Audra McDonald

My parents bought me tickets to go see Audra McDonald at the Long Center for my birthday (actual birthday is not for two more weeks, but close). A week before the show, they told me they had two more tickets and I could invite two friends! I was so excited. My first call was to my friend Sarah, because I KNEW she would love Audra as much as I do and because I never get to see her and I miss her lots. Then I called Marchelle. They both accepted and I had my two friends from UofA theater days joining me.
Michael met us there and I rode up with my parents. We met at the bar and we all sat around and caught up with each other. It was so great to be out at the theater with two ladies I never see and whom I love dearly.
And then the show started. Audra is amazing. I vacillated between analyzing her phrasing, vibrato and performance and being completely engaged in the world she was creating. She is an incredible actress. I hung on her words and was so moved by her voice and the stories that she told in each song. She made me remember why I first fell in love with theater.
You who have been following my blog over these last seven years (7!), have heard me talk of the pain and hurt I have felt often about losing the musical theater/performance aspect of my life. I have a love/hate relationship with the Tony's, I adore live theater, but I'm so jealous of those who are actually up on the stage, that I often feel bitter at the end of a show. I'm not proud of that, it just is, but let me tell you, that during the Audra McDonald show, all that went out the window. I was happy just to watch, to listen, to be transported and I walked away feeling deliriously happy.
I do think I want to do theater again, and maybe sometime soon, if anyone would ever hire me. (Does the mommy gap work against you small town theater too?). I also know that if I don't perform in the shows, I will still happily go watch them. I have fallen in love with musical theater again.
On the way home from the show, Michael told me, "We need to see more theater." Seriously- I love this man. Can't you see why I married him? We got home and I bought us theater tickets. We bought season tickets to the Broadway Across America season in Austin for the upcoming season. I can't wait.
Thanks, mom and dad for an amazing birthday present.