May the Curtains Rise Again

“All I Ask of You” is to wear a mask

Every day as I walk to work I pass by the main theaters in Philadelphia. It’s not hard to do, they are all in a row. My favorite though is the Academy of Music, built in 1857. The grand dame of the Philly theater scene — it has these lamps outside that stay lit throughout the year and the flickering lights greet you as you walk up the steps into the theater. It’s awesome.

The theater itself is gorgeous with one of those gigantic chandeliers that make one’s mouth drop every time they look up at it. Surrounding the chandelier are beautiful murals that I have no idea how they keep looking incredible, but they do.

And I love the theater, I love everything about it. From the excitement in the crowd to the rush to your seats because you just managed to get to the toilet in the ladies restroom since the line was so long and now the lights are flashing. I love how I have to turn my cell phone off and I can get fully immersed in a show for three hours. I love how a song can make me want to cry or jump out of my seat and dance. I love when something happens on a stage and I have no idea how they did that particular thing (ex. “Defying Gravity”) But most of all, I love spending that time with my parents or whoever I went with to the show and occasionally sneaking a look over to see their reaction. Or turning to them and just going “wow.”

I’m not an actress by any means. Nor have I ever been all that fantastic behind the curtain either (see the great curtain…