Any Dream Will Do

Some folks dream of the wonders they'll do
Before their time on this planet is through
Some just don't have anything planned
They hide their hopes and their heads in the sand
Now I don't say who is wrong, who is right
But if by chance you are here for the night
Then all I need is an hour or two
To tell the tale of a dreamer like you
We all dream a lot - some are lucky, some are not
But if you think it, want it, dream it, then it's real
You are what you feel 
-Prologue, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Fifth grade Michelle had no idea what she was getting into when she saw her first musical.

Having grown up on the "Disney Renaissance" of movies such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and others, I was used to stories told with songs. I had worn out the family copy of The Little Mermaid by having watched it so many times. Mom and Dad were huge lovers of music so it was something I had grown up surrounded by. At that point I had been in piano lessons for just over 3 years, and had started playing French horn in band that year. Music was a part of my life, there was no denying it.

Each year the local high school (which would later become MY high school) put on a musical production. That year's production was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I had never seen a live musical before, but I knew that one of my friends was in the children's chorus and I wanted to go see him perform. Mom loved musicals, and Joseph was one she hadn't seen yet (despite her love for Andrew Lloyd Weber). She agreed to take me and my brother to go see it.

In seeing it, a whole new world was opened to me. I immediately fell in love with the music and story told through song. It was magical and beyond anything I had ever experienced through watching a movie. I dug up Mom's old cassette tape recordings of musicals and began to absorb myself in the world of musicals. I learned how to play the music on the piano, annoying my family in the process with the constant playing of the same song over and over and over (pretty sure that Dad never wants to hear "Any Dream Will Do" ever again).

In the years to follow I would attend the local high school production each year and be exposed to a brand new musical. The same process would happen each time. I would get a hold of the music, learn it, get the sheet music, and subsequently annoy my family with the constant playing and repeating of the music from the show.

It was at the end of my junior year that I discovered Wicked. I quickly fell in love with the music without seeing the show and I knew I had discovered something that was going to change my life forever.

6 years ago today, I saw Wicked for the first time. And it's true...my life hasn't been the same since.

I've discovered so many more shows and developed a love for live theater. I worked in the theater department in undergrad and learned as much as I could about every show I saw or worked on. I have made friends through mutual love of musicals and theater.

All because Mom took me to see a show when I was 11.

And for that I will always be thankful.

May I return to the beginning
The light is dimming and the dream is too
The world and I 
We are still waiting
Still hesitating
Any dream will do....