Too bad it takes so long

AWWWWWW!!! I can't even believe we've come this far. I mean I can, that was the plan after all, but I'm just so proud of us. I remember rehearsing like it was yesterday and now we have three more performances left. THREE!! I will miss this. I will miss that sexy bass line that gets the party started. I will miss hugging my cast-mates before starting the show. I will miss watching, story telling, transforming. As the nights go by I am increasingly emotional. This show holds a special place in my heart, it has left it's fingerprints on my being.

From the moment I heard the music I was intrigued. It didn't sound like typical musical theatre. It sounded like something I'd hear on the radio, or better yet, straight from my play list. I was smitten! Then I saw it on Netflix and I was metamorphosed. I had never seen anything like that!! NOTHING ever spoke to me so personally. The relationship between the boy and his mom is so much like me and my granny's relationship, it's frightening. The fact that he finds joy in music and art and creativity and expression....it's like looking in a mirror. Discovering paradise, growing bored with it. Learning, loving, losing. These are things that all people can relate to. So I was rather surprised when it came to the turn out. I thought people would lose their minds over this show, like I did!! It's been a bit disappointing. I don't know if it's because it's a lesser known show or because it's a small cast or because it's a black cast and the story of a black man's journey, I don't know. But something has definitely effected the crowd. Honestly, I figured there would be a fair amount of apprehension from some of the white theatre going crowd. And sadly, it goes without saying that there is a lack of presence of black folks in the theatre community as a whole. Directing, starring, contributing, attending. Just period. But, I cannot, will not worry about who is NOT in the seats. It's my job to deliver the message to the people that ARE, so that they tell all of their friends ;)

Slowly but surely, that's been happening! I love it when people talk to us after the show. You can see the emotion on their faces. The greatest thing I've heard, is "We loved that experience." That makes me so proud!!! 'Passing Strange' truly is an experience, it moves you. No matter who you are....young, old, man, woman, black, white. Once you see it you realize it's less about race and more about the human being. This show has given me answers to questions I may have never asked. It has stretched me as an actor and I got to speak with a sexy German accent LOL!! Not a day goes by that the songs aren't in my head. Same goes for some of my friends who have seen the show. I was at a party and a buddy of mine was humming "Arlington Hill". That makes me smile big and bright!! To see what we have all worked so hard to create, delight and inform people is just magical. The kind of magic, that I'm ok with, not the dark and creepy kind.

THREE more performances. Three more times to call and respond. Three more times to explode!!! Three more times to wave those Amsterdam hands. :( I am going to miss this, but it will ALWAYS be with me. 'Passing Strange' is an experience that I can't wait to share with y'all three more times!! So, I'll see you there! Okay, cool....be sure to stay afterward so that I can give you GIANT HUGS!!