You all know I am a lover of Broadway shows. I’ve blogged about my obsession with Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical and the Jack Kelly debate that I ... once and for all ... put to rest in my Newsies blog. If you follow me on Twitter you know I loved Murder Ballad and ...well ... would have killed to have been able to see it for a third time. You know what though? I’m anti-violence, so I fell in love this week with Once.
Yes. I finally went to this Tony-winning musical. For months my parents have been like, “Can you stop seeing the same musicals over-and-over again and go see Once? It’s supposed to be good!” First off ... I don’t think “good” is a word to even describe this show. I think I used the words “breathtakingly beautiful” in a Tweet I posted.
I really did fall in love with Once. I really did get that excited, pit in the stomach feeling you get when you’re falling in love with someone. Okay, yes ... y’all are rolling your eyes and calling me “weirdo.” That’s okay. I’m used to people calling me weird. But seriously ... who doesn’t like a bar that’s on stage??! That was the first sign I knew I was in for a good evening. Since I was sitting in the mezzanine I didn’t have the time to venture on stage for my whiskey sour. I got to the theatre just in time for the curtain to rise. When that curtain did go up (figuratively speaking cause there isn’t one) I found myself enjoying the simplicity of this show and in awe of its very talented cast. I can only imagine what a rush it must be for them to not only be able to act, but play their instruments. Steve Kazee just left me speechless. It was just awe-inspiring to watch him as Guy. It wasn’t just Steve. The entire cast was just incredible. There were moments that just took my breath away like no other musical had done before. As Act I ended, I really was “Falling Slowly” in love with the story being told on stage. At the end of the show I was a puddle of tears. What Guy says is true. “To live you have to love.”
After two weeks of working on stories about the tragedy in Newtown and the mall shooting in Oregon ... you just need to breathe ... and remember to love. As I worked tonight, I tried to sprinkle some love into my lineup and find some stories in the U.S. about love. It’s one of the things I enjoy the most about my job ... the ability to find those happy stories and the opportunity to share them with people across the country. Because despite all the tragedy ... there is love that comes from tragedy. I saw it in the girl who held a school-wide toy drive for the students of Sandy Hook Elementary School. I saw it in all the #SIP pics tweeted last weekend from casts of shows on Broadway. I see it every day in the little things people do for one another.
So, as we begin this holiday weekend (Merry Christmas to those of you celebrate) ... remember to smile ... live ... and love.
