You Gotta Have Heart

It’s February 17, the end of a winter week that began with Valentines Day. As cheesy as it sounds, Valentines Day is a personal favorite of mine.  Not because it is a marketing ploy for romance, but because it is an opportunity for young and old to unabashedly express heartfelt emotion if they so desire.  I love young children’s enthusiastic articulation of the holiday through singing, dancing or a uniquely cut paper heart.

I equate the sensation with the passion I hope you feel when you choose a show.  No matter how you made the decision - seeing it live, enjoying a “bubble-bath read”, pressure from a cast or a recommendation from a licensing agent - there is nothing like the feeling of being in love with the show before you begin.  There is also nothing comparable to when you have goose bumps after your first read-through with a new cast .  It drives you, excites you, it remains on your mind day and night; it is a never-ending mind game that isn’t solved until opening night.  

So if putting on a show is all consuming for you, choose a show that you can lose your heart in the process, the most significant piece.  Choose your show for all the right reasons – cast size, budget, singers, experience and space.  Valentines week or not, choose one affectionately. You gotta have heart.  CR