curtains ['k&r-t&n]
the movable screen or drape in a theater or hall that separates the stage from the auditorium or that serves as a backdrop; the rising or opening of a theater curtain at the beginning of a performance or act; the time at which a theatrical performance begins or is scheduled to begin; the fall or closing of a theater curtain at the end of a performance or act.
Slang: the end; absolute ruin; death
Synonyms include: drape, drapery, film, hanging, screen, shade, shield, shroud, shutter, valance, veil

Musical theater…love it! The first musical I ever saw was MISS SAIGON at the Ahmanson Theater. I memorized the soundtrack long before I watched it, lip-syncing everyone’s parts during the show. I saw it a second time in London and then a third time at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The same emotions never fail to surface each time I hear any of the songs; love-conquers-all sung with words like, “A song played on the solo saxophone…it’s telling me to hold you tight and dance like it’s the last night of the world”; hope in the wake of loss channeled with “I still, I still believe you will return – I know you will. My heart against all odds holds still”; heartache for the sacrifices – “You will be who you want to be, you can choose what heaven grants. As long as you can have your chance, I swear I’ll give my life for you.”
Les Miserables is another musical I can watch and listen to over and over again. When I saw it for the first time in London, we sat in the THIRD ROW! We could see the mics sticking out of all the actors’ hairlines! We probably got spat on! Hahaha! I remember when we got to our seats, all of us were like DAAAAAAAMN THIS IS CLOSE! I saw it a second time in New York during our unforgettable 2000 east coast excursion, and then a third time a year and a half ago at the Pantages and I had to crack up because, thanks to Joey Potter, everyone was waiting for that one song! Haha! I’ve tried to forget Joey Potter’s rendition of “On My Own,” remembering only the melancholy lyrics of unreciprocated love – “Without me, his world will go on turning; a world that’s full of happiness that I have never known. I love him...but only on my own.” Nothing hits closer to home… Three weeks ago, my sister, my cousins and I spent the day in San Diego and then watched RENT in the evening. I watched RENT for the first time in London too (Let’s go back there already!!!)! I refer to this musical more often than not, especially lately. “No day like today” is such a cathartic blow to my habitual subjugation from uncertainty and fear that I find myself in the midst of emotional outbursts when I least expect it. “How do you measure a year?” Jonathan Larson asks. Each second I spend in fear, I realize how dangerously close I am to the end of that measuring stick.
Ragtime was another good one! Tito Andy (Cile’s dad) had some tickets one night so Cile, Ryan, Joe and I went to see it at the Shubert Theater while everyone else went bowling. But not all musicals render such dramatics of course. I’ve also spent a few evenings laughing to the comedic timing of productions such as The Producers (which also inspired that “do what you want to do, not what you think you should do” kind of attitude in me), Candide (our AP English class watched it because we were reading the play), and most recently Curtains (which is playing at the Ahamanson if you’re interested! It’s a clever murder mystery comedy and David Hyde Pierce-Niles from Frasier- is hilarious).

What I love about musicals most, in addition to the emotions they evoke, is the thought of people breaking out into song when they have something to say. Cheesy? Maybe. But to have an orchestra to back you up whether you’re depressed or ecstatic? How dramatic would that be?!