11 Things We Must Protect in 2017

Photo credit: Theo Wargo

Musicals Being Cool

When I was in 7th grade, I had a burned Pippin CD in my Walkman and a cool boy thought it said “Pimpin.” It certainly did not. I corrected him. When I was in 11th grade, we had to do a small geometry extra credit project wherein we made a scene entirely out of proper geometric shapes. I chose to make Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, which everyone only knew about because I hadn’t stopped shouting about Sweeney Todd all semester. Now, my youngest sister is in 7th grade. She talks about, tweets about, cries about Hamilton nearly constantly. She has merch. She has shirts. And you know what? EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT IT IS. Not only is it now comprehensible and relatable to be super into a musical- IT’S COOL. DO YOU EVEN COMPREHEND HOW REVOLUTIONARY (PUN INTENDED, HAMILTON FTW) THAT IS?!?!!

It wasn’t until liberal arts college in which I studied film and writing but befriended only theatre folk that I found other human people who understood my Into the Woods jokes. And now, Lin-Manuel Miranda, A MUSICAL THEATRE GUY, is hosting SNL. He’s performing at the White House. HE HAS WIZ KHALIFA SAMPLING HIS SONGS. This is the best thing to happen to this country since….well, actual Hamilton, probably. Theatre folk can (and will and sometimes do) run the world, if given the opportunity. We can do eight shows a week and still find the time to binge watch most of Netflix’s new series AND worry about our whole 30 meal prep AND read whichever recently released memoir is the most important/queer. We were on the fringe of any given group (besides our own) our whole lives, and no one understood the true power and magic of musical theatre until now. Now, our President and First Lady geek out over it, publicly and often. Here’s hoping this trend continues to bust out all over. I wish, more than ANYTHING, more than the moon, that we can uphold our steadfast geekery and spread the good word throughout 2017 and beyond. The time is near, theatre people. So near, it’s stirring the blood in our veins. And we cannot throw away our shot. Everything IS coming up roses. And *that’s* Chicago. (Okay that last one got away from me but you get the bit. Of course you do. You’re a theatre person.)