Crazed Fan or Just Plain Crazy?
By Veronica MacDonald Ditko
An Accidental Anthropologist
Constantine with Emily Dougherty, another adoring fan!
Famous ties to Wyckoff are many – The Jonas Brothers, Tara Reid, etc. – but the most tangible one to me is Constantine Maroulis, the former American Idol finalist who is now star of the Broadway show “Rock of Ages,” a musical homage to 80’s Rock ballads. I was lucky enough to see him in the show and even luckier to get his autograph by the stage door after the show.
Am I a crazed fan? No. But I really admired his acting abilities. The great singing bit was not surprising – he has a fabulous rocker voice. But the way he inhabited his character on stage was a little piece of magic.
In his Playbill bio it said he trained at the Boston Conservatory. I was more than impressed. I was shocked because none of that came across when he was on American Idol. And then I realized that Constantine was probably creating a character during the Idol show as well. There is no question that his rocker persona was unforgettable. But in person, he seemed reserved and even a little bit shy.
If you have a chance to see “Rock of Ages” you will also be impressed by the great supporting cast. There are two (unnamed) actors in particular that steal the show. I’m not going to name them; I’d hate to spoil the treat.
I am a person that likes to stay by the stage door after the show. I think it’s important to tell people when they’ve done a great job. I truly believe in putting good karma out there. And when else would I meet Constantine? Well, maybe not really meet, but try to say hello anyway. Constantine was very gracious, signing Playbills and taking photographs.
My husband thinks I’m nuts. He is an under-the-radar type of person. I am too most of the time. But I hate the “celebrity” factor. I know just as well as the actors do that this is their job and they get up in the morning and brush their teeth just like me. I’m not fazed by celebrity. But I do like the connection I feel to performers during a play. And I find so much joy in actually meeting them in person.
Except, they may not realize that.
Something happened that makes me think I will never ask for an autograph again.
One of the (unnamed) scene-stealing actors came out of the stage door after Constantine and tried to sneak across the street. I was actually really hoping to meet him. And there he was on the sidewalk across from me, no barriers, no nothing.
I jogged (my husband would say ran) over to him, and accidentally tripped into (my husband would say attacked) him. I will never forget the look on his face. The horror. The fear. The look of absolute disgust.
I was in the middle of saying how he stole the show, and I stopped. Then I apologized for scaring him…then I asked for his autograph.
I felt like slime. This poor (unnamed) man really wanted nothing to do with me. And I was confessing my thoughts to him without his consent. I inflicted myself on him.
I became one of THOSE people. Like the woman who literally knocked me over to get a picture of her daughter with Constantine.
The poor (unnamed) actor didn’t know me from a hole in the ground. He didn’t know that evil thoughts never pass through my mind. I am a harmless creature. I even look pretty harmless.
So what exactly should I have done? I felt the need to tell him he was awesome. Maybe I should have just left him alone, kept my thoughts to myself, and let him duck out unnoticed. But when I fell into him, I had to say SOMETHING.
So here it goes, I will try to put the good karma out there again into the universe:
In all my sincerest, I only meant to flatter you and your talent. I apologize for falling into you and whacking your arm. I would like to retract the autograph because I don’t really need it. And please, just know, that you are meant to do what you are doing on stage. Keep up the stellar work. Peace out.
What would you have done? Do you have similar stories? We’d love to hear your thoughts here. Please feel free to leave comments below.