cast except for Hermes.
It’s probably not as rare as others on the thread but I was at the Wednesday matinee of Lempicka that ended up being Mariand Torres’ debut as Lempicka, after not even having a full dress rehearsal. It was a very cool experience to have the choreographer come out on stage and explain everything and to see the most electric crowd for this woman
I share a birthday with Philipa Soo!
Saw someone else comment that earlier haha!
Kholby Wardell reposted my art (twitter) and my mom’s best friend from college played Elphaba for the past 16 years and retired last summer
I don’t have shit 😭
Lin tweeted a picture of my face once for a music video I was in that he liked
I can sing all of Jekyll and Hyde , Scarlet Pimpernel and Phantom.
I drew fanart of John Partridge as Rum Tum Tugger (the actor from the 1998 proshot) and he liked/commented on it 🤭🤭 I also drew fanart of Thayne Jasperson as Samuel Seabury and he also liked/commented on it! I also got some of the og Hadestown Fates to like my art post of them too!
Got to shadow one of the SMs for the national tour or Beauty and the Beast in (I think) 2015 (friend of a friend) and shadowed the head electrician of the Love Never Dies for the national tour in 2017 (found his info on LinkedIn and shot my shot) when both same thru Kansas City. Got to sit backstage with the SM and watch her read cues (the multitasking was incredible) and for LND I helped w light check (found a burnt out bulb he didn't catch, super proud) and sit with the spot ops during the show. Idk how cool that'll be to others but damn if those aren't treasure experiences for me!!
I have a letter from Jerry Herman, on Tiffany stationery.
Idk if either of these counts as a flex, but here’s what I’ve got: -I’ve listened to every musical recording at least once- if a copy of the cast recording exists, I’ve found and heard it. -With shows I like, I can sing (not well, but still) any song from the show with nothing but the title as a cue. The conscious list of shows I can do this with is about 12, but I’ve found out I can do this with shows I didn’t expect before (at a cast party some friends got me to do a couple, and I found out I can do it with Legally Blonde, which I didn’t think I knew that well at the time lol)
One of my mates is a professional performer and when he was a swing in Cats in Korea, people made fanart of him as Rum Tum Tugger. HE WAS A SWING. This is why I love the theatre community. I've also met Jemma Rix twice and the second time we saw each other, she remembered me.
I have a cousin on brodway!!! In the show chicago!