<p>I honestly can’t remember my very first Broadway show, it was so long ago! I grew up in a family very involved in theatre and my grandparents took me to shows as a very young child, in Philadelphia and in NYC. They had many friends in the business and the opportunities it afforded me were probably not appreciated as much as they should have been at that age. :)</p>
<p>We saw a lot of shows at the old Camden County Music Fair (Susan, you probably remember that!) and the one that stands out, for some unknown reason, was Half a Sixpence. I, too, saw Pippin and Hair, wouldn’t it be funny if some of us were at the same show all those years ago?! I also love the memory of seeing Cabaret with Joel Grey.</p>
<p>My girls started attending theatre at a very young age, but it’s impossible for me to remember the first for any of them. I remember being at Anne of Green Gables with them in Toronto and one was just 3. One of the earliest for a couple of them was probably Phantom of the Opera. Three of the five were performing starting in middle school and then on to an Arts high school. We took them to just about every show in Toronto, which has the largest theatre community after NYC and London. We visited NYC three or four times a year through their childhood and lived there for a few years. They saw Broadway, off-Broadway, off off-Broadway, readings, concert performances. We often travelled to various cities to see actor friends who were performing regionally or in national tours. We spent a week every summer at Stratford seeing every show playing in repertory. They’ve all seen shows in the West End, where my actor D is now living and working.</p>
<p>We also went to many, many high school and college productions across our city and often took in summer stock when on family vacations. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of theatre! Seeing theatre, of all types, is such a valuable part of an actor’s education. I can’t overstate that and I encourage any student who is interested in pursuing a career in this crazy business to see everything available to them. I also encourage families to be making this as possible as they are making possible dance, voice, and acting lessons. I still see just about everything playing both here and in NYC. There aren’t many shows that have played in either city that I’ve missed over the past 25 years. I also see a lot of shows more than once and have been fortunate enough to be at several closing shows, which are some of my very favorite theatre memories.</p>