Musicals That Shaped Me
From Kate Thiem, Broadway in Concert Cast Director
Do you remember the first time you saw a musical? No, not the annual Sunday night viewing of The Sound of Music on NBC. I’m talking about the first time you ever saw a real, honest-to-goodness musical live on stage with costumes, sets, lighting, actors, and an orchestra.
Chances are, that moment is indelibly etched into your memory — a “core memory” for the Disney/Pixar Inside Out fans. A moment so unforgettable and impactful that it shapes the course of our lives. That might seem like a bit of hyperbolic language — really, can a musical change your life? — but I believe it can. And it has.
The time? 1993…or was it 1994? Let’s split the difference and say it was halfway through 1993. The place? Toronto, Canada. The venue? The Pantages Theatre. The show?
The Phantom of the Opera.
I was eight years old…or was I nine? Fine, I was eight and a half years old, and my mother was taking me to see my first professional musical in a magical foreign land called Ontario. I had seen musicals before on TV and the silver screen, but this was a landmark event: a professional production with professional actors and professional musicians in a country that referred to its one-dollar bill as a “looney.”
I think it’s important to note that this was also a country that placed a lot of emphasis on gourmet French fries (poutine, anyone?), and to an eight-and-a-half-year-old, that’s mind-blowing.
I remember so many things about that trip. I remember crossing the border with strict instructions not to misbehave. I remember my mother telling me she had seen this show once before, with a remarkable actor named Colm Wilkinson. I remember entering the Pantages Theatre lobby for the first time. I remember gazing upon the elaborate dome of the theatre as I looked up from my balcony seat.
Oh, and I also remember being very, very, very, very sick: a last-minute flu with body aches, chills, and an incredibly sore throat.
But none of that mattered when someone uttered the words “Sold! Your number, sir? Thank you. Lot 663, then, ladies and gentlemen…” Onstage, there were boxes and crates covered in cloth with figures cloaked in darkness. A stern-looking man held a gavel, conducting an auction with a musical monkey, an opera poster, and a set of skulls. I was enthralled. I was riveted. And I was utterly terrified when the auctioneer lit a grand chandelier moments later.
(Side Note: For years, while listening to the cast recording, I would have to skip the Overture to The Phantom of the Opera because it scared the living daylights out of me. The same thing happened to me when I first saw the tornado in The Wizard of Oz, but that’s another story — never mind. Anyways…)
I watched most of the show with my head on my mother’s shoulder, vacillating between enjoying the show and just being a sick kid. How did Christine and The Phantom get down from the catwalk and into a boat? How did Carlotta sing so high? Why was the Phantom dressed like a red skeleton? And, most importantly, where are earth are there cemeteries with fireballs and pyrotechnics?
Not long after this fated trip, I memorized the entire original Broadway cast album with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, which was followed in quick succession by the Broadway cast recording of Beauty and the Beast. Which was followed by so many other musical albums across the years (most recently: Six, the Broadway cast recording).
Kate Thiem, Broadway in Concert
That trip sparked a love for musical theatre that has continued throughout my entire life. I can pinpoint shows or songs that are forever attached to important moments and phases. Jekyll & Hyde was the show that made me want to pursue a degree in music, while “Gimme, Gimme” from Thoroughly Modern Millie played throughout much of my senior year in high school. Legally Blonde was a constant companion during my years living in New York City, and “Time Warp” from Rocky Horror Picture Show was played at my wedding reception. My life has been fuller from the soundtracks which have shaped it.
What do musicals offer us? The chance to escape? To live as someone else for 120 minutes? To seriously reconsider whether or not we should ever venture into the Parisian catacombs alone? This answer is different for everyone. For me, I would be hard-pressed to follow a masked man I’ve been listening to inside my mirror across a lake and into a secret lair, but he has candles and I love Home Goods, so…I’m undecided, I guess.
In all seriousness, musicals have enriched my life in such a way I can’t imagine a world without them. While rehearsing for the Erie Philharmonic’s Broadway in Concert event, I’ve been able to revisit old favorites from The Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, Les Misérables, and other shows I’m sure have also left an indelible mark on the lives of those who have been lucky enough to see them. It’s fascinating to think a musical has been part of your life for 30 years, but here we are: almost 30 years to the month I first saw The Phantom of the Opera with a stuffy nose. Thirty years with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music. And I still get goosebumps whenever I hear the overture.