I went to see RD for the first time in October of 1998 at the Wang Theater in Boston. Although I was disappointed to know that Colin Dunne had left RD, I was also very much looking forward to seeing Pat Roddy dance the lead. He did not disappoint me. His talent is amazing. He was fantastic from beginning to end. Trading Taps was terrific, and his feet moved so fast in Heartbeat of the World! RD is lucky to have somebody with both his talent AND looks in the leading role. I had been told that if you wait by the stage door after the show, you can meet the performers. My biggest mistake was taking my time getting there. I stopped by the ladies room to freshen up, then casually walked up to the main floor of the Wang and asked for directions to the stage door. By the time I got there, most of the dancers had left. I found out later that the dancers leave the theater within 10 to 15 minutes after the show. Susan Ginnety and the tap dancers walked by me on the street, but somehow I felt a little awkward approaching them, as they were talking to other people. When I finally arrived at the stage door, the Spanish dancer came out (I believe her last name was Jiminez). I tried asking her if Pat and Eileen had already left, but she didn't understand much English and told me to speak slowly. When I repeated it, she said she did not think they had left yet. So, a group of us waited. I had put a 36 exposure film in the camera, thinking I'd be snapping picture after picture, but things didn't look too promising. Finally, Eileen came out. She kind of stood still for a moment, realizing that people would want her autograph. I walked over toward her, when suddenly Pat came out. He was kind of hurrying past her, so I quickly walked over to him. "Could you sign this?" I asked. He took my program and pen. When he tried to sign the program, the pen didn't work (I had forgotten to click it for him). He clicked it and wrote "Best Wishes, Pat Roddy." I told him what a terrific show he had put on. He said "thank you" and appeared kind of shy. It was weird to be finally meeting him after having seen him on the video and TV so many times. He wasn't quite as tall as I thought he would be, and he looked very young, much younger than his age. He also had an earring. When Pat finished signing my program, I raced over to Eileen. She was so sweet. I thanked her for a wonderful show and she seemed very pleased. After I got my autographs, I quickly took out my camera and turned back toward Pat. At first, it wouldn't work (it was dark out and must have needed some time to focus). Thank goodness it worked on the second try. I took two pictures in all of Pat, he was signing an autograph in one and talking to a fan in the other. You can see those pictures on Jason's Riverdance Page under Lee Profiles. The exact address to see the pictures is: http://www.geocities.com/broadway/stage/2194/leeprofiles.html (be sure to scroll down the page a little and you'll see them with my name underneath). Then I turned around to get a picture of Eileen, but unfortunately she had left. After that, Pat had finished signing his autographs and was leaving. He said to some guy, "See you at eight," and then he was gone. All this probably happened in less than three minutes. I had thought there would be so many fans at the stage door, that I'd have plenty of time to take tons of pictures, but it didn't work out that way. There were only about 7 or 8 people, and things moved very quickly. It was all great, though. Meeting Pat and Eileen topped off a great night. Those dancers are incredible, and I hope Pat stays in the lead for a long time. I'm going to see them again in October of 1999 and can't wait!
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