Break Many Legs, My Friends...

 

When you're in a production and it's double cast, there comes a point where you'll say "goodbye," not once, but twice. We gather, as strangers, as acquaintances and as fast friends every weeknight and Saturday mornings for two months.

I find it fascinating that I can develop a deeper friendship with someone in a couple of months than I can working side-by-side with a co-worker in a couple of years. I think it's because when you do a show, you're vulnerable, you're exposed, you erase your comfort zone and you put complete trust in each other. I think that's one reason why so many who feel out-of-place in the "normal" world find refuge on the stage where they're accepted, welcomed, and loved.

And so, as each show starts, we sit and watch our counterparts say their lines, sing their parts, follow their blocking and our hearts cheer for their success and pray they don't screw up.

And then...it's over.

We're left to ourselves, half a family to finish the show's run. Don't get me wrong--I love my cast, but I'm going to miss my friends. Tonight's their opening night and right about now, the Ghost of Christmas Future is making his haunting entrance, hopefully filling the audience with the impending dread that visits us all at one time or another.

Break many legs, my other family! I know you'll do us proud!