Why I'm excited to see "In the Heights" tomorrow night in the West Coast Entertainment Best of Broadway series:
A#1: My younger daughter, Princess Laura, plans to major in musical theatre, a little item I've mentioned, oh, a thousand times or so on Twitter, Facebook, via email, in person at work, in comments to strangers waiting in line at the grocery store....
Having her involved has increased my appreciation of what it takes to put on a full-blown production that is not just singing, not just dancing, not just acting, but all three coming together to make something far greater than the sum of the parts. The dedication it takes to be on that stage? Awe-inspiring.
#2: Because of her career plans we spent a week in New York City in early February, where she auditioned for 8 colleges. While we were there we got to take in a couple of Broadway shows: "Memphis" and "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying." (By the way, "Memphis" goes on tour at some point and when it gets to Spokane You. Must. See. It.)
The chance to experience Broadway-quality live theatre was mind-blowing. And we get that all the time right here in Spokane! The shows that come through here are simply incredible and we're lucky to live in a city with the facilities that allow us to bring them here (along with all the tourist dollars they attract).
#3: I'm seeing the show because I'm part of a social media gang recruited to talk about the show. That's pretty cool of West Coast Entertainment and it's a chance to see the show in the company of some awesome local folks who really get social media, which means they're good communicators, so that will be fun. There was also mention of an after-party.
#4: As a result of reason A#1 above Princess Laura and I went to the preview event held by West Coast Entertainment earlier this week, where they rolled out teasers on the next season and we got to hear from three members of the cast of "Jersey Boys," one of the shows that's coming. I got so excited I bought season tickets.
A different A#1 reason: The show! The show! "In the Heights" won four Tony Awards in 2008: best musical, best score, best choreography, and best orchestration. Check out the video preview on the West Coast Entertainment site (if the link works right).
I'll be there when the lights go down, jumping in my seat with excitement and getting ready to hit the heights.