1967! Off, off, off, off-Broadway found on the stages of Taylor Allderdice High School and the Y-IKC of Pittsburgh. From a Lost Boy and Choreographer in ‘Peter Pan’ to Bobby Van Husen, the “Terribly rich and good-looking bachelor in the ‘The Boyfriend’ I discovered the magic, majesty, magnificence, and mirage of Musical Comedy. Could I sing on key, no way, but I could dance like nobody’s business. Could I act, well back then if a guy could dance, who cared about his acting! But I IMMEDIATELY became mesmerized by the sheer indulgence of creativity, escapism, captivated by the music, imagination, storytelling with always a happily ever after ending, and the feeling of flying into the clouds! On stage you could be whatever you desire, you could climb higher and higher, and higher, and the audience, WELL, they applauded, and appreciated the sparkle and shine, performance and personality, and willingness to entertain!
Real-life called, actually came knocking, and my dreams of going to Broadway melted into the reality of “…get a job, keep that job until you retire, make certain that whatever you do for a living, keeps you living a life you can afford…” Luckily I could direct, produce and choreograph for the next decade, and even playwright my own Musical, called ‘Hey Kidd,’ and for a while remain safe and sound on a stage where bad guys were booed, good gals applauded, sadness cured with a song, chorus numbers always had high kicks, and lost souls were eventually found.
How I wish, NO, how I WANT life to become a MUSICAL COMEDY. How wonderful it would be to break out in a torch song, suddenly do the soft shoe, do a diamond step, have all the people around me SING in unison only to bring the curtain down in a smashing first act, and raise that same curtain for more pizzazz, promise and purpose anticipating a show-stopping, encore producing a second and third and fourth act! I want real life to morph into a MUSICAL COMEDY, and we all receive APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE, APPLAUSE!
