BWW Blog: Happy One Year Anniversary to Me!

The day was 6 December 2019. First day in New York and the first day I would ever watch a Broadway production in person!

Now, this was not the first time I had been to New York, we had travelled to America as a family for the first time at the end of 2007. But I was 6 and I cannot remember anything really. So, we had to go again, right?

A big family trip to a place like the United States of America involves a lot of planning and money. Because it is so expensive you have to plan what you want to do way before you even arrive. The one thing that I asked for was a Broadway show.

We were only in New York for about 5 days and 3 of those days was the weekend. Meaning the most expensive tickets. I wanted my family to experience a Broadway show and enjoy it. So, I looked at prices for shows that wouldn't bore my non-musical loving father and something that my sister wouldn't think was too cliché.

Come from Away was an idea, about 9/11. My dad loves planes and it's based on real life events so perfect right. Nope, I wouldn't have heard the end of it if I took my dad to a production with no intermission.

I eventually settled on Waitress, since it had a Monday show and fairly cheap. I like to think that Waitress has a very strong story. So, it was settled the fam would be watching Waitress on the 9th of December. It was all so very exciting because at the point when I booked, Jordin Sparks was Jenna and I had no idea who would be playing who by the time we got there. It was quickly announced that Drew Gehling would be return and I died. Then it was announced that Katharine McPhee would be playing Jenna. I died again. Karen Cartwright from SMASH! Wow.

However, Waitress was not my first Broadway Musical. The only musical ever that my sister has loved with a passion is Hamilton, can't blame her. But she refused to go to New York and not see Hamilton live, so, she bought two tickets because expensive, for that Friday that we arrived in New York.

Let me tell you.

South Africa can put on a show but Broadway is truly in a different universe. I was mesmerised despite being basically on the roof of the theatre. I have never been so elated in my life. Here I was, fresh out of high school sitting in a Broadway theatre.

And Waitress was just as exquisite.

The theatres on Broadway have so much detail and history to them.

I will say I was very confused when we had to wait outside of the theatre because in South Africa the foyers are just as big as the stage. But when I went inside, it made sense.

I never got to stage door, unfortunately, which I was dying to do but I now can say I have two Playbills. I have two Playbills amongst my South African/Pieter Toerien/Fugard theatre production programmes.

I fell even more in love with musicals, performers and creators that trip and it was not what I have envisioned but I couldn't have asked for anything better.