It's Always An Adventure

One of the amazing things about living in NYC is being surrounded by all of the incredible opportunities to experience theatre, one of my true passions. This weekend, however, was a true first for me. I sat in the audience and watched my oldest daughter perform in her first musical. My daughters are very fortunate to attend one of the city’s best public schools where they have many opportunities to try out and experience a wide range of activities. For those of you that know ‘A’, she is a true drama queen and loves everything that revolves around acting, singing and dancing. So, it was only fitting to sign her up for an after school program called “Shining Star Musical Theatre” where the students spend the school year learning about the aspects of musical theatre and then rehearse and prepare for a final performance. This year they performed “Bye, Bye, Birdie”.

My little shining star!

Now, I am used to being in the theatre. I am used to pre-performance jitters and last minute panic attacks of “OMG, I hope everything goes okay” but nothing really prepared me for sitting in a packed auditorium waiting for my little girl to come on stage. The waiting is unbearable. All I could think about was that I finally knew how all of those parents of my former students must have felt as they anxiously waited for the lights to go down. I had to remind myself to breathe. My baby was going on stage and no matter how prepared she felt she was, I wasn’t really sure I was prepared 😉

And then it happened, there she was, commanding attention as the formidable Mrs. Peterson. The audience was laughing at her perfect comedic timing and over the top performance as the overbearing mother. I was in awe. I was beyond proud. She was incredible. I started to breathe again and wiped a few tears from my eyes, looked at Ron and squeezed his hand. Our baby was on stage. We had created a monster!!! =)

Rose, Albert, Conrad and A as Mrs. Peterson

The whole production was simply amazing. I had to keep reminding myself that the kids were 8, 9 & 10. They were all so professional and talented. An incredible piece of theatre all around. ‘A’ had an unforgettable experience, working with an ensemble, learning self discipline and hard work and most of all feeling the joy of being a part of full length production on stage. After three days of performances, she was quite happy to chill out and take it easy on Sunday. I was too. Being a drama mama is hard work. It’s not easy to just sit back, relax, take in the view and trust that all will work out. I guess I had better get used to it, just like her mother, ‘A’ seems to have been bitten by the theatre bug. And who knows, one day she may end up here:

Tony Awards, June 12, 2011- Beacon Theatre

I am just not sure my nerves could handle it!!! 😉