Dear Broadway,
You have been my dearest comfort source, a source of happiness, a source of finding myself. This letter is to thank you, an inanimate moment, for shaping my life.
I discovered you in middle school. Hamilton had just opened, and hardly anybody knew what Broadway would develop into. Nobody knew that in a matter of years Broadway, well Hamilton, would become a household name. Before it was something only nerds would do but Broadway you have grown into a phenomenon. Now shows are getting large and theatre, and the arts, are becoming more and more a part of people’s lives. Broadway, you are a part of my life that I would never regret.
Through Broadway, I have made so many friends, found so many people that I would have never found. We have bonded over everything from a man who disposes of nine of his family members in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder to the story of a lost Russian Grand Duchess who finds her home, love, and family in Anastasia. These people you have brought into my life I will never be more grateful for. Because of you, I have found the people I can go to after a hard day of class and it’s an almost guaranteed smile on my face or somebody that can listen to me and help no matter how far they are.
Another blessing you have brought into my life is my love of music and art. Before I realized how much time and effort went into an art form I didn’t care. It was something readily available and I could just put it on a DVD and it would be there. As I started following Broadway musicals I really began to see them bloom. My most recent musical obsession is one I have been following since they had their pre-Broadway tryouts. I watched the hard work and effort the entire team put in to make a show ready for the public. From weeks of rehearsals to changes they make in their pre-Broadway runs and their Previews on Broadway began. We watched shows change into the beautiful works of art they are and the hard work actors put into them. I appreciated art forms of all types infinitely more after you came into my life.
I don’t want to drag this on but I am thankful for the countless artists you have brought into my life that serve as inspirations. There’s the ever-beautiful Robyn Hurder in Moulin Rouge who walks out every night as a Lady Marmalade with all the courage I wish I had, Lisa O’Hare as the vixen Sibella in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and the countless understudies and other women who have made Broadway and Theatre their home. Even as a Social Studies Education Major every day I channel your encouragement, your cheers, and your hope into pushing on. Because of you Broadway, I found my voice that I never thought I would have, I found the happiness that I hope never fades.
One day you and I will meet Broadway. I will walk through one of the doors of your great theatres and feel all the feelings I have felt since I was a middle schooler listening to the Hamilton soundtrack. One day we will meet and that will be the day that all my dreams, come true.
Yours forever until the last curtain falls,
Karissa.