Theatre’s Amazing and Here’s a Few Reasons Why

Can I just go off about theatre and how wonderful it is for a second?

YES because it’s my blog hahaha......

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Theatre is AMAZING. I saw the Aladdin touring company in San Francisco tonight as a late birthday present and it was absolutely phenomenal. The dancing, the lights, the costumes, the acting, EVERYTHING was jaw-dropping. The cast and crew put so much time and effort and money and every other kind of self-sacrifice into this production and I couldn’t be more grateful, because you can tell they really love their audiences. The whole point of theatre is to tell and story and to offer something out to the world. Something worth hearing is something worth sharing and theatre is the most beautiful form of artwork and the best platform to be able to share these ideas. In Aladdin, the cast and crew teaches us that your true intentions and morals and who you are on the inside are worth so much more than what your so-called appearance or label to the outside world is. That’s a fantastic message being sent out to the world and it’s so important to hear as many times as possible. Heck, that’s why it was originally a movie right? So everyone could hear it!

SPOILER WARNING: Just now, as I was writing this, my dad, knowing I was writing this post, walked in and reminded me of another theme extremely important in this show. In the stage version, as opposed to the movie, Aladdin’s moral stance throughout the story is driven by his determination to prove to his late mother that he had changed his ways and improved as a person ("Proud of Your Boy," Aladdin). The great thing about his character arc, however, was when his motivation turned from that inward— when he started to have the right morals without prompting from his past guilt. He had grown as a person and discovered he needed to be better for himself, not just to improve his outer appearance to others.... hence the metaphor of the famous lamp.

“It’s what’s on the inside that counts.” (Genie, Aladdin)

Anyway, I’m obsessing, per usual, but my faith remains willfully and resiliently strong that theatre has the power to change the audience’s outlook on life with each little nugget of truth the show puts into the world. I don’t think I will ever find enough, or even the right, words to explain my love and passion for the theatre. I give new reasons every time I tell someone about it.

The most awesome thing about theatre, though, is the cast and crew. They put their hearts and souls into these performances and you can tell. I “stage-doored” tonight and met some of the cast, including autographs, pictures— the works. I got to meet Adam Jacobs, the originator of the Broadway character of Aladdin, and he couldn’t have been kinder about meeting at least 50 people after he walked out of the building. He cared about each of them and made sure they all had a great time... Also, he's a PHENOMENAL actor. I just wanted to include that. He did an AMAZING job tonight. Bravo!

Can we talk really quickly about the audience themselves, though? Thanks. That’s what the theatre community loves— the audience. Anyone who’s “stage-dooring” to meet the actors are well worth the actors' time because they actually care about them. Theatre fans are EXTREMELY different than movie fans. Example: anyone will recognize David Beckham, but MANY won’t even know why he’s famous. They’ll just recognize he’s famous and immediately ask for (or sometimes demand) a picture with him just to prove they’ve met him. Anyone who “stage-doors” after a show always genuinely knows and loves the actor and their work. Anyone can go see a theatre production and walk out with a smile, but the people who stick around to congratulate and meet the actors afterwards are the ones actors are excited to meet back. I’m not really sure what else to say. Theatre is wonderful and there are so many more wonderful things to say but I’m exhausted and no more understandable thoughts are going through my brain. Anything I say now will just turn into mush that I won’t even be able to comprehend. A quick thank you, however, to my amazing aunt, her name kept anonymous for privacy reasons, for the wonderful night, a wonderful trip, and one of the best birthday presents I've ever received. I’m so grateful. Theatre is amazing! If you ever have the opportunity to see live, professional theatre, do it without hesitation. No matter the show, it will change you for the better. I promise you that, and if there’s anything I learned from the show tonight, it’s that promises should never be broken. This promise I make will never be broken. Goodnight world. Much love, Noelle