1) Lotto/Rush – I love seeing Broadway shows. But I’m also a teacher and (spoiler alert) we don’t make a lot of money. Lotteries and rush tickets have been helping me make my Broadway habit financially feasible since I was in college. And I plan to use them to my advantage whenever I can.
2) Cast recordings – The best way to relive a show I’ve seen? Well, besides seeing it again, it’s listening to the cast recordings. It’s like a bit of that amazing experience has been preserved in my speakers. And it gives me a great soundtrack (and sing-along) in the car.
3) Amazing performers – Just this year, I’ve had the opportunity to see people like Glenn Close, Jake Gyllenhaal, Annaleigh Ashford, and the entire casts and ensembles of pretty much every show I saw. I love Broadway performers because they work their butts off and are some of the only real triple threats that are out there. They are mesmerizing to watch.
4) Kind performers – I stagedoored for the first time in a while a few weeks ago (when I saw Anastasia) and every single performer that came out the stagedoor talked to us, signed for us, and took time out of their day to make us feel special. They didn’t have to do that, but it definitely brightened our experience. (And did I mention Christy Altomare inspired a character in my newest novel? Because she did.)
5) The chance to escape – We live in a complicated world, a scary world. The best thing about Broadway, to me, is that it gives us the chance to escape it for a few hours. For a few hours, we can be in another time, another place, even under the sea. The music, the sets, the performances, the costumes, let us forget for a while. And just be happy.
