Growing up in New York City, it was always just a given for me that theatre would be a big part of my life. I saw my first Broadway show around the time I started kindergarten, and since that day, I’ve never been able to shake my love of theatre. I got to go to great theatre camps and perform with other kids who shared my passion for the stage— we were quite the dramatic 12-year-olds. Those were some of the best summers of my life.
It’s hard to be a 12-year-old. Girls are getting into their middle school mean years, puberty is wreaking havoc on your body, and boys seem to belong on a distant planet that you would need protective gear to go anywhere near. Things are complicated and frightening, so having had a song to sing and people to sing it with made all the difference for me. Growing up as a theatre kid gave me experiences that made me more confident, introduced me to some incredibly talented and fun people, and gave me a love of the stage that I hope to never outgrow.
We New Yorkers have a bad reputation for being rude and a little jaded. But anyone who truly believes that has never sat in an audience with us and experienced the level of joy and admiration that Broadway brings out in us. I remember the first time I saw The Lion King on Broadway, and I sincerely hope I never forget it. I remember sitting in the audience and watching the iconic sun rise over the stage for the first time as I got chills all over my body.
I saw adults around me gazing up at the stage, awestruck in it all. Then of course there were the grown men that left the theatre practically giddy about what they saw, those are my favorite. In case you've never experienced this look, I thought no one could do it more justice than the one and only Lin Manuel Miranda.
That look reaffirmed what I knew in my elementary aged little soul, this was something incredible, and I got to be a part of it. Also on a side note, this man is probably the best thing that has happened to musical theatre in my lifetime.
When I see shows now, I still get chills. I still leave feeling lifted up and genuinely just really happy. Sometimes theatre just feels like pure magic, but this kind of magic is real and tangible. It gives you a reason to sing and dance and just let loose, that's something I think we all could use a little more of in our lives. For all these reasons and more, I'm quite grateful to have grown up as a theatre kid. Hopefully my kids don't hate show show tunes, that would be really unfortunate for them.
