who claims himself to be “tone-deaf” and to have the “inability to enjoy musicals”
I recently expressed to you and mom at a family dinner how I am a twelve-year-old aspiring performer, and I noticed how concerned you both were. I understand your hesitation and worries, but I hope that through this letter, I could convince you of my dream. I hope you will see the stage the way I do.
You said that “musical theatre cannot remain for a long time” but daddy, that is its magic. It has been alive since the mid 1800s, and continues to grow. Musical theatre is always changing, if not with new written pieces, then with new productions of a classic. An added twist here or an alternate ending there; invention and reinvention, with each different cast, venue and hall of audience.
I am also aware how I am a dyslexic child. The way I can read books is through musical plays, where stories are the songs and dances; where words are notes, floating within air, sinking slowly into hearts. Through tune, I’ve learnt about the world wars, the religions, the slaves, the miserables, the founding fathers, the people struggling to live in the 80s and how they fall in love with life, with each other, and with their stories. Human history is discovered and preserved in the liveliest way: through life on stage, eternalized in music books. The tunes of South Pacific, Sound Is Music, Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins are still played openly to a broad audience and privately reminisced in the comfort of our bedroom jams.
People of all races, genders, sexualities, social classes, age groups come together with the same passion for art and discover that there is more than one way we are different and more than one way that we are similar. Modern Broadway is presenting new roles and casts challenging history’s narratives. The image of the “old Founding Fathers and their cohorts” can be portrayed by young black, Asian, Latino, or mixed raced actors, as they represent America as a whole. People of this generation have the chance to view history through the prism of today’s ideals, diversity issues, and musical styles - Kristoff of Frozen (by Jelani Alladin), Charity of Waitress (by Charity Angel Davis), and the great Hermione Granger of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (by Noma Dumezweni) are all African-American; Asian Amélie (by Philippa Soo), Eponine of Les Miserables (by Lea Salonga), Little Mermaid (by Diana Huey); and mixed-raced Latino Lin Manual Miranda or Eva Noblezada. It is human in the most human form—finding each other as they find themselves.
As an empath, I am able to feel and love each character’s experience. Watching each musical is like reading a book with live, raw feelings, and the storyline right in front of me. I am given a place to love, to feel alive, to hope, to help, and to be.
The stage is where I feel I belong. It is where I am finding myself, and I hope you’ll understand.
Perhaps you will join me.