No day but today!
December 7, 2002 11:15 p.m.
There is no swelling of the orchestra, instead, only the twang of an out of tune A string, followed by the words "December 24th, 9pm, Eastern Standard Time. From here on in, I shoot without a script."The audience hovers on the edge of their seats, taking in the cacophony of sight and sound that is the stage of the Nederlander Theatre. A man in plaid pants holding a guitar sits on a table, tuning his painfully out of tune Electric Guitar as another man, clad in a burgundy and blue striped sweater with a blue and white striped scarf narrates to the camera he has set up down stage. This is only the beginning, and everyone knows it.
The atmosphere is electric, the audience is alive with that perfect synergy that exists in live theatre. The actors enthrall them, and their emotions feed the actors, pushing them on to more realism, more feeling, more depth in their portrayals of these amazing characters.
The collective emotions of the audience swell at the appropriate times, bringing laughter and "Moo's" in "Over the Moon", tears of grief at the death of an angel, or the discovery of an ill Mimi living on the streets, and memories of past loves during "I should tell you". Tears stream down my face as Angel sings his final lines and walks off stage signaling his death. Goosebumps start at the base of my spine and cover my entire body as the cast sings "NO DAY BUT TODAY". No standing ovation is enough to convey the joy that is filling my soul.
On the way out of the theatre a proud mother tells a cast member, "My Daughter has a voice like yours... I wish she could do this." The smiling woman tells the embarrassed 19 years old, "Never give up the dream. Never stop trying. It'll happen." as they exit the theatre.
Grabbing a quick photo with and autograph of the star before exiting the theatre makes a perfect end to the experience.
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