| I was born in NJ and lived there til I was 5. For some reason, I really wanted to see Peter Pan and Annie on Broadway before we left. This was the 70s when Sandy Duncan was doing Peter Pan. I just saw ads in the NY Times. We never went to one and then moved across the country. The first show I saw was a high school production of Fiddler on the Roof. I fell asleep. I was quickly into performing more than watching. I was in musical after musical. When I was a teenager in the 80s, I would buy the Broadway series tickets for the bus and truck tours that came through town. My One and Only, Me and My Girl, Dreamgirls, Sweet Charity, Cats, City of Angels, Mame, The King and I. I had 5 siblings and 2 parents but I went to these shows by myself and wanted to run off with them. My first Broadway show came in 1992 while I was visiting NYC for the first time, now as an adult, and it was the two piano revival of The Most Happy Fella. It was at the Booth so I was thinking "Wow. Broadway theaters are a lot smaller and more intimate than I thought they'd be." And then when the chorus came out singing "The Mail Is In! The Mail Is In!" I was thinking "WOW. These people can SING." I'm so glad it was my first Broadway show and not one of the many horrible shows that might've turned me off to Broadway. I went on to perform in The Most Happy Fella at college and professionally. By the way, Peter Pan and Annie are now two of my favorite musicals. |
