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Broadway

I’m not a huge musical theater or even Broadway (in general) enthusiast. That’s not to say I haven’t loved going to Broadway to see the handful of shows I’ve seen over the years. It’s just never been a priority. Given where we live and our proximity to New York City, this neglect feels like an opportunity wasted.

Of course, full disclosure demands that I admit I had a secret hope that Karl would provide us with the perfect excuse to attend productions in the city more frequently. I never actually imagined Karl performing on Broadway – or even in plays in general – for a living. When he was accepted into NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for acting, I think I imagined him becoming more of a film guy, or a comedian. And with his brazen imagination, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d ended up writing rather than acting. But I did think that, in the short term, he’d give us some cool excuses to go to New York to see him perform.

Alas, that potential destiny never played out.

Tangential Awareness

Even though Broadway and the NYC theater scene never became a bigger part of our lives, I did manage to occasionally peek out from under our rock enough to remain tangentially aware of the most popular shows. And I happen to remember when Rent was just breaking onto the scene. (And no, I still haven’t seen it.)

Fast forward to the past few weeks. I’ve been noticing the title of a movie being advertised, Tick, Tick…Boom, all over the place. And for whatever reason, the title catches my attention. Not long enough for me to explore what the movie’s about, mind you. But I notice.

Then just a few days ago, I was listening to the astrological forecast for the week with Anne Ortelee on Astrology Hub. Here it was again. She mentioned that she was going to the premier of Tick, Tick…Boom later that day (this past Monday), and highly recommended we see it. I believe she said she’d known Jonathan Larson (who was the creator of Rent), “back in the day.”

Timing, Destiny, Humanity

I don’t know why some things catch our attention and others don’t. Is there a reason the title of this movie kept snagging my attention? How odd was it that it crossed my radar again while listening to an astrological podcast? Whatever the reason, the movie, which also happens to be the directorial debut for Lin Manuel Miranda, (yes, I’m aware of Hamilton, but no, I haven’t seen that, either) premiered on Netflix last night – and Karl and I watched it tonight.

Wow.

What a wonderful production. The cast was outstanding. The songs were great; the story inspiring and hopeful. And honestly? I needed the escape.

The affirmation of how important it is for us to follow our deepest creative drives and inclinations – especially as he captured in the song “Why?” – resonated in my heart. Sometimes that means sticking with a vision relentlessly and sometimes it means exploring other opportunities that permit us to express our unique gifts, ‘art,’ or talents.

This movie was infused with tremendous heart. And kindness. Nothing blatant; indeed, there were many sweetly subtle themes of essential humanity.

I’m glad it kept coming up on my radar. I needed the reminder that those things still exist in our world.

(T-6)