COVID-19 was a life-altering event that took us all by surprise. Many people responded by adjusting financial plans, cutting down on everything, and making tough money decisions. Fear took hold for the vast majority, and the instinct to fight, or take flight, permeated all areas of our lives.
Though I have now lost count of the number of times that I have tried to leave the orbit of the theatre, something always seems to drag me back. Ever since I, as a pre-teen, emerged entranced from my very first Broadway show, nothing has ever quite managed to eclipse my passion for it, nor has any supposed change in priorities kept it from taking center stage in my life.
What, exactly, makes a thing theatre? That straightforward question has turned on its head by the COVID-19 pandemic, which made the conventional theatrical experience all but impossible.
“We must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.”
~Brutus, Julius Caesar
Navigating the tide of the Pandemic has shaken the theatre world in South Florida, but spirit and strength – and Zoom – continue leading many to follow their dreams and succeed.
For most of my adult life, I have firmly believed that everything happens for a reason. Maybe it’s the native Floridian in me that came up with the following analogy, but I always remind myself to ride the universe’s waves and whatever wave I get at the time is for my best interest.
As a marketing professional somewhere between a young millennial and an old gen-z, one thing is for sure: I grew up in an incredible generation for arts and entertainment. I am lucky to have grown up in an evolving era of rapid change and growth, and it helped me quickly adapt to change and learn to accept it at an early age.
In the past five years, I have lived in five cities.
Meaning those “most important years of my life” (really just those crucial years of young adulthood in terms of identity and relationships) have been hectic, often lonely, and incredibly full of change I chose to accept and embrace.
I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas…yes, the same place as Dorothy and Toto. And yes, that annoying flat stretch of farmland you have to fly over to get from one coast to the other. It’s not the most popular destination spot on the map, but to me, it’s home.
Following its world premiere presentation in Vermont in 2006, Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown completed its 13-year journey to Broadway when it opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre April 17, 2019. The production, directed by Rachel Chavkin with choreography by David Neumann, was nominated for 14 Tony Awards, winning eight including Best Musical.
