The April 22nd podcast of The Cardinal Cafe featured part 2 of their interview with Tony nominated actor Sean Allan Krill. He spoke with hosts Greg Chastain and Ed Siegel about the anticipation
of the re-opening of Broadway in the Fall. They were setting up vaccine
sites to help get the theaters open again. They talked about what it was
like during the first few weeks of the pandemic and how it looked like a
post-apocalyptic movie. Sean went on to say, "It's not like that now.
There are more people coming to New York just to visit. I'm not sure if
that's good or bad but I do believe we are on the right track. Thank God
for the vaccines and that we're working towards getting to the point
where we can all sit in a big room together and enjoy something."
Ed chimed in, 'We just have to get past the Spring break surge."
"Exactly, exactly," Sean said.
"Well
you just better be ready Sean because when things open up you're gonna
have, I bet we're gonna have at least 50-75 of our members (referencing
Voices of Hope Boston) who are gonna be on the bus, on the train and the
first show we are going to see is Jagged Little Pill," Ed replied.
"Wow
I can't wait," Sean said with such warmth and love in his voice.
"You're gonna let me know. You're gonna let me know, right? They
probably won't have a line for awhile and nobody will be able to come
back but I can certainly come out."
Sean went on to say, "It
sounds crazy to even talk about it. I know it's not impossible but at
this point a year in it does feel like, Wow, is that ever really going
to happen? But let's plan that. It sounds really nice."
**************
After we rested in our hotel room, we got dressed and walked over to the Broadhurst Theater with our vaccine cards and photo ID's in hand to get in line for Jagged Little Pill.
The line moved quickly. We were greeted with, "Welcome back to Broadway," from everyone who greeted us at the theater. We stopped to get a soda water. "What's the designated area to drink?" I asked the concession stand person. "Oh you can take the drinks to your seats now! And there are free refills so feel free to come back for more."
We climbed the stairs to the mezzanine and kept saying to each other, "I can't believe we're really here."
We bought our tickets on October 24th many weeks after the Voices of Hope Boston group bought their tickets yet there we were seated a row behind the President, Greg Chastain and his family and two rows behind Ed Siegel, the Vice President of VoH, and his beautiful wife Dana, the Executive Artistic Director. What a thrilling way to experience the lights being back on Broadway. We filled three and a half rows of the center of the mezzanine!
At intermission, we shared the experience of the First Act with our VoH family. and Ed said to us. "Buckle up for Act Two." He had seen Jagged when it was performed at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge.
He was right!
There were many moments where I welled up and rode the emotions in awe of the music, the script and the entire theatrical experience. After the scene where MJ overdoses, my legs began trembling uncontrollably. I tried to stop them but then I remembered Peter Levine's book, "In An Unspoken Voice-How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness." When a body that has experienced trauma, feels overwhelming emotions it can be released through trembling and it's a very healthy way to heal. After the show I stood up for the standing ovation. It ordinarily takes me a few minutes to get my energy flowing after sitting for a while but I bounced out of my chair, and bounded down the stairs with such ease after the show! I felt light and free.
Sharing the experience with my daughter and our circle of love in Voices of Hope who prayed for her when she was critically ill for several years was incredibly powerful soul medicine. We had no idea what the outcome would be. Dana was my rock through that time. She hugged as after the show and said how great it was to see the power of prayer! I thanked her for all of her love and support. "We're family and that's what we do." There were more hugs.
We finally figured out that Ruth Anne had an untreated infection that caused brain inflammation and that in turn caused a traumatic brain injury. It's been a long road back during these past two years. One of the most painful parts of the injury was that listening to music triggered the audio hallucinations. She LOVES music and it was so painful for both of us that we couldn't share it as she healed. BUT the brain does heal - albeit slowly and so we started reintroducing music into her life. One of her teachers in high school played Jagged Little Pill all the time in the copy center where she worked as part of her curriculum. After Sean's interview on the Cardinal Cafe we decided to get the vinyl
(rather than listening through headphones on her phone) and it was a total success! We used to go to concerts together and Broadway in Boston shows. I thought that experience might have been lost forever but I held onto hope and Saturday night we rekindled the experience of being together for live musical theater.
Ruth Anne had to get up at 6am on Monday to get to work so we did not stay to wait for Sean to come down to greet the group but we enjoyed the photos.
Greg presented Sean with a Voices of Hope jacket with his name on it... and Sean presented Greg with an autographed poster of the original Broadway cast of Jagged as a Silent Auction item for their upcoming Virtual Gala.
It was 'one..two..three..drop masks' to take this group photo.
Sean posted this photo on social media to express his appreciation to Voices of Hope for their love and support during the pandemic and all they do to work toward creating a cancer free world.
As Eliza Healey said, "He is such an incredibly talented performer and such a beautiful soul."
Hope planted seeds of possibilities seven months ago and they blossomed at the Broadhurst Theater and the Schubert Alley on Saturday in New York City.
I am so grateful that I set aside all my concerns about having to wear a mask throughout the weekend, waiting in line to enter the theater and whether or not I could enjoy the NYC experience with the COVID regulations to experience a magical evening overflowing with healing, hope and infinite possibilities as we continue to emerge from the pandemic.
To be continued...
From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary
Be sure to visit my website at https://marymcmanus.com to learn about my journey to health and wellness in the wake of paralytic polio and trauma
Visit the News and Events tab to listen to my inspiring and uplifting interviews
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