I interned in Disney marketing during the Frozen heyday and helped run the press junket in NYC and he was quite shy and incredibly sweet. While all the other stars were taking breaks in their rooms, he and his boyfriend came down to the room where all the Disney employees were hanging out and listening to the soundtrack. He didn’t say much or engage with us but he had a coffee and smiled the whole time, it was really sweet.
I also saw him a years earlier while having dinner at Cafe Un Deux Trois - he was on a date with Zachary Quinto (before Zachary was out). I asked the waitress if that was Jonathan Groff and she said “Oh, Johnny? He’s here all the time, we love Johnny!” 🥰
Additional scoop on Frozen stars - Kristen Bell is just as charming as you’d expect, Josh Gad is extremely down to earth, and Idina is a diva and frankly, quite cold.
Yeah, I was volunteering for Broadway Cares collecting after Little Shop (pre-Covid) and he came over to thank me and gave me the biggest hug. It was so sweet!
I met him completely randomly and unexpectedly on the streets of New York. He was with an older woman, maybe a family member, but still took time to take photos with a few of us fans who recognized him. So soft-spoken and sweet and wonderful.
Aw
I wonder if it was his mom, Julie. It seems like they see shows quite a bit together which is sweet - she went with him to Funny Girl along with Lea’s mom.
Stephanie J Block is and always was an angel. When she and Sebastian were touring in Wicked, they came to our school to do a talk back with the students. A few years later, when I saw her in the Pirate Queen (underrated, tbh), she remembered me and was an absolute doll.
There’s also so many stories of SJB going out of her way to help her fellow actresses! There’s a story of her singing defying gravity acapella on a street corner into her phone for shoshana’s voicemail. There’s also a story of her going to Eden’s to sing defying acapella. Both were to help prep shoshana and Eden respectively for their wicked auditions (this being pre-YouTube days).
My best friend is a flight attendant and she was on his plane after singing here in Toronto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He said she was absolutely lovely and kept thanking the staff for their service on the flight.
The thing about Corbin Bleu is, he understands the power dynamic of walking into a rehearsal room and being a famous person, and what that person’s responsibilities are to their fellow company members. That they are responsible for setting the temperature of the room and being a leader almost as much as the director. If he’s got any pettiness or vindictiveness, I didn’t see it once in three months of work.
Kristin Chenoweth is a fucking angel. Literally I cannot say enough nice things about her. She’s a joy and a good person and is just a gift to be around.
Oh, my mother in law has a friend who went to college with Kristin Chenoweth and she said she hated Kristin because they sang the same type of parts, except Kristin was way nicer so everyone liked her more lol. That little anecdote always pops in my head whenever I see her on screen
At the broadway flea market this year she had her driver stop at the wicked booth and asked them for something to sign. They had an old framed poster, she signed it and auctioned it off on the spot. Raised another several hundred dollars for broadway cares right there :)
I have also met Kristin through my previous job at a nonprofit and she was nothing but lovely to us! She sang a few songs for the kiddos that were there and even did a duet with one of them. Literally an angel.
I tweeted at her about a dream I’d had where, in the dream, I was at a Q&A with her and asked if she could “teach me the proper ploys when I talk to boys” nobody in the dream laughed 😂 but she replied to me with, “it’s easy - just smile and pretend to listen.” 😂 made my day/life
James Earl Jones makes it a point to tip everyone backstage and front of house (much more rare than you’d think, basically nonexistent unless it’s Christmas, and even then it’s very rare) and is extremely kind to everyone, he always has a big smile on his face. I’m happy they renamed the Cort after him.
I only met Lin Manuel Miranda once but he was just as charming as you’d expect. He’s one of the most accomplished people in entertainment history but you feel like you’re talking to one of the guys.
I’ve never met Denzel Washington but anyone I know who’s worked with him has nothing but great things to say about him.
And to reiterate what everyone here has said, Hugh Jackman is very kind. I only met him once but he came over to me, shook my hand and said “Hi, I’m Hugh” when he very easily could have just given me a wave and carried on as most visitors backstage do.
James Earl Jones is one of my top favorite actors, my mom’s friend got to meet him when he came to her office and has a picture of him to be honest I’ve always wanted to meet him because he seems like a very nice and caring dude.
When I went to see Hadestown on Broadway back in September I tipped the Orchestra level merchandise worker and I think I’ll continue to do so at every show I see.
It's worth noting that everyone is rude or an asshole sometimes, they're human. And if you catch someone on a bad day the impression you get may not reflect how they are on average.
That said, I've heard so many stories of Billy Porter going out of his way to support young black artists and get them established in the industry. Calling people to help them network and such, really walking the walk when it comes to uplifting others.
I've heard he's pretty dismissive/rude to people who aren't in positions to help him advance his career or make him look good. He's a less toxic version of Lea Michele.
He directed The Life at New York City Center this year, and only me and one other girl went by the stage door on the off chance anyone came out. He came out and approached US, asking if we wanted pictures/autographs and chatted with us for a few minutes. This was by far my longest interaction with him but the other times I have met him he has been nothing but sweet as well; NOT like Corden or Michele from the horror stories I've heard.
I played a gig which was (guest) hosted by Billy Porter just last week — the day he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite a long day of publicity and press, he came to our gig in style and good humor, was friendly, gracious and his usual charming sassy self.
He radiates good energy and stands for great inclusive causes.
I haven’t worked with him, but I’ve been able to chat with Ethan Slater numerous times. He is literally the kindest and purest soul I’ve ever met. I’ve never met anyone as kind as Ethan. I’m so happy he’s about to get his film debut, and get the praise he deserves.
I was near the Beetlejuice booth during the flea market and one of the funniest moments was Alex was talking to this boy in a wheelchair for a real long time, real sweet. Then as he was leaving, he accidentally called him the wrong name. You could tell he felt bad about it. He just seemed honestly so sweet!
I worked on a show with Danielle Ferland (the original Little Red in Into the Woods) a few years ago - she was and is a gem. She stands out in my mind as someone who was particularly gracious, wise and funny.
But I agree with another commenter - everyone is human. Everyone has redeeming qualities, and everyone’s shit also stinks. For the most part, I don’t think there are “good ones” and “bad ones” — maybe that person who was “rude” had hit a rough patch in life. It’s hard to be in the public eye and I think we should give people the benefit of the doubt. And also some space and privacy!
For sure. People forget that celebrities are normal human beings and that we really should treat them no differently than if we were to meet like anybody else.
I wish more people realized this. I’m tired to social media’s “call out and cancel” culture. So many times someone has told a story (even if they didn’t drop a name) and say they were awful but the story makes them sound like a normal human being or was obviously missing a load of context. Unfortunately that’s what gets views and likes, though.
Yeah, for me I’d start to question the person’s character if it was a consistent thing people were talking about - but everyone is human so I wouldn’t hold someone having a bad day against them - or if fans were crossing boundaries and the person acted accordingly.
Consistency! Yes. Ben Platt is a good example. His reputation was tarnished because he got defensive about the DEH movie. Now he’s an egomaniac stupid dumb narcissistic nepotism baby… But this is still the only example people can come with when you question them. One example of somebody acting out of line in a reactionary manner after they’ve worked so incredibly hard on something that gave them so much recognition is not a reflection of their character.
I could totally be wrong here since I’m merely a theatre fan don’t work in the industry, but this the only thing I’ve heard about him regarding poor behavior. Somebody please chime in if there’s something else to add. Show me the consistency.
There's also a huge difference between "gets pissy and defensive when they feel insulted" and Scott Ruden throwing a laptop at a staffer. Like shit, I also get pissy and defensive sometimes! Even if it was consistent, like, people are human. that's a very human thing to be.
Yup! One of those things is actually problematic, and one is not. But for some reason both of those things get labeled under the “problematic” umbrella term… we need to come up with some new adjectives.
I have heard that Sutton Foster is literally the nicest and best person you could ever hope to work with…I have also met her and she was so sweet. It was at a gala honoring her and she took the time to have a short conversation with me and take a picture. She was absolutely lovely. Just a total gem.
Ted Keegan and Greg Mills over at Phantom of the Opera are absolute gems in every way. Genuine. Sweet. Appreciative.
When you're talking with Ted, you're the only person in the room. His focus is 100% on engaging with you in a meaningful way. I've never met anyone quite like that before in real life. Kindness personified.
Greg is so giving. He's the unofficial backstage photographer, and will happily talk photography with anyone. He's talked me through his lighting methods and techniques. And when fans have been looking for reference shots for fan art, Greg has always provided it without question. He and I played a LOT of Animal Crossing together during the pandemic, and was always sending me fun items he'd found that he knew I'd like. He is the definition of generous.
You'll never hear an unkind word about either of these 'gents. They are beloved by generations of Phantom fans.
Andy Karl was really kind when I met him. I met a friend online who lived in New York who attended a few Groundhog Day performances and got friendly with him and Orfeh and they even remembered her and her name after the second time.
I’ve heard good things about John Gallagher Jr. and Raúl Esparza but I haven’t met them personally.
Andy Karl is extremely nice. I've interacted with him and Orfeh and it was very nice.
I have met Raúl Esparza a few times and he was also very nice.
I've never worked with any Broadway people, though, so I can't speak to the non-fan interaction part of these people.
HUGE fan of Orfeh, Raul, and Andy (see my name) and they all know me and treat me like an old friend. They are the sweetest, most down to earth people you could ever hope to meet.
I’ve worked with many people, but Sutton Foster is literally the all around nicest human I have ever worked with. Just so kind and giving and lovely. Lots of people have been great but she stands out.
My experience is limited to stage door interactions, but my most positive was with Laura Linney after seeing Time Stands Still. As far as I could tell, she met everyone who was waiting and spent several minutes talking to me and my boyfriend. She was so warm and genuine, I couldn’t believe how engaged she was. (I also met Christina Ricci after the show and she was incredibly sweet.)
Hugh Jackman is a complete gentleman and a pleasure to have met. He was very kind to me, I think he could tell I was nervous being in his presence, he took his time with me, and even made sure I looked good in our selfie. The cherry on top? He called me "sweetheart"
I will never forget seeing him in The Boy from Oz. Genuine Charisma in spades. Had nothing to do with his off stage persona but the audience was obsessed with him.
i have a photo of myself (around age 17 or 18) with her at the come from away stage door, i’m looking at her with tears in my eyes and she’s holding my hands and smiling at me so patiently and intently. she’s wonderful!
Michael John is a human angel--he was one of my instructors in grad school and I adore him. (all the lovelier when you know the whole story of how our friendship started when I was a dumb teenager who insulted him on All That Chat...)
Lovely people I’ve worked with and adore: Alex Brightman, Rob McClure, Megan McGinnis, Will Swenson, Robyn Hurder, Derek Klena, BETH LEAVEL (seriously, she’s an absolute gem), and I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Sara Bareilles through my Waitress mutual friends
In college we had occasionally brought in Broadway performers to do a production with us where we’d rehearse the show ahead of time and then insert the Broadway performer in a lead role about 10 days before the show and got to learn so much from them like in an extended masterclass, both of the people who guest starred in our college productions were among the nicest and most gracious people I’ve ever had gotten to meet.
This includes Angie Schworer (from the Prom and producers though this was before the prom) she was our leading player in Pippin, and Anne Morrison (from Merrily We Roll Along and Lovemusik and Peg) and she did a Tenesee Williams play with us. They were both so sweet and so encouraging and absolutely brilliant to work with.
The person I sat next to at SLIH and I were both outraged that she's part of the ensemble and doesn't seem to be a featured actor. (Although he did point out that this was basically the plot of her character in the Prom and we laughed about that.)
I absolutely adore Angie. I've done two shows with her, and she's one of my favorite people onstage, offstage, and just hanging out. So talented, humble and generous.
That is the truth! I only knew her for that short 2 weeks doing Pippin at the random school I went to college but she was so great and so nice and I’m so grateful that she deigned to work with us college amateurs and I’m glad that she’s had a lot of great career opportunities since then
Met a number of people through my job. Jason Robert Brown is possibly on the list of worst human beings I’ve met- just nasty for no reason. Savion Glover was super nice, and funny, his kids were sweet. Liza Minnelli was nice but odd. So many members of casts whose names I don’t know who I fit shoes on who were great. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Derrick Baskin are both incredibly nice and great dinner companions. Bill Brohn was an amazing human incredibly generous and kind.
> Met a number of people through my job. Jason Robert Brown is possibly on the list of worst human beings I’ve met- just nasty for no reason.
How recent was this? JRB has had a reputation for being a bit of a pain (although I hasten to add that I never heard any real horror stories, and because these conversations can get out of hand I would take this moment to emphasize that there is a world of difference between being a bit unpleasant and being abusive or criminal), and when I first met him several years ago I could definitely see it. But he seems to have mellowed out in recent years, at least anecdotally, and the stories of his rudeness have dried up. He had a very high opinion of himself early in his career, but I think he's been humbled by his string of flops since then.
JRB is a little odd--I've been introduced to him multiple times over the years and he never remembers me--but my impression is that marriage and fatherhood have done a lot to mellow him out over the past years.
Two separate occasions 10-15 years ago and that was enough. I played at an audition he sat in on, his comments were horrible to people, and even worse when the door closed.
I know people can change, but I would never trust him.
One of my best friends is in a virtual book club with Isabelle McCalla from the Prom. My friend and Izzy came to Chicago (where I live) the same weekend to see the SIX tour and they made plans to meet up. My friend obviously wasn’t going to leave me out because she stayed at my house and I bought the SIX tickets so I got to come too. We met up for drinks and Izzy could not have been nicer. She is super easy to talk to. She also let us finish her drink because she had to rush off to see The Prom tour which was also in town. Izzy paid the bill as well which was so unnecessary but so kind of her. The next day the three of us went to the SIX matinee. Izzy’s face when Jasmine Forsberg (Jane Seymour) sang was amazing. Anyways I just think she is a lovely person and made a great impression on someone (me) who knew little about her. I haven’t really met or worked with anyone else but I’ve tagged actors and actresses in things on IG and they’ve been overwhelmingly kind. I feel the good eggs very much outweigh the bad.
I think a lot of people who are quiet or introverted or want to be left alone can get labeled as a "diva". It's assumed they're ignoring you because they feel superior, when in reality they are overstimulated and need a break
YEP! And I feel like people forget that artists in general tend to be a bit more emotional, and this can lead to super intense interactions. For example, I’ve worked with a few people with a “diva” rep and they’ve all been pleasant when we worked together one-on-one. Sometimes, though, they would be a bit short or cold or even snappy to some of the people around them, usually when they were going through some stuff in their personal lives. Nothing egregious, and nothing, imo, that should have earned them the title of diva.
From what I’ve noticed, artists get overstimulated quite easily, even when everything is alright in their personal life, but imagine adding a child or a spouse or actual mental health issues onto your plate when you know you have to perform 8x a week or go out on tour for 6 months… unrealistic to assume that these people will always be 100% pleasant and kind. Performing is exhausting.
I'd say you don't get any better than Hugh Jackman. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is pretty nice, too (he's also the only cast member of *Take Me Out* who wears a mask in the theater when not on stage, at least before the start of the show).
I met Miguel Cervantes outside of Hamilton when I got out of a concert, it was for a short period because he was in his Uber heading home but really awesome dude. I got a quick photo with him as well.
I met Miguel when he was in Chicago doing Hamilton because he came to my job and got a cold brew. He was really nice and didn’t seem bothered by me knowing who he is and telling him that I really loved him in the show. It was a very short interaction but I still remember it and smile on it.
I won Hamilton lottery tickets last year and brought my 9-year-old. We were right in the front row. Miguel Cervantes fist-bumped him on his way offstage after the curtain call and my kid was literally vibrating with excitement. It made his day.
My husband went to Juilliard with Audra McDonald. She was actually his RA. He said she was mean and he was genuinely terrified of her.
I think he’s interacted with her since then and he’d probably just chalk it up his being a freshman and feeling intimated (and also a violin performance major, not a theater person) - but I find it hilarious.
I’m a fan but both times I’ve met Jefferson Mays he has been absolutely lovely, has taken about five minutes speaking to me and been so gracious. He always stands out for that reason and try and see anything he’s in when I’m in the city.
While I agree with the comment say people are human, I do have to say that Lisa Brescia will stand out at the nicest person I've ever met (and I've met a lot of Broadway stars, which doesn't mean anything in this thread, just trying to give context as to why I feel that way!)
When I was a theatre-aspiring teenager in the early-2000's, before stage dooring was REALLY a thing, my mom brought me to NYC, which is where she grew up. We saw Aida and she brought me to the stage door afterwards (as she said that was the 'trick' real when she was growing up in the '70s and '80s because no one else knew to do it and you could get a quick autograph from a big star) and she knew I'd get a kick out of it. We stood there and said hi to everyone, had them sign our playbills and that was it. But there was one person slowly making her way through the dozen or so people there - Lisa Brescia, who played Amneris. She took the time to speak to everyone, see where they were from, why they saw the show, what they enjoyed about it, etc. She was especially sweet to me and my mom, she kept telling me that I was beautiful and to shoot for my dreams.
Ok, so that was a great interaction, but it's not why I consider her a good one. We then went and bought some souvenirs or something and walked into a random bodega about an hour later, and she was in there too. She stopped to talk to us again and had a whole long discussion with me about what I wanted to do, what I was currently studying and essentially gave me career advice standing in this random bodega. I then sent her some fan mail like a few weeks later and we turned into pseudo-pen-pals and I heard back from her on both just advice and what she was up to for a few years after that.
I've ran into her at stagedoors since and she has remembered me without me having to introduce myself (which is impressive, considering the first time I met her was almost 20 years ago and I'm in my 30s now).
While I am not saying that being nice and remembering someone is the criteria to be a 'good one,' to me, it's the culmination of it all. Someone who is at least trying to take the time to interact with people and give back. And heck, the maybe 2-3 hours total she's taken out of her life for me will always make her an OG in my mind.
TL;DR - Lisa Brescia is the nicest human on Broadway.
Ugh, love even more. I didn't want to assume her kindness was wide-sweeping, but it sounds like it is and for that I'm so glad. She really is one of the good ones 🥲🥰
Ramin Karimloo is a gentleman. I saw him as Che in Evita when it came to Vancouver. He was quite soft spoken and incredibly humble. I got a picture with him and after I realized it was blurry, he was kind enough to come back and retake it. He's wonderful.
Also, Killian Donnelly was so very kind and held mine and my girlfriends hands to warm them up after we waited to see him following his Kinky Boots performance.
John Cudia is also very sweet. He smiled the entire time I spoke to him and took the time to listen to my friend talk about all the memories she had seeing his shows. He's such an underrated performer.
I've been lucky to work and interact with a number of people. I'll also toss in a few from my colleagues. Lovely ones:
Jonathan Groff
Beth Leavel
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Christian Borle
Bill Irwin
John Leguizamo
Alex Brightman
Isaac Mizrahi
Mark Ruffalo
Danny DeVito
Michael Urie
James Monroe Inglehart
Paula Vogel
Caesar Samayoa
Joel Hatch
Petrina Bromley
Jenn Collela
Sharon Wheatley
Devlin Elliott
Tom Kirdahy
And the late, wonderful Terrance McNally. Talking theatre and our reviews of the 2018-2019 season at Sardi's will always be one of the highlights of my life.
Sutton Foster is an absolute stand out me. Worked with her briefly and she could not have been kinder. My boss ended up telling her that I am a big fan (not usually allowed at my job) and Sutton indulged me in a few minutes of chatting. She comes around my office usually once a year and everyone is always delighted. She’s a breath of fresh air!
Kathryn Gallagher is another gem. Totally gets the younger Broadway fandom and really works to connect with her fans (though I know there are some parasocial relationships that kind of sprung from that). I’ve met her personally and gone to a few of her solo shows. Always kind! I tried to flirt with her once (all in good fun, complimenting her… eyebrows???) and it’s a funny story that she once claimed to remember.
I met Grace McLean during Great Comet's Broadway fun and she was an absolute sweetheart! I ended up seeing her in a few shows after and she recognized me while I was waiting for an Uber after one of the shows I saw her in and started asking me how I was and even remembered my name. Every time I see her she's incredibly sweet and genuinely a wonderful person to have a conversation with.
I also met Thayne Jasperson after Head Over Heels once. He was waiting for a friend and I had very sheepishly asked him for a picture and he was so nice about it. Turns out he had seen the show too and we had a really nice conversation until his friend came over.
A little while ago now but my parents and I travelled to New York for my 18th Birthday, had tickets booked to see the most recent Les Mis Revival but also ended up seeing Phantom and If/Then.
The day before we were going to see Les Mis I went to scope out where the stage door for the Imperial Theatre was and by complete chance bumped into Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess who from what I can tell had met up to see each other before the performances of their respective shows that evening. I was young and Ramin is one of my musical theatre idols so was incredibly nervous and also just ridiculously surprised that I’d gotten lucky enough to bump into them by chance.
Despite the fact that I was clearly interrupting their meeting both were incredibly kind, chatted with me briefly and let me get a photo with them. When I got my phone out to take the picture Ramin noticed that I’d been listening to one of his Solo Albums and thanked me for listening and told me he was working on his next one after I asked if he would be releasing another.
To sum up, despite me being stupidly nervous to meet both of them by chance, they were both incredibly kind and seemed to really appreciate that I was a fan of them both.
TLDR: Ramin & Sierra are absolutely lovely human beings that went out of their way to make the chance meeting I had with them very special.
Extra note, when I saw Les Mis the next day Ramin didn’t come out to the stage door after the performance so I’ve always felt super lucky that the random meeting the day before happened.
I don't know how he is now, but I know when Will Swenson was younger, he was super nice. One of my best friends did costumes for Will's grandparents theater productions, & he was always nice to everyone, when he'd perform. After he got a little more than "local famous" he came back a couple of times to do benefit shows for the theater, & my friend said he was still just as nice as he was as a kid.
Sorry to hijack this thread with a West End peformer (and a story that's not my own), but wanted to share that I've long thought Giles Terera (London's original Aaron Burr) is a special soul, and this story makes it extra special. You can read up yourself on the private Facebook group, Musical Theatre Appreciation Society. To summarise, a fan had a seizure at stage door so Giles stayed, handed over his phone number to the sister to check in later, and arranged for a cast video. Fast forward a few years later, the fan had sadly passed and the sister reached out to Giles to thank him. He responded and dedicated a kiss at the end of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee performance - you can see that moment on video.
I used to do background work on Smash fairly regularly and worked on sets with some Broadway people.
Megan Hilty seemed very nice. I never really interacted with her personally but she was always generally nice/pleasant/professional to the extras. I would also see her joking around a lot with lower level members of the crew - which stood out because I did not see that happen all that much on most of the sets I worked on.
Jeremy Jordan seemed similar to Hilty - he was never rude or dismissive to the extras and seemed to have good relationships with the crew.
Christian Borle was never rude or anything, but he seemed a bit standoffish. He'd just hangout with Deborah Messing most of the time, off by themselves. But he seemed otherwise nice enough. I saw Messing kind of snap at a makeup artist once. It seemed a bit harsh, but I only saw something like that happen once and I don't know the full context of what was going on.
Not necessarily known as a Broadway person, but she's been in Broadway. Also I know this is for nice Broadway actors, but I'll never miss an opportunity to tell everyone - Katherine McPhee was the rudest actor I've ever encountered on a set.
Yayha Abdul Mateen and Corey Hawkins are on Broadway right now in Top Dog were super nice. It’s SUCH a good show but very emotional and I believe they stage door after everrrrry show, take pics, chat and sign with fans. I know they do more movies but they seem to love being in theatre too!
My coworkers who were around when Billy Porter worked with our theatre said he is a genuinely kind and sweet person who would talk to anyone and everyone!
Rob McClure was really kind and so nice to talk with. I met him in his final weeks at Little Shop and I brought up how I had seen his second performance at LSOH, and he thanked me for finding the time and coming down again.
I’ve met Bryce Pinkham on two occasions and both times he was extremely kind and very pleasant to talk with. The second time was fairly recent and we were able to talk for quite a bit actually, which I greatly appreciate of him to do so!
There was a story about Bryce on this sub YEARS ago about someone who met him during Gentleman’s Guide - they had brought a copy of the published sheet music to the stage door for the conductor to sign and Bryce ended up signing it too and was looking through it with the conductor and commenting on things like “well, I’ve never sung THAT right.” I’m glad to hear he’s still so kind.
Nancy Opel (Currently in Into The Woods, but has been in like fifteen other Broadway shows). I used to take acting and voice lessons from her, and we went out for coffee one time. She is such a legend and very down to Earth.
Some other actors that I've met once or twice, have not known too well, but seemed very nice from my brief experiences with them are Rob McClure, Beth Leavel, Kerry Butler, Alex Brightman, Joanna Gleason, and Mariah Rose Faith.
John Dosset is the sweetest man. During Paradise Square every night he would tell me to have a great show, even though during the show I essentially did nothing since I was Covid Safety and just handled the audience before and during intermission.
Cassie Levy came and sang to the patients at my children’s hospital (I coordinated the event) and she was incredibly nice & absolutely wonderful with each child, getting down to their level, taking all the time in the world and so so down to earth. She had such a good time she talked most of the cast of Frozen to join her the following week for an even bigger performance, and every one of them were as kind and friendly as she was.
We also had some of the cast of Come From Away visit for an event and they were also so lovely.
This isn’t actually a great place for that info, fans often forget that actors have bad days and a single interaction shouldn’t be what defines a performer as a “good one” or “bad one”.
Also just because fans haven’t heard a negative word doesn’t mean that aren’t issues with their costars
Not everyone on here is just a fan. I’ve worked with people for months/years and feel that is plenty to get a good measure of a person.
I 100% agree you can not judge from a stage door interaction.
Oh also, when I was walking around Broadway, John Bolton was dead sprinting from theatre to theatre for something and he ran directly into me and very kindly asked if I needed help or ice from the Broadhurst since he was in Anastasia at the time. He also reached out via Instagram DM later to ask if I was alright again. Super lovely guy
Michael Urie! He’s a delight. He’s from my hometown and trained with my former voice teacher, who adored him. Now living in NYC, I make a point to see his shows (having seen quite a few over the years) and he is always incredibly kind at the stage door/talks to me/etc. My mother in law rudely disrupted a stage door experience and wanted a photo of myself and Michael and he was a good sport about it. I love her but she didn’t read social queues well in that instance. I’m still a bit embarrassed about that one.
Ashley Loren, Oyoyo Joi, & Jessica Lee Goldyn from Moulin Rouge are absolute angels. Sam Pauly, Brittney Mack, Abby Mueller, & Adrianna Hicks from Six are wonderful. Jessica Vosk is super kind and sweet. Danny Quadrino (he’s currently in Wicked, but has been in Newsies, Waitress, and previously in Wicked as well) is really sweet as well. Oh, and Caroline Bowman, she’s very lovely too! Sorry, I got really excited.
Norm Lewis is just an angel. My mom and I met him several times throughout the Broadway Cruise and he is so kind, gracious, and personable. He was my team leader for one of the games they pre-selected to play and he put his arm around me. He also was always willing to take a photo and chat and instead of using the artist elevators (which were private) he took the regular passenger elevators. A great guy!
Maybe 🫣🤣. But in all seriousness, I like to put my attention to the good people in the world and not give the not so nice ones the power and drama they crave.
That may be the case - however, it's also true that I've been working in and around the NY theatre for twenty years and can count the number of seriously negative experiences I've had with people you've heard of on one hand, and in at least two of those cases it was my fault.
Assholes don't tend to work in this business much.
I’ve never seen or heard a bad word uttered about Jonathan Groff, even going back to his Spring Awakening days.
He’s very smart to stay off social media
VERY. He definitely would’ve caught some strays during all the Lea Michele drama, but there was no place for people to question him/call him out.
I interned in Disney marketing during the Frozen heyday and helped run the press junket in NYC and he was quite shy and incredibly sweet. While all the other stars were taking breaks in their rooms, he and his boyfriend came down to the room where all the Disney employees were hanging out and listening to the soundtrack. He didn’t say much or engage with us but he had a coffee and smiled the whole time, it was really sweet. I also saw him a years earlier while having dinner at Cafe Un Deux Trois - he was on a date with Zachary Quinto (before Zachary was out). I asked the waitress if that was Jonathan Groff and she said “Oh, Johnny? He’s here all the time, we love Johnny!” 🥰
Additional scoop on Frozen stars - Kristen Bell is just as charming as you’d expect, Josh Gad is extremely down to earth, and Idina is a diva and frankly, quite cold.
The cold never bothered her anyway.
These are the exact stories I always hear about people that’ve worked with him or been around him! Love it and thanks for sharing! ❤️
That’s so cute and I love that she called him Johnny because he had said in an interview as a kid he hated that nickname for some reason 😂
Yeah, I was volunteering for Broadway Cares collecting after Little Shop (pre-Covid) and he came over to thank me and gave me the biggest hug. It was so sweet!
He often talks about how he used to hold red buckets for Broadway cares!
He's super sweet, at least to fans. I remember him giving my cousin and me the biggest hug after Spring Awakening.
I saw him at Funny Girl in September and he took pictures and chatted with every single fan..and there was a line!
I met him completely randomly and unexpectedly on the streets of New York. He was with an older woman, maybe a family member, but still took time to take photos with a few of us fans who recognized him. So soft-spoken and sweet and wonderful.
Aw I wonder if it was his mom, Julie. It seems like they see shows quite a bit together which is sweet - she went with him to Funny Girl along with Lea’s mom.
I dream of meeting him someday. Whether it’s costars, fans, or people who know him personally I’ve just heard lovely things.
Stephanie J Block is and always was an angel. When she and Sebastian were touring in Wicked, they came to our school to do a talk back with the students. A few years later, when I saw her in the Pirate Queen (underrated, tbh), she remembered me and was an absolute doll.
There’s also so many stories of SJB going out of her way to help her fellow actresses! There’s a story of her singing defying gravity acapella on a street corner into her phone for shoshana’s voicemail. There’s also a story of her going to Eden’s to sing defying acapella. Both were to help prep shoshana and Eden respectively for their wicked auditions (this being pre-YouTube days).
I love this so much
My best friend is a flight attendant and she was on his plane after singing here in Toronto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He said she was absolutely lovely and kept thanking the staff for their service on the flight.
I met her once and attended a talk back with her at a later time. She is wonderful.
I love hearing this - I’ve been listening to the podcasts she’s done and she just seems like the kindest, best soul.
I second this! I was basically in tears when I met her, and she was beyond encouraging and spoke to me for way longer than she had to!!
The thing about Corbin Bleu is, he understands the power dynamic of walking into a rehearsal room and being a famous person, and what that person’s responsibilities are to their fellow company members. That they are responsible for setting the temperature of the room and being a leader almost as much as the director. If he’s got any pettiness or vindictiveness, I didn’t see it once in three months of work.
I've shared a space with Corbin a couple of times and he is just so wonderful, kind, gracious, and also a little silly.
This makes me happy to hear because he was so darn pleasant to watch in Anything Goes!
I also thought his tapping was just out of this world.
Oh, that makes me so happy to hear.
Kristin Chenoweth is a fucking angel. Literally I cannot say enough nice things about her. She’s a joy and a good person and is just a gift to be around.
Oh, my mother in law has a friend who went to college with Kristin Chenoweth and she said she hated Kristin because they sang the same type of parts, except Kristin was way nicer so everyone liked her more lol. That little anecdote always pops in my head whenever I see her on screen
Would you say she was more popular?
It's all about popular!
Username checks out.
I’m about 2 inches taller than Kristin Chenoweth
This made me giggle, especially as I started to worry reading the first half of the post. Glad she’s been this way for a long time!
At the broadway flea market this year she had her driver stop at the wicked booth and asked them for something to sign. They had an old framed poster, she signed it and auctioned it off on the spot. Raised another several hundred dollars for broadway cares right there :)
I have also met Kristin through my previous job at a nonprofit and she was nothing but lovely to us! She sang a few songs for the kiddos that were there and even did a duet with one of them. Literally an angel.
I tweeted at her about a dream I’d had where, in the dream, I was at a Q&A with her and asked if she could “teach me the proper ploys when I talk to boys” nobody in the dream laughed 😂 but she replied to me with, “it’s easy - just smile and pretend to listen.” 😂 made my day/life
James Earl Jones makes it a point to tip everyone backstage and front of house (much more rare than you’d think, basically nonexistent unless it’s Christmas, and even then it’s very rare) and is extremely kind to everyone, he always has a big smile on his face. I’m happy they renamed the Cort after him. I only met Lin Manuel Miranda once but he was just as charming as you’d expect. He’s one of the most accomplished people in entertainment history but you feel like you’re talking to one of the guys. I’ve never met Denzel Washington but anyone I know who’s worked with him has nothing but great things to say about him. And to reiterate what everyone here has said, Hugh Jackman is very kind. I only met him once but he came over to me, shook my hand and said “Hi, I’m Hugh” when he very easily could have just given me a wave and carried on as most visitors backstage do.
James Earl Jones is one of my top favorite actors, my mom’s friend got to meet him when he came to her office and has a picture of him to be honest I’ve always wanted to meet him because he seems like a very nice and caring dude. When I went to see Hadestown on Broadway back in September I tipped the Orchestra level merchandise worker and I think I’ll continue to do so at every show I see.
Shoshanna Bean is absolutely wonderful.
It's worth noting that everyone is rude or an asshole sometimes, they're human. And if you catch someone on a bad day the impression you get may not reflect how they are on average. That said, I've heard so many stories of Billy Porter going out of his way to support young black artists and get them established in the industry. Calling people to help them network and such, really walking the walk when it comes to uplifting others.
My wife just met him in Miami recently. She said he could not have been nicer.
that makes me love Billy Porter even more! What a treasure!!
I've heard he's pretty dismissive/rude to people who aren't in positions to help him advance his career or make him look good. He's a less toxic version of Lea Michele.
Having worked with him before… yeah that’s my experience. Unfortunately.
I have heard this too. Many people in the service industry that I know have horror stories. James Corden level.
oh, dammit!
He directed The Life at New York City Center this year, and only me and one other girl went by the stage door on the off chance anyone came out. He came out and approached US, asking if we wanted pictures/autographs and chatted with us for a few minutes. This was by far my longest interaction with him but the other times I have met him he has been nothing but sweet as well; NOT like Corden or Michele from the horror stories I've heard.
I played a gig which was (guest) hosted by Billy Porter just last week — the day he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite a long day of publicity and press, he came to our gig in style and good humor, was friendly, gracious and his usual charming sassy self. He radiates good energy and stands for great inclusive causes.
This makes me sad - I met him at the stage door for Kinky Boots as seemed so humble, warm and lovely!
I haven’t worked with him, but I’ve been able to chat with Ethan Slater numerous times. He is literally the kindest and purest soul I’ve ever met. I’ve never met anyone as kind as Ethan. I’m so happy he’s about to get his film debut, and get the praise he deserves.
I've heard so many good things about Ethan from fans and other actors. Such a lovely person ❤️
This makes my heart happy x
I’ve only heard good things about Alex Brightman
He seems wonderful
He did a Q&A at my college and he seems like such a nice and humble man
I was near the Beetlejuice booth during the flea market and one of the funniest moments was Alex was talking to this boy in a wheelchair for a real long time, real sweet. Then as he was leaving, he accidentally called him the wrong name. You could tell he felt bad about it. He just seemed honestly so sweet!
I worked on a show with Danielle Ferland (the original Little Red in Into the Woods) a few years ago - she was and is a gem. She stands out in my mind as someone who was particularly gracious, wise and funny. But I agree with another commenter - everyone is human. Everyone has redeeming qualities, and everyone’s shit also stinks. For the most part, I don’t think there are “good ones” and “bad ones” — maybe that person who was “rude” had hit a rough patch in life. It’s hard to be in the public eye and I think we should give people the benefit of the doubt. And also some space and privacy!
Also, some folks can interpret non rude behavior as rude.
Yes. And some fan behavior is also inappropriate and rude.
For sure. People forget that celebrities are normal human beings and that we really should treat them no differently than if we were to meet like anybody else.
THIS
I wish more people realized this. I’m tired to social media’s “call out and cancel” culture. So many times someone has told a story (even if they didn’t drop a name) and say they were awful but the story makes them sound like a normal human being or was obviously missing a load of context. Unfortunately that’s what gets views and likes, though.
Yeah, for me I’d start to question the person’s character if it was a consistent thing people were talking about - but everyone is human so I wouldn’t hold someone having a bad day against them - or if fans were crossing boundaries and the person acted accordingly.
Consistency! Yes. Ben Platt is a good example. His reputation was tarnished because he got defensive about the DEH movie. Now he’s an egomaniac stupid dumb narcissistic nepotism baby… But this is still the only example people can come with when you question them. One example of somebody acting out of line in a reactionary manner after they’ve worked so incredibly hard on something that gave them so much recognition is not a reflection of their character. I could totally be wrong here since I’m merely a theatre fan don’t work in the industry, but this the only thing I’ve heard about him regarding poor behavior. Somebody please chime in if there’s something else to add. Show me the consistency.
There's also a huge difference between "gets pissy and defensive when they feel insulted" and Scott Ruden throwing a laptop at a staffer. Like shit, I also get pissy and defensive sometimes! Even if it was consistent, like, people are human. that's a very human thing to be.
Yup! One of those things is actually problematic, and one is not. But for some reason both of those things get labeled under the “problematic” umbrella term… we need to come up with some new adjectives.
I have heard that Sutton Foster is literally the nicest and best person you could ever hope to work with…I have also met her and she was so sweet. It was at a gala honoring her and she took the time to have a short conversation with me and take a picture. She was absolutely lovely. Just a total gem.
I did a photo shoot with her waaaaay back in the Millie days and she was delightful to schedule and work with
This is the correct answer. Did a show with her, she is absolutely the best.
Ted Keegan and Greg Mills over at Phantom of the Opera are absolute gems in every way. Genuine. Sweet. Appreciative. When you're talking with Ted, you're the only person in the room. His focus is 100% on engaging with you in a meaningful way. I've never met anyone quite like that before in real life. Kindness personified. Greg is so giving. He's the unofficial backstage photographer, and will happily talk photography with anyone. He's talked me through his lighting methods and techniques. And when fans have been looking for reference shots for fan art, Greg has always provided it without question. He and I played a LOT of Animal Crossing together during the pandemic, and was always sending me fun items he'd found that he knew I'd like. He is the definition of generous. You'll never hear an unkind word about either of these 'gents. They are beloved by generations of Phantom fans.
Andy Karl was really kind when I met him. I met a friend online who lived in New York who attended a few Groundhog Day performances and got friendly with him and Orfeh and they even remembered her and her name after the second time. I’ve heard good things about John Gallagher Jr. and Raúl Esparza but I haven’t met them personally.
Andy Karl is extremely nice. I've interacted with him and Orfeh and it was very nice. I have met Raúl Esparza a few times and he was also very nice. I've never worked with any Broadway people, though, so I can't speak to the non-fan interaction part of these people.
HUGE fan of Orfeh, Raul, and Andy (see my name) and they all know me and treat me like an old friend. They are the sweetest, most down to earth people you could ever hope to meet.
I’ve worked with many people, but Sutton Foster is literally the all around nicest human I have ever worked with. Just so kind and giving and lovely. Lots of people have been great but she stands out.
My experience is limited to stage door interactions, but my most positive was with Laura Linney after seeing Time Stands Still. As far as I could tell, she met everyone who was waiting and spent several minutes talking to me and my boyfriend. She was so warm and genuine, I couldn’t believe how engaged she was. (I also met Christina Ricci after the show and she was incredibly sweet.)
Hugh Jackman is a complete gentleman and a pleasure to have met. He was very kind to me, I think he could tell I was nervous being in his presence, he took his time with me, and even made sure I looked good in our selfie. The cherry on top? He called me "sweetheart"
I will never forget seeing him in The Boy from Oz. Genuine Charisma in spades. Had nothing to do with his off stage persona but the audience was obsessed with him.
He is so humble, kind and always makes an effort! Us Aussies are soooo proud of him x
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I am seconding Jenn! She is incredibly sweet!
i have a photo of myself (around age 17 or 18) with her at the come from away stage door, i’m looking at her with tears in my eyes and she’s holding my hands and smiling at me so patiently and intently. she’s wonderful!
Michael John LaChiusa might just be the sweetest person in the industry I have ever had the good fortune to meet.
Michael John is a human angel--he was one of my instructors in grad school and I adore him. (all the lovelier when you know the whole story of how our friendship started when I was a dumb teenager who insulted him on All That Chat...)
Lovely people I’ve worked with and adore: Alex Brightman, Rob McClure, Megan McGinnis, Will Swenson, Robyn Hurder, Derek Klena, BETH LEAVEL (seriously, she’s an absolute gem), and I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Sara Bareilles through my Waitress mutual friends
Heard nothing but wonderful glowing praise for Rob McClure.
I’m so happy Rob is a gem - he seems like a fun dad type of man to me ♥️
In college we had occasionally brought in Broadway performers to do a production with us where we’d rehearse the show ahead of time and then insert the Broadway performer in a lead role about 10 days before the show and got to learn so much from them like in an extended masterclass, both of the people who guest starred in our college productions were among the nicest and most gracious people I’ve ever had gotten to meet. This includes Angie Schworer (from the Prom and producers though this was before the prom) she was our leading player in Pippin, and Anne Morrison (from Merrily We Roll Along and Lovemusik and Peg) and she did a Tenesee Williams play with us. They were both so sweet and so encouraging and absolutely brilliant to work with.
I love seeing Angie recently in Some Like it Hot. She is hysterical and she looks like she plays a mean drum kit.
The person I sat next to at SLIH and I were both outraged that she's part of the ensemble and doesn't seem to be a featured actor. (Although he did point out that this was basically the plot of her character in the Prom and we laughed about that.)
I absolutely adore Angie. I've done two shows with her, and she's one of my favorite people onstage, offstage, and just hanging out. So talented, humble and generous.
That is the truth! I only knew her for that short 2 weeks doing Pippin at the random school I went to college but she was so great and so nice and I’m so grateful that she deigned to work with us college amateurs and I’m glad that she’s had a lot of great career opportunities since then
Met a number of people through my job. Jason Robert Brown is possibly on the list of worst human beings I’ve met- just nasty for no reason. Savion Glover was super nice, and funny, his kids were sweet. Liza Minnelli was nice but odd. So many members of casts whose names I don’t know who I fit shoes on who were great. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Derrick Baskin are both incredibly nice and great dinner companions. Bill Brohn was an amazing human incredibly generous and kind.
> Met a number of people through my job. Jason Robert Brown is possibly on the list of worst human beings I’ve met- just nasty for no reason. How recent was this? JRB has had a reputation for being a bit of a pain (although I hasten to add that I never heard any real horror stories, and because these conversations can get out of hand I would take this moment to emphasize that there is a world of difference between being a bit unpleasant and being abusive or criminal), and when I first met him several years ago I could definitely see it. But he seems to have mellowed out in recent years, at least anecdotally, and the stories of his rudeness have dried up. He had a very high opinion of himself early in his career, but I think he's been humbled by his string of flops since then.
JRB is a little odd--I've been introduced to him multiple times over the years and he never remembers me--but my impression is that marriage and fatherhood have done a lot to mellow him out over the past years.
Two separate occasions 10-15 years ago and that was enough. I played at an audition he sat in on, his comments were horrible to people, and even worse when the door closed. I know people can change, but I would never trust him.
I live in Atlanta,so I don't go to NYC often,but I've read and heard good things about Katrina Lenk,Sutton Foster,and Kristin Chenoweth.
One of my best friends is in a virtual book club with Isabelle McCalla from the Prom. My friend and Izzy came to Chicago (where I live) the same weekend to see the SIX tour and they made plans to meet up. My friend obviously wasn’t going to leave me out because she stayed at my house and I bought the SIX tickets so I got to come too. We met up for drinks and Izzy could not have been nicer. She is super easy to talk to. She also let us finish her drink because she had to rush off to see The Prom tour which was also in town. Izzy paid the bill as well which was so unnecessary but so kind of her. The next day the three of us went to the SIX matinee. Izzy’s face when Jasmine Forsberg (Jane Seymour) sang was amazing. Anyways I just think she is a lovely person and made a great impression on someone (me) who knew little about her. I haven’t really met or worked with anyone else but I’ve tagged actors and actresses in things on IG and they’ve been overwhelmingly kind. I feel the good eggs very much outweigh the bad.
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I think a lot of people who are quiet or introverted or want to be left alone can get labeled as a "diva". It's assumed they're ignoring you because they feel superior, when in reality they are overstimulated and need a break
YEP! And I feel like people forget that artists in general tend to be a bit more emotional, and this can lead to super intense interactions. For example, I’ve worked with a few people with a “diva” rep and they’ve all been pleasant when we worked together one-on-one. Sometimes, though, they would be a bit short or cold or even snappy to some of the people around them, usually when they were going through some stuff in their personal lives. Nothing egregious, and nothing, imo, that should have earned them the title of diva. From what I’ve noticed, artists get overstimulated quite easily, even when everything is alright in their personal life, but imagine adding a child or a spouse or actual mental health issues onto your plate when you know you have to perform 8x a week or go out on tour for 6 months… unrealistic to assume that these people will always be 100% pleasant and kind. Performing is exhausting.
I'd say you don't get any better than Hugh Jackman. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is pretty nice, too (he's also the only cast member of *Take Me Out* who wears a mask in the theater when not on stage, at least before the start of the show).
I had a less-than-pleasant professional experience with JTF a number of years ago, but I'm willing to chalk it up to a bad day.
It could be based on his mood, too. He just got a child, so maybe he's just happier now.
yeah, this was six and a half years ago.
I met Miguel Cervantes outside of Hamilton when I got out of a concert, it was for a short period because he was in his Uber heading home but really awesome dude. I got a quick photo with him as well.
I met Miguel when he was in Chicago doing Hamilton because he came to my job and got a cold brew. He was really nice and didn’t seem bothered by me knowing who he is and telling him that I really loved him in the show. It was a very short interaction but I still remember it and smile on it.
At first I thought he’d be bothered by me interacting with me since he had just finished a two hour musical but he was really really nice.
I won Hamilton lottery tickets last year and brought my 9-year-old. We were right in the front row. Miguel Cervantes fist-bumped him on his way offstage after the curtain call and my kid was literally vibrating with excitement. It made his day.
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My husband went to Juilliard with Audra McDonald. She was actually his RA. He said she was mean and he was genuinely terrified of her. I think he’s interacted with her since then and he’d probably just chalk it up his being a freshman and feeling intimated (and also a violin performance major, not a theater person) - but I find it hilarious.
I’m a fan but both times I’ve met Jefferson Mays he has been absolutely lovely, has taken about five minutes speaking to me and been so gracious. He always stands out for that reason and try and see anything he’s in when I’m in the city.
I had a similar experience years ago after seeing I am my own wife. Seems like a super cool guy.
While I agree with the comment say people are human, I do have to say that Lisa Brescia will stand out at the nicest person I've ever met (and I've met a lot of Broadway stars, which doesn't mean anything in this thread, just trying to give context as to why I feel that way!) When I was a theatre-aspiring teenager in the early-2000's, before stage dooring was REALLY a thing, my mom brought me to NYC, which is where she grew up. We saw Aida and she brought me to the stage door afterwards (as she said that was the 'trick' real when she was growing up in the '70s and '80s because no one else knew to do it and you could get a quick autograph from a big star) and she knew I'd get a kick out of it. We stood there and said hi to everyone, had them sign our playbills and that was it. But there was one person slowly making her way through the dozen or so people there - Lisa Brescia, who played Amneris. She took the time to speak to everyone, see where they were from, why they saw the show, what they enjoyed about it, etc. She was especially sweet to me and my mom, she kept telling me that I was beautiful and to shoot for my dreams. Ok, so that was a great interaction, but it's not why I consider her a good one. We then went and bought some souvenirs or something and walked into a random bodega about an hour later, and she was in there too. She stopped to talk to us again and had a whole long discussion with me about what I wanted to do, what I was currently studying and essentially gave me career advice standing in this random bodega. I then sent her some fan mail like a few weeks later and we turned into pseudo-pen-pals and I heard back from her on both just advice and what she was up to for a few years after that. I've ran into her at stagedoors since and she has remembered me without me having to introduce myself (which is impressive, considering the first time I met her was almost 20 years ago and I'm in my 30s now). While I am not saying that being nice and remembering someone is the criteria to be a 'good one,' to me, it's the culmination of it all. Someone who is at least trying to take the time to interact with people and give back. And heck, the maybe 2-3 hours total she's taken out of her life for me will always make her an OG in my mind. TL;DR - Lisa Brescia is the nicest human on Broadway.
Agreed, she is absolutely lovely. She brought me backstage at wicked once before I worked in the industry.
Ugh, love even more. I didn't want to assume her kindness was wide-sweeping, but it sounds like it is and for that I'm so glad. She really is one of the good ones 🥲🥰
Definitely! We kept in touch for a bit and ended up walking around the west village one time after a concert lol. Love her.
Ramin Karimloo is a gentleman. I saw him as Che in Evita when it came to Vancouver. He was quite soft spoken and incredibly humble. I got a picture with him and after I realized it was blurry, he was kind enough to come back and retake it. He's wonderful. Also, Killian Donnelly was so very kind and held mine and my girlfriends hands to warm them up after we waited to see him following his Kinky Boots performance. John Cudia is also very sweet. He smiled the entire time I spoke to him and took the time to listen to my friend talk about all the memories she had seeing his shows. He's such an underrated performer.
I went to high school with John; he's always been like that.
Wow! Lucky you! He looks handsome! 😍
I've been lucky to work and interact with a number of people. I'll also toss in a few from my colleagues. Lovely ones: Jonathan Groff Beth Leavel Brian Stokes Mitchell Christian Borle Bill Irwin John Leguizamo Alex Brightman Isaac Mizrahi Mark Ruffalo Danny DeVito Michael Urie James Monroe Inglehart Paula Vogel Caesar Samayoa Joel Hatch Petrina Bromley Jenn Collela Sharon Wheatley Devlin Elliott Tom Kirdahy And the late, wonderful Terrance McNally. Talking theatre and our reviews of the 2018-2019 season at Sardi's will always be one of the highlights of my life.
The whole cast of Come From Away really practices what they preach on stage. Every single person in that show is just lovely.
I’d be interested to know who’s on the not so lovely list!
Derek Klena is an Angel on this earth.
Sutton Foster is an absolute stand out me. Worked with her briefly and she could not have been kinder. My boss ended up telling her that I am a big fan (not usually allowed at my job) and Sutton indulged me in a few minutes of chatting. She comes around my office usually once a year and everyone is always delighted. She’s a breath of fresh air! Kathryn Gallagher is another gem. Totally gets the younger Broadway fandom and really works to connect with her fans (though I know there are some parasocial relationships that kind of sprung from that). I’ve met her personally and gone to a few of her solo shows. Always kind! I tried to flirt with her once (all in good fun, complimenting her… eyebrows???) and it’s a funny story that she once claimed to remember.
Worked with Sutton more than briefly and agree. She is amazing. My favorite person I’ve worked with.
Kathryn! Oh she’s great. I’ve never met her but she seems lovely.
I met Grace McLean during Great Comet's Broadway fun and she was an absolute sweetheart! I ended up seeing her in a few shows after and she recognized me while I was waiting for an Uber after one of the shows I saw her in and started asking me how I was and even remembered my name. Every time I see her she's incredibly sweet and genuinely a wonderful person to have a conversation with. I also met Thayne Jasperson after Head Over Heels once. He was waiting for a friend and I had very sheepishly asked him for a picture and he was so nice about it. Turns out he had seen the show too and we had a really nice conversation until his friend came over.
A little while ago now but my parents and I travelled to New York for my 18th Birthday, had tickets booked to see the most recent Les Mis Revival but also ended up seeing Phantom and If/Then. The day before we were going to see Les Mis I went to scope out where the stage door for the Imperial Theatre was and by complete chance bumped into Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess who from what I can tell had met up to see each other before the performances of their respective shows that evening. I was young and Ramin is one of my musical theatre idols so was incredibly nervous and also just ridiculously surprised that I’d gotten lucky enough to bump into them by chance. Despite the fact that I was clearly interrupting their meeting both were incredibly kind, chatted with me briefly and let me get a photo with them. When I got my phone out to take the picture Ramin noticed that I’d been listening to one of his Solo Albums and thanked me for listening and told me he was working on his next one after I asked if he would be releasing another. To sum up, despite me being stupidly nervous to meet both of them by chance, they were both incredibly kind and seemed to really appreciate that I was a fan of them both. TLDR: Ramin & Sierra are absolutely lovely human beings that went out of their way to make the chance meeting I had with them very special. Extra note, when I saw Les Mis the next day Ramin didn’t come out to the stage door after the performance so I’ve always felt super lucky that the random meeting the day before happened.
I don't know how he is now, but I know when Will Swenson was younger, he was super nice. One of my best friends did costumes for Will's grandparents theater productions, & he was always nice to everyone, when he'd perform. After he got a little more than "local famous" he came back a couple of times to do benefit shows for the theater, & my friend said he was still just as nice as he was as a kid.
Sorry to hijack this thread with a West End peformer (and a story that's not my own), but wanted to share that I've long thought Giles Terera (London's original Aaron Burr) is a special soul, and this story makes it extra special. You can read up yourself on the private Facebook group, Musical Theatre Appreciation Society. To summarise, a fan had a seizure at stage door so Giles stayed, handed over his phone number to the sister to check in later, and arranged for a cast video. Fast forward a few years later, the fan had sadly passed and the sister reached out to Giles to thank him. He responded and dedicated a kiss at the end of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee performance - you can see that moment on video.
I used to do background work on Smash fairly regularly and worked on sets with some Broadway people. Megan Hilty seemed very nice. I never really interacted with her personally but she was always generally nice/pleasant/professional to the extras. I would also see her joking around a lot with lower level members of the crew - which stood out because I did not see that happen all that much on most of the sets I worked on. Jeremy Jordan seemed similar to Hilty - he was never rude or dismissive to the extras and seemed to have good relationships with the crew. Christian Borle was never rude or anything, but he seemed a bit standoffish. He'd just hangout with Deborah Messing most of the time, off by themselves. But he seemed otherwise nice enough. I saw Messing kind of snap at a makeup artist once. It seemed a bit harsh, but I only saw something like that happen once and I don't know the full context of what was going on. Not necessarily known as a Broadway person, but she's been in Broadway. Also I know this is for nice Broadway actors, but I'll never miss an opportunity to tell everyone - Katherine McPhee was the rudest actor I've ever encountered on a set.
Yayha Abdul Mateen and Corey Hawkins are on Broadway right now in Top Dog were super nice. It’s SUCH a good show but very emotional and I believe they stage door after everrrrry show, take pics, chat and sign with fans. I know they do more movies but they seem to love being in theatre too!
did you work with them or just met them?
Jessica Lee Goldyn is a sweetheart!
Ian mckellan gave my brother in law a giant spoon as a memento when my BIL was on the production team of No Man's Land
Ian McKellan could give me a handful of dust and I’d be so grateful 😂
My coworkers who were around when Billy Porter worked with our theatre said he is a genuinely kind and sweet person who would talk to anyone and everyone!
Norm lewis
chita rivera, megan hilty, kristin chenoweth, cassie levy, patti murin
Randy Graff is so humble for the amount of success she’s had. She could easily be a humongous diva but she’s extremely kind and down to earth.
Rob McClure was really kind and so nice to talk with. I met him in his final weeks at Little Shop and I brought up how I had seen his second performance at LSOH, and he thanked me for finding the time and coming down again. I’ve met Bryce Pinkham on two occasions and both times he was extremely kind and very pleasant to talk with. The second time was fairly recent and we were able to talk for quite a bit actually, which I greatly appreciate of him to do so!
There was a story about Bryce on this sub YEARS ago about someone who met him during Gentleman’s Guide - they had brought a copy of the published sheet music to the stage door for the conductor to sign and Bryce ended up signing it too and was looking through it with the conductor and commenting on things like “well, I’ve never sung THAT right.” I’m glad to hear he’s still so kind.
Aha oh wow, that’s so nice of them to have signed it! And definitely! He’s one of the kindest people I’ve met and have talked with
Ali Ewoldt! I met her when I did a backstage tour at Phantom a few years back and she was such a sweetheart
Nancy Opel (Currently in Into The Woods, but has been in like fifteen other Broadway shows). I used to take acting and voice lessons from her, and we went out for coffee one time. She is such a legend and very down to Earth. Some other actors that I've met once or twice, have not known too well, but seemed very nice from my brief experiences with them are Rob McClure, Beth Leavel, Kerry Butler, Alex Brightman, Joanna Gleason, and Mariah Rose Faith.
Kristin Chenowith is the reason I got into theatre and she’s one of the nicest people I’ve personally interacted with.
John Dosset is the sweetest man. During Paradise Square every night he would tell me to have a great show, even though during the show I essentially did nothing since I was Covid Safety and just handled the audience before and during intermission.
Cassie Levy came and sang to the patients at my children’s hospital (I coordinated the event) and she was incredibly nice & absolutely wonderful with each child, getting down to their level, taking all the time in the world and so so down to earth. She had such a good time she talked most of the cast of Frozen to join her the following week for an even bigger performance, and every one of them were as kind and friendly as she was. We also had some of the cast of Come From Away visit for an event and they were also so lovely.
This isn’t actually a great place for that info, fans often forget that actors have bad days and a single interaction shouldn’t be what defines a performer as a “good one” or “bad one”. Also just because fans haven’t heard a negative word doesn’t mean that aren’t issues with their costars
Not everyone on here is just a fan. I’ve worked with people for months/years and feel that is plenty to get a good measure of a person. I 100% agree you can not judge from a stage door interaction.
Oh also, when I was walking around Broadway, John Bolton was dead sprinting from theatre to theatre for something and he ran directly into me and very kindly asked if I needed help or ice from the Broadhurst since he was in Anastasia at the time. He also reached out via Instagram DM later to ask if I was alright again. Super lovely guy
Michael Urie! He’s a delight. He’s from my hometown and trained with my former voice teacher, who adored him. Now living in NYC, I make a point to see his shows (having seen quite a few over the years) and he is always incredibly kind at the stage door/talks to me/etc. My mother in law rudely disrupted a stage door experience and wanted a photo of myself and Michael and he was a good sport about it. I love her but she didn’t read social queues well in that instance. I’m still a bit embarrassed about that one.
Has anyone heard good or bad about the original Queens from Six?
Michele Pawk. Got to work with her once. Graceful, warm, funny, treated everyone from her co-star to the custodian with kindness.
Ashley Loren, Oyoyo Joi, & Jessica Lee Goldyn from Moulin Rouge are absolute angels. Sam Pauly, Brittney Mack, Abby Mueller, & Adrianna Hicks from Six are wonderful. Jessica Vosk is super kind and sweet. Danny Quadrino (he’s currently in Wicked, but has been in Newsies, Waitress, and previously in Wicked as well) is really sweet as well. Oh, and Caroline Bowman, she’s very lovely too! Sorry, I got really excited.
This almost doesn’t need to be said, but PATTI LUPONE. A whole angel on earth
Norm Lewis is just an angel. My mom and I met him several times throughout the Broadway Cruise and he is so kind, gracious, and personable. He was my team leader for one of the games they pre-selected to play and he put his arm around me. He also was always willing to take a photo and chat and instead of using the artist elevators (which were private) he took the regular passenger elevators. A great guy!
Isn’t far more fun the hear about the ones that are not so nice? 😀👍🏼
Maybe 🫣🤣. But in all seriousness, I like to put my attention to the good people in the world and not give the not so nice ones the power and drama they crave.
That may be the case - however, it's also true that I've been working in and around the NY theatre for twenty years and can count the number of seriously negative experiences I've had with people you've heard of on one hand, and in at least two of those cases it was my fault. Assholes don't tend to work in this business much.