Putting Out Fires

It wasn't for laziness that I haven't been blogging this week. My laptop is broken AGAIN. I swear that thing is a nightmare and a half. And its the only computer we have now, so we're pretty useless at our house this week.

I've been obsessed with Broadway musicals since I was little. I can remeber watching old movies with my parents on TV more then we watched regular TV. An American in Paris, Singing in the Rain, Guys and Dolls... And no matter how tight money was, my parents always thought it was important to make the theater available to us. I can remember as a kid seeing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat (I've seen it 3 times now), Phantom, Cats, Les Mis, Bye Bye Birdie, and tons more. We had season tickets every year, and while my little brother took the opportunity to catch up on sleep, I let myself get so caught up in the drama on stage that I felt disoriented when we left the theater.

I remember standing in the living room of my parents house playing Phantom over and over again until I memorized every word. I'd stand with a copy of T.S. Elliot's Book of Practical Cats and marvel over the music that someone made out of it. I followed the Bible verse by verse amazed that someone made such a fun stage show out of the story of Joseph. And when I was old enough, my mom signed me up every summer for years for a Musical Theater Workshop where I learned songs from plays I'd never heard of then got to perform them to a packed audience at the end of the summer. (Its a curse now because inevitably when we see a new show I know at least one number by heart and Ryan has to pinch my arm to remind me not to sing along) And even now, when I'm alone in my car, I almost always flip my Sirius to channel 77 and sing musical numbers at the top of my lungs.

Now that I'm older, I'm still blessed to have ample opportunity to go to the theater, and for the most part its still my parents who make that possible. And I'm also blessed with a husband who, while he doesn't like to share with the firefighters that he likes it, will go and sit with me, will leave the theater babbling about the music and the acting and the costumes. Our favorites in recent years have been Aida, Chicago (saw it in NYC), Wicked and Rent.

This love of music and the theater was such a gift from my parents. I swear I feel like it paved the way for my relationship with my musician husband. And while Jazz and Broadway are sometimes worlds apart, I'm so glad he's happy to meet me halfway!

6 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Personally, I am a Phantom fan ... and that is mostly it for me and the theatre. Although there is a small community theatre near our house that I keep wanting to check out. It just looks so cute!

Enjoy the show!; 5:09 PM
Anonymous said...: when i think of theater and you i think pirates of penzance.....why? no seriously, i don't remember why. did you perform that at some summer school theater class or something? of just like it a lot?

prayers to your mama (always).; 7:48 PM
jt said...: Les Miserables is my addiction. I've seen it at least six times, Phx, London, Chicago...

Any person who can listen to the opening strains of "Castle on a Cloud" without feeling Cosette's pain is a doomed soul.; 5:26 AM
Anonymous said...: I really love that picture of the cranes. I love it so much, I'm going to use it as my screen wallpaper for a while!; 5:48 PM
Anonymous said...: oops...that anonymous comment was me!; 5:49 PM
Sarah said...: i always think of cranes when i'm around a hospital. i think it's because there's this huge display case full of cranes going into the children's hospital portion of the hospital my mom works in. they're really cool to try and make, even if i've never gotten the hang of it.

your mom will be in my thoughts & prayers.

grace; 6:29 PM

6 Comments:

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