The Great White Way
It all begins walking down the streets of the heart of the city. The streets illuminated by the bright lights of marquees, billboards, and flashing advertisements reflect the showmanship of what is yet to come. It is truly the only place where everything that does glitter is gold. The atmosphere is full of life, creativity, and passion. Hundreds of thousands of people come to this city to fulfill their dreams and flourish. Every time I come here, every fiber of my being is overwhelmed with inspiration and a passion that will never die. It is the microcosm of professional theatre and performance art with the epicenter being Broadway, New York City. Theatre is a whole other microcosm that so few understand completely.
I saunter down the streets with the poise of an elegant dancer of this concrete jungle through the mass of people that is never ending. I turn the corner eager, to approach the large, bright lights of the theater, anxious to feed my desperate and hungry soul. It all becomes an exciting rush once you reach the box office and the tickets are in hand, ready to enter a whole new realm. Everyone crowds around the doors, waiting, like zealous predators ready to attack. Once the golden gates open, my heart starts skipping beats while the flood of people fills the theatre. Everything is glorious inside. There is a sweet, warm, welcoming aroma and I stop for a moment to close my eyes to savor the moment and take it all in. It is a lightly dimmed, romantic setting with gold and red everywhere. I am handed the glorious playbill as I slowly, yet lively with a gentle step, approach the entrance to the seating.
One can be taken to any world once you enter the theater. One day you could be in the lands of majestic Africa roaming with the animals of the wild kingdom, or in the illustrious theatre of the mysterious Phantom, the enchanted world of Oz with dark magic…or maybe you could be taken back in time at the turn of the of the 20th century where revolutions were inspired and Newspaper Boys still roamed the streets of New York City. It is the beauty of theatre that can transform and immerse the mind away from reality.
You are taken away by the wonder of the production in its entirety, a beautiful façade concealing all the work and stress of putting on a professional production in a high caliber the audience never sees. One could only fathom the hard work and dedication of every single person involved doing this every day. Isn’t it wonderful? It is the greatest thing to be able to do what you love every day, work hard, and get payed for it. I sit there envying the lives that the people I read about in the playbill get to live, imagining myself doing that someday. As people are making their way to their seats, anxious and jittery, with food or souvenirs in hand, taking pictures of the set stage, looking for others, I am still with my restless heart in the kind, velvet seat waiting for the moment to arrive.
Then, darkness falls over the world around me, which means it is show time. It is the moment my heart drops and the butterflies flutter. The show begins with the music making its grandiose entrance leading the way with the lights magically illuminating the stage, as if God were bringing light into the world the dark, and everything around and the real world is non-existent, the only thing that exists is what comes to life on the stage. Actors enter, bewitching us with their beautiful voices and masks of Thespis, the glorious dancers arrive on stage like beautiful creatures, almost appearing as non-humans with the way they move their bodies and the amazing limits we see the human body is capable of. When they dance you can see the strength of their body and soul with every movement. One could only imagine the endurance the performers have developed to do what they do every day, eight times a week. If you are lucky to sit close enough, one can see their beautiful painted faces, painted as if each of their faces was a painter’s magnum opus, one can see the costumes were made with such care, detail, and superior finesse everything looking untouchable like a distant diamond sky. The set is grand and awe-inspiring, seeming like magic as each scene change effortlessly flows with one another like water. Everything together is overwhelming and astonishing.
As I am in awe, watching the performers on stage, I can’t help but only admire the passion and devotion of the craft they gave themselves to, one of the most impractical yet beautiful professions in this practical world.
My mind is away from all my worries and thoughts, and away from reality. I absorb and savor every scene, every song, and every dance number that lives in each moment. As it ends, the crowd roars into a seemingly endless and deafening applause. I can feel the pride and sense of accomplishment from each performer as they bow and bid us farewell, imagining myself doing what they do someday. As I depart the theater, I am not saddened. I leave with more fuel added to the fire in my heart, inspired, and ready to move on with the life I will someday live.
As a performer myself, I can take only so much to learn from and aspire to be. The experience of watching a professional theatrical performance live on the Great White Way can never be matched by any film or television show. It is all truly magical, theatre happiness, passion and also being a reflection of the human mind, body, and soul imitating life.