MY LIFE IS AMAZING
I'm going to record this in length. Because it's that awesome. Tonight, I went to the library of Congress and attended a Jonathan Larson Tribute concert. I met his family, the original Rent band, the musical director Tim Weil, and, oh wait. ANTHONY RAPP.
My neighbor Tim told me about the event. We were too late to get tickets, so we went to try our hand at standby. We attended the preshow talk, hosted by the original musical director (Tim Weil), the head of the musical theatre archives at the Library of Congress, and the chairwoman of the Jonathan Larson Fund. The talk got us so excited. Then we had to wait to see if we'd get tickets...we were standby 16 and 17. We got tickets. That in and of itself was worth geeking about.
The Library of Congress is currently in the process of archiving all of Jonathan Larson's stuff. All of his unpublished stuff, etc. We got a sneak peek.
So, we go to our seats. As standby tickets, we assumed we'd be in the back. Or, okay, FRONT ROW.
Yep. I was that close to Anthony Rapp, Gwen Stewart (original Seasons of Love soloist), and many other fantastic stars.
It started with a taped recording of Jonathan Larson singing "Seasons of Love." I cried...not too too much.
So, they perform songs. The original Rent band was together again. They performed a lot of earlier versions of songs...like "Right Brian," the first form of "One Song Glory." It was so amazing to see what was compared to what is...and yeah. That was really amazing and I feel very privileged.
I heard Anthony Rapp sing What You Own. Live. In person. ONE FOOT AWAY FROM ME. WE MADE EYE CONTACT.
Then three winners of the Larson Foundation award came out and performed an original song each. So I saw the future of theatre, basically. And Cynthia Hopkins will be big and hilarious. I'm calling it.
Then a gospel choir came out to finish the concert. Yeah, a gospel choir. This is when I really lost it. They started Seasons of Love...I started crying. I'm fairly certain that all the featured singers noticed me...as I was crying and in the front row...rather obvious. I heard Gwen Stewart sing the solo live. They then broke into "Love Heals," solos by Gwen Stewart. I was near sobbing at this point.
After the concert ended, I met Tim Weil and got his autograph. He's a really nice guy. Married to one of the singers who was also amazing.
Then I'm looking around, and who comes out? Anthony Rapp. I run over. Tim comes after. I sort of held out my program to be signed. He smiled and asked my name. My voice cracked and I squeaked out "Je-Jessica." Then Tim, who is holding my camera, says, "Could she get a picture?" I look scared out of my mind...probably because I was.
There really are no words.
My neighbor Tim told me about the event. We were too late to get tickets, so we went to try our hand at standby. We attended the preshow talk, hosted by the original musical director (Tim Weil), the head of the musical theatre archives at the Library of Congress, and the chairwoman of the Jonathan Larson Fund. The talk got us so excited. Then we had to wait to see if we'd get tickets...we were standby 16 and 17. We got tickets. That in and of itself was worth geeking about.
The Library of Congress is currently in the process of archiving all of Jonathan Larson's stuff. All of his unpublished stuff, etc. We got a sneak peek.
So, we go to our seats. As standby tickets, we assumed we'd be in the back. Or, okay, FRONT ROW.
Yep. I was that close to Anthony Rapp, Gwen Stewart (original Seasons of Love soloist), and many other fantastic stars.
It started with a taped recording of Jonathan Larson singing "Seasons of Love." I cried...not too too much.
So, they perform songs. The original Rent band was together again. They performed a lot of earlier versions of songs...like "Right Brian," the first form of "One Song Glory." It was so amazing to see what was compared to what is...and yeah. That was really amazing and I feel very privileged.
I heard Anthony Rapp sing What You Own. Live. In person. ONE FOOT AWAY FROM ME. WE MADE EYE CONTACT.
Then three winners of the Larson Foundation award came out and performed an original song each. So I saw the future of theatre, basically. And Cynthia Hopkins will be big and hilarious. I'm calling it.
Then a gospel choir came out to finish the concert. Yeah, a gospel choir. This is when I really lost it. They started Seasons of Love...I started crying. I'm fairly certain that all the featured singers noticed me...as I was crying and in the front row...rather obvious. I heard Gwen Stewart sing the solo live. They then broke into "Love Heals," solos by Gwen Stewart. I was near sobbing at this point.
After the concert ended, I met Tim Weil and got his autograph. He's a really nice guy. Married to one of the singers who was also amazing.
Then I'm looking around, and who comes out? Anthony Rapp. I run over. Tim comes after. I sort of held out my program to be signed. He smiled and asked my name. My voice cracked and I squeaked out "Je-Jessica." Then Tim, who is holding my camera, says, "Could she get a picture?" I look scared out of my mind...probably because I was.
There really are no words.