Everybody loves a good show tune! Well, maybe not everybody, but I think we can all at least appreciate them. Whether it’s the classics, the legacies, the revivals, or the wildly extravagant that draws you to the stage, there’s something about musical theater that keeps us coming back to the box office. There’s a special kind of Broadway baby, and I think my fellow theater geeks will know what I mean…
1. You had an angsty theater kid phase.
You truly identified yourself as the lost and heartbroken Eponine, or the struggling soul Roger with his one song glory. You lived vicariously through these characters. You felt their struggle. You were a “true” fan. You were 14. But that’s okay! We’ve all been there, and many of us, though we don’t like to admit it, might still be.
2. You tried to sing every lyric of every song (and maybe an instrumental break or two).
It worked out great in most cases. You were the star of the show-even if it was in the shower, car, or into your hairbrush. A diva, through and through. And then you heard “One Day More” for the first time and realized you can’t be a cast of 8, an entire choral ensemble, and an orchestra at the same time. That never stopped you from trying though! Props to you! Sing your little heart out.
3. You actually enjoy misery.
You cried your eyes out when Collins sings at Angel’s funeral. You lost it after “Maybe” in Next to Normal. You choked back tears when Olive Ostrovsky sings of her family. The final lines of Phantom tear you up almost as much as Gavroche’s final moments. But you love it. You’d watch those scenes a thousand times over. You’d reenact them if you could. You live for these pinnacles of moving musical moments.
4. You’re also a diva. And they better not forget it.
You strut to Cell Block Tango. Nobody’s gonna rain on your parade (get it? Hah). The spotlight’s on you. You’ll belt “Defy Gravity” like there’s no tomorrow. You own the stage, at least in these moments (even if they’re in your bedroom, at 11pm, and there may or may not be an empty pint of Ben and Jerry’s nearby).
5. You know exactly how many minutes are in a year.
This doesn’t need much explaining, now does it?
6. You daydream of dance routines.
It sounds more pathetic than it is (I hope…). Either you relive the days of stage time, jazz hands, and heels you wish you never had to learn to run in, or you dream of them. You choreograph dance numbers to songs on your iPod or on the radio. It’s a secret passion of course. It’s okay theater kids, your secret’s safe with me.
7. You have that one dream role.
Though your days on stage are over (or maybe they’re not, that’s cool too), or maybe they never began, there’s that one role that’s just…you. You embody everything about them, the vocal range is perfect, and you know you are a living, breathing version of that character. I know the feeling (between you and me, I’d be Velma Kelly…). It’s okay.
8. You live for opening numbers, act 1 closers, and finales.
You sit anxiously waiting for the first interval, the first horn rip, the first glimpse of the glory that is to come. You’re left buzzing with excitement, nervousness, and overwhelming emotion waiting for the lights to dim once again. You need to know what comes next. Finally, you’re left astounded at the conclusion, the last note sustained, the playout of the orchestra. You know those exact moments, and you also know there’s nothing else quite like them in the world.
9. Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Stephen Schwartz excite you.
You know the sounds they've created. You live by their books. You love anything they've ever given us.
10. You recognized any of these.
Nothing I’ve said has been too descriptive. I didn’t often drop names of musicals, usually just a song or a character, maybe just a moment. But you recognized it. Even if it’s just one, you caught what I meant. Welcome to the club, theater geek.
There’s something special about Broadway. I’ve always heard it’s the magic of musical theater. Embrace that little actor, techie, director, musician, or plain old theater geek inside you, and “let your freak flag wave”!
