Who cries at musicals? As in, all of them?

Who cries at musicals? As in, all of them?

🙋🏼‍♀️

My husband and I took my daughter to SIX on Broadway recently.

(She started listening to the soundtrack on repeat last year, so this was her "big gift" for the holidays.)

The house lights dimmed to black, the performers took the stage, the audience cheered, the music swelled...

And I teared up. 🥹

To be clear, if you don't know the show, the opening is energetic, sassy, powerful, and anything but sad. 😉

But for me, the opening bars of pretty much any musical feel overwhelming -  all the big feels come rushing in and I get teary-eyed.

Whether it's SIX or The Lion King, Wicked or Hamilton, Sweeney Todd or Mary Poppins... cue the tears.

(I mean, I tear up at other times too, but you can count on me in those opening bars, like clockwork.)

What is it about those first moments that feel so intense?

Yes, I do get pulled by the power of the music and the excitement of the story about to begin.

But most of all, for me, it's the vibrating energy of all these people in one room, together, performing and watching. And knowing that this incredible moment with this specific group of people in this theater is unique - it will never happen again.

This is it.
This magical moment is here, and then it's over.

And tomorrow night the show will happen again, but the audience will be different and maybe even a performer will be different, or a musician, or a stagehand. Tomorrow's show will become its own unique magical experience.

I sit there in the darkened theater, feeling the music wash over me, feeling the energy of all the people around me, watching the story begin to unfold in stage... and my heart truly swells with the intensity of that unique moment.

And guess what? The uniqueness of the moment actually holds true every day of our lives. This moment right now, whether you're alone or with specific people, will never happen again.

So at the risk of sounding corny (although let's be honest, this is a post about crying in the theater so the whole thing is corny)...

I tear up in the theater because it reminds me life is magical and fleeting and I want to do my damnedest to appreciate each unique moment.

So what about you?
Do you tear up at musicals?
Or something else?
What gives you all the feels? 🤩

P.S. SIX is a very fun show. I recommend it if you haven't seen it. 😁