Broadway Baby

OK, I'm not sure if I can adequately explain how important this event was to me. For those of you who know me, or are forced to work with me, you know that I'm an addict. My vice - the Broadway Musical. I am in love with the New York theater scene. Everything about it. I got to experience it for a while first hand, and if I didn't have a family, I'd probably be there now. I love Times Square (even though Disney is slowly sterilizing it), I love the people swarming after the shows let out, I love the smell of the nut vendors, and I especially love the amazing talent that is displayed there by amazingly energetic people 8 times a week.

So from the moment Maddie was conceived she was immediately exposed to show tunes. Lots of show tunes. They are her playtime, bath time, and bedtime songs. And thank God, she loves them. Her favorite movie - "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," her favorite lullaby - "Quiet Girl," a Bernstein tune used in a bit of a different context in its original form, and her favorite actress, Idina Menzel from Rent and Wicked fame. She says that when she grows up she's going to be on Idina's team. She thinks music is some sort of sport I think. Thank you God for giving me my Broadway Baby.

So I've been waiting until she was old enough to see Wicked. We go to local shows frequently, especially since Dan plays in the pit of many of them. I am quite confident of her theater etiquette now, so we decided to take the plunge. Maddie and I went to Broadway with two other lovely ladies.

I know Lion King is a Disney thing, but until you've seen the musical, you cannot understand how profound this show is. It is a celebration of life, of family bonds, of the African culture. The opening is a spectacular display and as I sat there with my girl I was quite overwhelmed with the emotions of sharing this experience with her. Watching her enjoy something that means so much to me was just amazing. And she was completely enthralled. My favorite part of that first show was having to remind her that she couldn't sing along to "Endless Night."

Wicked was equally wonderful. She wanted to have her picture taken next to a billboard of Idina's costume from Act II, and when I told her with some hesitation that Idina would not be playing Elphaba, she decided that she would pretend it was Idina anyway. She rocks.


I loved being in the city with her, and I loved that when I asked her what her favorite part was she said, "being in New York with you." It melted me to tears.

And in true Maddie form, she caught a turtle at the Central Park Zoo as the other mothers watched in horror and told their children not to touch it. That's my Girl!!

The Barbie Section of Times Square Toys 'R' Us. My own private Hell on Earth

Other highlights:

Madeline Chose Glinda Earrings as her souvenir.

Madeline lost her toy lizards, but at intermission of Wicked told me that she liked it so much she had forgotten about the lizards.

Madeline's meltdown at the very end of the trip, because "everyone in NY gets to eat ice cream out of trucks, and she never does." She's so deprived.

Being there with two great ladies that encouraged Maddie and didn't get frustrated when the Garmin didn't differentiate between one way streets, getting us lost in Queens.

Coming home to my boys.