The Beginning
For our tenth wedding anniversary, I gave Mr. Husband the best gift ever. I let him buy two tickets to Phantom of the Opera--one ticket for me and one ticket for Alexis. I know! I'm so nice! In all seriousness, not forcing him to go with me (again--we saw it when I was 135981235 months pregnant with Alexis) was quite the generous act. He hates the theater. A lot.
Alexis, however, loves it more than I do, which is saying an enormous amount. We're talking about a kid who sat mesmerized by Sleeping Beauty for three hours, despite the fact that it was a ballet and didn't have a single word the entire time. While I was trying to invent ways to commit violent crimes with just an M&M during the second act because ZOMG ZzzzzZZzzzzZZ, she sat there completely in love with everything about the show.
She's a little weird. In a good way.
The months between ticket acquisition and the actual show passed and I had helped build Alexis' anticipation to fever pitch. She was SO excited to get to go see Phantom, which is of course why she wound up being too sick to go. In honor of keeping the romance alive, I took a really, really pregnant friend to the show with me instead and left Mr. Husband home alone with a pukey kid.
I'm awesome. I know.
But then, of course, Alexis didn't entirely understand the whole "only in town for a limited time" thing and began asking when we were going to Phantom. Over and over. Daily. I must have wished on the right falling star because some I got lucky and a student version of the show was announced. The kid loves theater, but she hasn't yet figured out the difference between a Broadway-quality performance and a bunch of students. YAY!
Saturday night was finally the big night. As an extra-extra-extra-special treat, I granted permission for us to get all dolled up for our girls' night out, complete with straightening Alexis' hair and letting her wear my pearl necklace.
Words cannot even begin to describe how kerfluffled the kid was to get the Big Girl treatment.
When we finally arrived downtown and started to make our way into the theater, Alexis uttered the first of two phrases which I absolutely must document. MUST. She said, "Momma, I like hanging out with you."
All together now . . . awwwww! In ten years when she's telling me I'm stupid and don't understand and to get the heck out of her face, I'm totally bringing that moment back up again. Actually, I should probably just go ahead and cross stitch it on a pillow. By the time I'm actually done sewing, she'll hate me.
Speaking of hate, Alexis hated Phantom of the Opera. Really. She sat completely engrossed in every second of the show, but she HATED the plot line. I have been responding to questions like, "Why would Christine like the Phantom when he's so mean?" and "Why is the Phantom so mad?" and "Christine should have married Raoul and told the Phantom to go away." The kid really can't fathom why any girl would be even slightly tempted by a bad guy like the Phantom. It's a very black and white issue for her, so I expect to see a Team Raoul poster hanging in her bedroom any day now.
(Dear future Alexis, I really hope your opinion of "bad boys" never, ever changes. And if it does? You really should ask 4-year old you about how dumb it is to like a boy who is mean.)
As the show began to come to an end, Alexis sat in my lap, still deeply engrossed in every note and nuance. Occasionally she would whisper a question or comment in my ear . . . things about which song was her favorite and which ballerina was a good dancer and how the Phantom should put his hair back on. It was then that she uttered the words I have been expecting, the words I don't know what to do with, other than to support and cheer from the sidelines.
"Momma, when I get bigger, can I sing on the stage?"
And so it begins . . .
Monday, October 25, 2010
Reader Comments (19)
I think I had forgotten how much I love you. And Alexis. Sheez.
I cannot WAIT to see this girl on Broadway. :]
Love her :)
She is pretty much my Isabella's role model. I Adore her!
Having spent my delicate developmental years on the stage, all I can say for you in RUH-ROH!!!
I just can't help wondering how you got her hair to straighten.
First of all, I love love LOVE Phantom. But when I was younger, I didn't like any of the tragedies. I hated Romeo and Juliet, and all its variations, because it seemed dumb to me that they couldn't end up happily ever after. Now, I see the beauty in the tragedy that I missed before.
@Karen--Product. Lots of product. I'm weirdly good at straightening hair, too.
Wow, she is adorable! Just like us with our girls....you're in for it!
I strongly approve of the girl's love of theater. I am also obligated to suggest that you check out the Gemini Children's Theater in Point Breeze. It's run by a bunch of my friends. Gemini is a lot less flashy than Phantom, but it's a fun place: http://www.geminitheater.org/
Oh, and not to scare you, but I sang my first solo on stage (with the San Francisco Children's Opera) at 8 and had my first big role (Baby Louise in the musical Gypsy) by 10. ;-)
I'm so NOT surprised that she is already asking to be on stage.
She looks so grown up in that pic! She's just so beautiful and smart to not understand the lure of the bad boy. ;-)
ZOMG....encourage, encourage, encourage!!! I dream of the day one of my girls says that to me...I've been on stage (community theatre) and so has my son (same)...but then he grew up into a REAL BOY (and became tone deaf) and I'm stuck with my other two....hoping and praying one of them wants to sing and dance like me.
I wouldn't put it past her to be in the performing arts as an adult. Childhood passions seem to translate to adulthood well.
My sister saw it when she was little. She was certain shed be an opera singer or some type of musician then. Now she's a concert violinist and an orchestra teacher (while her voice is lovely, she decided she preferred strings). By the way, she would have thought Alexis was insane...she adored Erik.
I hope she gets her wish and performs onstage!
I love this post! I love her thoughts on The Phantom. And, I really LOVE that picture!!
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This go through told me that just like shopping in the exact center hall, shopping online is trustable.
I cannot get over how grown-up she looks in that picture! It must be all the product :)
And sign me up for season tickets to whatever Alexis is going to be performing in so I can say, "I knew her when . . ."!
She is awesome and amazing and I will be right there with her adoring fans, cheering from the sidelines, but....
GOD, with the Team Raoul and making me cry over stupid boy issues! I think I need to channel my inner 4-year-old. ANd I probably (definitely) needed that kick in the pants. (Don't you hate it when your kids are wiser than you are?)
That is a gorgeous photo of your girl! :)