...musical theater, who knew???

Me.  Deep down, I knew.  I think.

In September, Dave and I had taken the girls to see Lion King.  I had already seen it, but they had not.  In fact, I am the only one of the four of us who had ever even been to the Fox, and the only "theatrical" production that I had ever actually seen was Lion King about 5 years ago.  I remember being moved to tears at that time, and I had vowed to bring my kids back when they were ready.  I said that I didn't care how much it cost (which was a small fortune), because this would be a family experience that we would never forget.  And it was even more amazing than I had thought it would be.  And even Dave loved it.  And the girls thought we were in a castle.  And I cried all the way through the opening and closing scenes.  And I fell a little bit in love with musical theatre.

They were super impressed by the fanciness of the basement.  

So, last week, I had an impromptu trip to the Fox Theatre to see Les Miz.  I had really been wanting to go for a while.  Although, I have to say I knew very little about it.  Well, let me tell you, I was extremely moved by the entire thing!  From the way that Fantine sacrificed herself for her daughter, to Eponine's love for Marius, and the complete evolution of Valjean...amazing!  I loved the story, loved the music, loved that the ENTIRE thing was sung, just loved the whole experience.  In the past week, I have listened to the entirety of the sound track all the way through once, while literally visioning the entire thing in my head again, and listened to a few of my favorite songs over and over and over again.

Me and my girls from the 'hood.

Which has left me to do a lot of reflecting about theater, and what it means to me...

I would say that a part of me has always secretly wanted to be an actress.  I think to be an actress though, you must have a lot of confidence.  Which I do not.  I would say that growing up, I was a follower.  And the group I followed were not in to theater.  So I kind of missed the boat on that one.  And how do you get in to theatre if you never pursued it earlier in life?  Who knows, but even if I did know, I still lack the confidence to do it, so, I continue to dream.  And I have recently wondered and started researching how to get my oh so shy daughter in to musical theater.  She loves to sing, she loves to dance, she loves to perform...but for us.  I honestly can not see her doing it for anyone but us.  But, I so much want her to.  I want to be able to live vicariously through her.  And I know that is wrong.  I should want her to pursue her own interests.  But, if I had a choice... :)

So, instead of pursuing a silly dream of my own, I have decided to give in to my desires to see more productions.  And my hubby has decided that he will support me.  :)  In December, I will see Wicked.  In February, I will see Book of Mormon.  And in April I will see Million Dollar Quartet.  And this summer, I just may see Les Miz again!!!  And I couldn't be happier about this new phase of my life.  The new phase that pretends that I am a sophisticated theater connoisseur and not a midwest country girl!!!