so much love in my heart

FOR MUSICALS!!!
I began cultivating the love at a very early age as I attended a Fine Arts Magnet Education (FAME) Elementary School. In 5th grade I performed in my very first Broadway style musical: Fiddler on the Roof. Oh the memories – we spent EVERY afternoon in rehearsal and then weekends building sets and painting backdrops. It was quite the ordeal. Performances ran for approximately 2 weeks but preparations consumed the entirety of the spring semester. I am fairly certain that I didn’t learn ANYTHING during musical season. In 6th grade I did Crazy For You and had a much more significant part which meant even MORE rehearsals and less time spent actually in my classroom. It was a rough life. Although many would like to interject at this point that these musicals were performed by mere elementary school students and couldn’t have possibly been very good, let me suggest that they were something to talk about. I don’t know how Mr. Jackham (the director) pulled them together with such class and finesse but people were always wildly impressed with the quality of the productions. It was SO MUCH FUN. In high school I was in the Red Robe Choir and traveled throughout Europe performing in numerous cathedrals and other miscellaneous locations. I was blessed with the incredible opportunity to experience Spain, Germany, Poland, and Prague. There is absolutely NOTHING old about California (or really the United States as a whole). I wasn’t in any musicals in high school, but my love for music itself continued to develop and grow. In college I was in the University Choir and Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Gary Bonner. I loved that experience as well – the choir was comprised of approximately 120 individuals and together we traveled throughout the United States and performed in worship settings. It was phenomenal to see hearts touched by music that we were able to present.
So you see, music had always been a part of my life. However, I was not introduced to real live Broadway until my junior year of college. My friend Cassandra and her family were traveling to New York for Thanksgiving and invited me to join them. Of course, I obliged. We saw Hairspray – in the 4th row – in the center – and I was HOOKED. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I remember laughing and crying and really just loving every minute of it. SO GREAT! Since then, I have attended numerous additional musicals. My senior year of college WICKED was playing at the Pantageous Theatre in Hollywood – I saw it 3 times (once with my friend Kimie; once with my mom, sister, and sister-in-law; and once with Sara when she came to visit). The summer after my senior year of college I was in New York with my World Changers team and we saw the 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee. It was totally unlike any other musical I had seen – but I LOVED it as well. Last summer I traveled to England to study at Oxford in global business management and went to see We Will Rock You – an English original and then just a few months ago I went to see Avenue Q with my sweet friends Jenny and Tessa. SO FUNNY (and ridiculously inappropriate!) . I’m currently pining over tickets to see Mary Poppins in LA this fall. I have convinced SEVERAL people that they want to go more than anything else in the world and I’m sure we’ll end up seeing it. I can’t wait. I think when I’m really rich one of the things I’m going to invest in are season tickets to several or various theatres throughout Orange County (if I still live here) going to see musicals really is the BEST EVER!!! I am ALSO really looking forward to the new MUSICAL TELEVISION SHOW: GLEE which starts this fall! Yes! If I can’t see a musical live, at least I can enjoy the concept from the comfort of my living room while wearing my yoga pants and eating ice-cream from the carton! SOUNDS AMZING to me!!!