I recently saw a social media post that asked, “what was your hyper fixation in middle school?” and I chuckled. Well, first I sat back and had a think on what it was. I quickly realized it was what I planned to share for this month’s musing! I was obsessed with Broadway shows. 

In eighth grade, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ stopped in Columbus and my middle school planned a field trip to see a matinee. I didn’t know much about the show at the time. I remember seeing the t-shirts people would wear as a souvenir of a trip and a show to New York, and that was the extent of my knowledge.  In preparation for seeing the show, we learned ‘Music of the Night’ in choir and I absolutely loved singing it. Then I saw the show and became obsessed. 

I got the CD of the original cast recording (a two CD compilation, iykyk) and I learned every note, lyric, and even stage movement. I “performed” the show frequently in my bedroom and basement. How my parents didn’t buy me headphones to use, I’ll never know. In their defense, the late 90s did not have Bluetooth or wireless headphones. Maybe the cost of hearing ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ ALL THE TIME outweighed the cost of batteries it would take to power my portable CD player. Plus, those things skipped A LOT. I was putting on my own personal Broadway show after all… 

Soon my interest grew to include other shows like ‘Les Misérables’ and ‘Rent.’ I bought a lot of Broadway soundtracks in my teenage years, and I would ask to go see shows that were touring and stopping in Columbus for my birthday and Christmas every year. I still have all the Playbills from shows I’ve seen!

Even though I have seen a lot of different shows, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ will always hold a special place for me. It was my first Broadway show and it is the show I have seen the most times. My favorite showing was at The Kennedy Center when I lived in the DC area though. My high school best friend visited, we got dressed up and saw the show in the first row of the balcony. It was AMAZING. 

One of my greatest show experiences was seeing ‘Hamilton’ in New York in November 2016. It was my first Broadway show on Broadway in New York! Some of the original cast members were still in the show. It was actually the last few shows for Christopher Jackson, who played George Washington. He sings one of my favorite songs, ‘One Last Time.’ It was an electrifying night. Only days after the election, there was a comradery in the theater as we cheered for “Immigrants, we get the job done!” and wept at “teach them how to say goodbye.”  

‘Hamilton’ is a very close second to ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ in my Broadway show obsessions. I think I listened to the ‘Hamilton’ soundtrack for over a year straight; something I hadn’t really done since my Phantom obsession. My bedroom and basement were replaced by car performances. If you drove anywhere with me, or happened to see me driving around Columbus, you most likely caught a one-woman performance of ‘Hamilton.’

(Me at the Richard Rodgers Theatre before seeing ‘Hamilton’ for the first time. It was also the start of a Playbill selfie tradition.)

There is just something about live theater, especially now as we see technology grow at such an alarming rate that we humans can’t really keep up or understand the full implications. We are being inundated with artificial intelligence- in social media, in art, writing, music. Places that don’t need to be or should be artificial. These areas are what make us human- fortunately you cannot replace live performers on a stage with technology. You still get to see the whole human experience of emotions through song, dance, and body language. 

Last night I saw “& Juliet” and it was a mixture of nostalgia and awe. The music from Max Martin included the greatest millennial hits. But also, during the show, I felt a strong appreciation that we were witnessing a fantastic performance from humans. And we were all sitting there engrossed in the moment. There were no cell phones out recording the experience (like you get at concerts) or folks scrolling through socials (like you see everywhere else). It was such a refreshing experience!

I have another show on my calendar at the end of the month- “Suffs.” I rarely see two shows in a season, but these two have been on my “want-to-see” list! The 2026-2027 schedule in Detroit has been released and there are a couple shows coming that already caught my attention. Regardless of what shows are coming to town though, I know that seeing live theater is a lifelong love. I will always have a deep appreciation for Broadway, the performers, the creators, and the musicians that make stories come alive each night. Witnessing each show makes me feel more alive too.

Do you have a favorite Broadway show? Let me know below!