I go to another world....

If I anyone were to ask me what I think Heaven will be like, I would tell them that it's a a stage where I get to star in every Broadway musical ever made. The End. No, no, I would throw in something about families and eternal life, but man alive, I hope there is some musical theater up there that I get to be a part of.

These pictures are all the ones that I've seen, and last night thanks to my darling husband I got to add South Pacific to the list. What an unbelievable show. My Grandma (who took me to Annie, my first musical with my other Grandma when I was 4) and Grandpa had gone to see it on Saturday and said we just had to go, so as a last minute anniversary date we went. I loved every minute of it. I knew all the songs even though I have never seen it before. That usually is the way it goes for me.

Thanks to my mother and grandparents, I've been exposed to these songs my whole life. As a little girl, my Grandpa and I would watch 42nd Street and Oliver, and I would go through all my Grandma's records in the basement and listen to Gypsy, Carousel, A Chorus Line and The Music Man. My sisters and I would watch West Side Story on TV every time it was on. My Dad (a lover of all things music, but not particularly the Broadway musical) gave me the Sound of Music on DVD box set for Christmas a couple years ago with a card that said I was always his favourite Maria. I had sang those songs over and over again. My Mum would always tell me about being in Guys and Dolls in high school, and took me to see my all time number one favourite, Les Mis, for the very first time. It was her Evita record I blasted in our basement over and over again. My Grandpa, a high school teacher, put on "Oliver" when I was a little girl at his school, and it became a one of my favorites. My Gran and Papa named my Mum Julie, after Julie Andrews came out with the Sound of Music. My Grandma has a reoccurring dream that I sing "The Impossible Dream" from Man of Lamancha at her funeral. These songs are etched on my heart.

My high school music teacher opened my eyes to so much. We would put on shows where I would sing and play in the pit band and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. (You may be getting the wrong idea from this post, you see I am not overly talented in either of these areas. I'd say I'm above average, but nothing spectacular by any means, but I feel that I make it for it with heart :) Mr. Thomson was the best. His love for music helped spark my own, and I couldn't wait to go to his class every morning, first thing. He made us feel that we were every bit as good as any orchestra out there, even though we clearly weren't. That's why I will never forget the saddness I felt as a newlyweded lady on the day my dad called me in tears to tell me Mr. Thomson had been killed, just weeks after his retirement. He ran out of gas on the 400 and was trying to run across the road to the gas station.

There is something about an Overture that sends me to another world....that music, those songs, I can't get enough. Darryl says he loves how I can't stop smiling and look like I am going to jump right out of my seat onto the stage every time we go. Last night was no exception. I wanted to sing at the top of my lungs and be up there. There is nothing like that magical feeling for me. Art doesn't move me, dance doesn't do much for me either, but there is something about music, especially this kind, that stirs my soul.

I am so grateful for all of these people and their influence. On with the show!