Lights on Broadway: A Treasury of Theater from A to Z
HARRIET ZIEFERT A Theatrical Tour from A to Z VUGHTS ON BROADWAY with BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL ILLUSTRATED BY ELLIOT KRELOFF Blue Apple Books
Introduction ONE of the most exciting moments I have experienced in my career was the first time I set foot on a Broadway stage my own Broadway stage It was the Music Box Theatre on 45th Street and the company cast crew musicians creative team producers had gathered on the sidewalk to enter the building after months of rehearsals and out of town tryouts I remember walking into the cool of the theater and looking at the old brick back wall now freshly illuminated by the reflected sunlight of the street A sleeping giant stirred Suddenly a journey of many years was ending with a few short steps and there I was looking out into the house that would be my new home It was an empty space waiting to be filled There were no lights on the trusses no scenery in the wings and no players in the pit only a thousand vacant seats facing the blank stage we now stood upon Those seats would be filled in a few short weeks with eager audience members waiting to be entertained to be moved to be transported to a world that was both different and the same as their own Our job was as simple as it was complicated to breathe life into this space to animate it with our talents energies minds and hearts v
As I soaked in the scene it struck me that I was gazing into the open arms of one of my impossible dreams to be an actor on a Broadway stage I had reached that moment when all those years of training practice and dedication trying failing and trying again would be put to the ultimate test However what I thought might be a kind of final exam turned out to be the beginning of an even greater lesson The show that brought me to that stage Mail only lasted a few short weeks but with those first steps across the threshold of the Music Box Theatre I had walked into a tradition a history and a community of artists and fellow dreamers which continues to inspire me to this day So welcome to my house my home my Broadway As you take this very special tour perhaps you too will be ignited by the incredible collaborative magic that gives life and light to the theater Brian Stokes Mitchell v3395 35 35
