What was the one thing that made the severity of the Coronavirus Pandemic truly hit home to you?
Things are changing so quickly. Just three weeks ago I had a full weekend of plans outside the house. Then, boom! Social distancing, self-quarantine, stay at home. I remember when I heard the
NCAA basketball tournament would be played in front of empty stadiums. I thought, how odd. But not too much later, it was cancelled all together. As were the NBA and MLB seasons. The Olympics were pushed off a year. And Disney World was closed. What?!!
For me, it was the closing of the Broadway theater district in New York City. Billy Joel’s lyrics from his 1976 song keep running through my head: “And the lights went out on Broadway …” Maybe Broadway’s closing hit me harder than Disney World and the sports seasons because New York theater holds such a special place in my heart.
From the time I sat in the audience for my very first musical theater experience, I became hooked. I guess I was about twelve, and my local community theater was performing Music Man. One of my classmates played Winthrop, the little boy. Sitting in the dark watching the play unfold with the music and the costumes, the beautiful voices and the story … wow, it was truly magical. It gave me goosebumps. I was forever hooked as a theater fan.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for me to perform on stage. I’m not an actress, by any means. I tried! I performed in a college production of Hair and even a summer outdoor production of my favorite musical, Music Man. But … nope. Just don’t have the talent or the interest. It’s God’s plan for me to live out my theater addiction in the audience, supporting the production and loving every wonderful minute.
I have a “cousin-in-law” who shares my love for theater and we take regular trips to Broadway to feed our addiction. Her name is also Laurie and we refer to
our trips as “The Lauries Take Manhattan.” We arrive to the city on Thursday and return home on Monday, and during those few days we pack in a record SIX shows! How, you ask? We strategically schedule show tickets for Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday matinee, Saturday night, Sunday matinee and Sunday night. It takes a lot of theater stamina, but we go home exhausted and happy on Monday!
Oh my, we’ve enjoyed just about every moment. We always tend to grab the celebrity limited appearances. We’ve seen Nathan Lane, David Hyde Park, Ben Stiller, Edie Falco, Jeff Daniels, Jim Parsons, Jesse Eisenburg. I could go on. We’ve seen classic musicals as well as modern musicals. We’ve seen non-musical comedies and dark dramas. Our trips have enhanced my life in more ways that I can count.
I shared my love for theater and particularly for Music Man in my book, Journey to Fulfillment, Book 3 in my Pawleys Island Paradise series. Marianne, the heroine, and her husband Tom own the Seaside Inn. Marianne, a theater fan, comes up the idea to introduce a dinner theater in their inn’s dining room, the first ever on Pawleys Island. It takes a lot of work, help from the community, talent and dedication, but she finally produces … Music Man! Of course that was the musical I chose to feature!
My theater partner Laurie and I had planned our next Broadway trip around actor Hugh Jackman’s upcoming appearance in Music Man this fall. Who knows if that show will go on as planned? We’ve all learned to be a little flexible. Events closing that you couldn’t imagine in your wildest dreams a few weeks ago, are commonplace now. The world is staying safe at home, and that’s the best thing we all can be doing now.
Question for you: What event or location closing hit you the hardest? What are you looking forward to attending the most when we are given the All Clear? I’ll give one e-copy of my book Journey to Fulfillment to one random commenter. Selection will be made on April 9.
**Heartwarming, life-changing Christian fiction.** An award-winning author, Laurie is living her dream life at the beach, writing novels. Laurie writes beachy inspirational romance that takes place in the South Carolina Low Country. She retired from the big day job and now focuses on writing full time. Strolls on the sand, soaking up the sun and riding the waves can be considered the best kind of research.
I fell in love with The Music Man in high school. We put it on for the school drama. I was in it (bit part, kid, indian in the July 4 scene, and even pretended to play a trumpet at the end) I have loved it ever since.
I think as each sport (cricket and then the Aussie Rules football) ended it brought it home but I think the biggest was I was to meet up with a friend in May and was slowly seeing more and more things change like the borders closing then the state borders and we realised the visit in May wouldn’t be happening. The biggest thing that affects me is that my visit to the neurologist later this month had to be cancelled. I have botox for migraines and that is the biggest disappointment for me. It is also the thing I look forward to most (besides getting my hair cut) on the other side. I am due end of them month and know by mid May my pain will be back up to where it was and I really don’t know how I will handle that.
The closing of schools probably hit me the hardest as I am a teacher.
Hi Lori! Thanks for sharing your love of Broadway. A disappointment was not being able to attend the Morris Theater production of Lion King with my six year old granddaughter Maddie and her mother. After attending a children’s performance of Daniel Tiger at our local theater when Maddie was three, she loves dressing up and going to the theater with Oma and mommy. Musicals are her favorite. At age six, Maddie has already seen three different Annie productions from local groups – children’s choir and high school productions. With commercials on TV of the South Bend Lion King production, she was heart broken not to be able to attend. First schools were shut down, which she love; then the theater and not having Oma take her to school each morning.
As a reader, I miss my local library sponsored book club and going to dinner with my reading buddy Wendy. As a woman with short hair, I miss having my appointment this week with my beautician. In our Michigan this is week four of sheltering in place. Definitely concerned about the well being of our family and community – only one son is still working, since his company is building an extension to a hospital. Best wishes.
For me it was the closing of the cinemas, I love films! Finally well enough to participate again and we are social distancing. When this is all lifted I am most looking forward to hugging my friends and family. Thanks
Oh no! I used to suffer from migraines and I know how terrifying they are. I hope and pray you don’t have a setback and you get your treatment soon.
Yes! Were you asked to come up with a way for kids to do their lessons online? I feel for the teachers, as well as the kids with no schools to go to. Hang in there.
Sounds like you’re building a love for theater in your granddaughter! Yay! Lion King on Broadway is a phenomenal experience.
I’m so sorry for all the things you’re missing. Let’s hope we get through this soon!
Me too! I love movies. My last official outing was to a movie before we self-quarantined. It may just be my first one when this is all over!
My husband and I had bought ten tickets to Cirque du Soleil for our family’s Christmas present, for a performance in June when it came nearby. I was disappointed when it was canceled but thankful a full refund was offered in same email and showed up on my next credit card statement. Guess we owe everyone a Christmas gift ;)
I see my 7yo next-door granddaughter some, though no snuggles. We walk together (but apart) in the back field. The three things I am looking forward to the most at the other end are HUGGING and playing with all four grandgirls (when will I see the others again? Thankful for Skype!), getting my hair cut, and attending church in the same building as my friends and neighbors.
I am so sad over how many people have lost their jobs. My work is in the essential category so I have not lost a minute of working or a paycheck….I am heartbroken for the others
I am a retired school librarian who works now as a substitute teacher. Closing schools and closing churches have hit me hard! I am a social person and while I love my husband, I miss being with family and friends.
I understand your love of theatre. I live in mid Missouri, so we are close to the Muny Theatre in St. Louis. They perform 7 musical shows every summer. Since our children were young, we would drive into St. Louis every week to sit in the free seats, eat our picnic supper, and watch the show. No doubt, that helped foster a love of theatre in our children. Our daughter is a stage manager with the AD Players in Houston, and our son does community theatre in Wyoming. I am still hoping we will be able to attend shows at the Muny this summer.
For me, it’s how many places have closed, and now many people may have permanently lost their jobs. I’ve been home for the last 8 years as caregiver for Mom, and worked from home the last 6, since I got my license as an insurance agent. I feel sorry for the ones that own eateries, and people that are now out of work can’t afford to buy from them, so that means even though they can be open for pickup and/or delivery, people can’t afford to buy. Instead of a win/win, it’s more like a lose/lose. Sad.
Oh Valerie, I hope you get to go to Cirque du Soleil when all is safe again. I’d bought tickets to see Elton John with my husband on his farewell tour. I haven’t heard anything, but I have to assume we won’t be going there on May 22!
Yes, I miss hugging my parents and friends. I hate the fact that we’ll probably have to cancel our family vacation with our three kids in May. I just want everything behind us.
Oh yes, Paula Marie, I agree. My daughter in law is in the hotel industry. Today, 80% of her department was put on a 90 day furlough with 20% of their pay. She was one of them. They just bought a house a year ago, so I hope they can still make payments on only one income. My two sons fortunately can work their normal jobs from home with little impact.
Oh wow you are definitely a theater family! How wonderful. Lots of talent. I have a college friend who manages the Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis — have you ever been there?
Yes, I’m so sorry. I’m hoping the relief packages being promised by the federal government will get some of those folks who have lost jobs over the hump and we’ll be able to make a recovery when all this is over. I grieve for the small business owners who may not be able to bounce back.
Laurie, for me my big loss is being able to play tennis. In a normal week I was on the courts at least four times. Not only do I miss playing, but I miss the social aspect of team tennis. Having to do church on line isn’t the same. Thankfully, a group of ladies from the church I attend had just concluded our 10-week Bible study that met at my house when all the social distancing orders came down. My daughter who lives in Baltimore shares your love of Broadway. She goes to NYC several times a year to see plays. She also loves live concerts, so she’s missing a lot of things.
It’s not the same I’m sure, but if you haven’t watched Some Good News with John Krasinski, his second week video gives a beautiful Broadway experience. I know when I visited my family in Upstate NY a month ago we joked about me not being able to return to Ohio. In days I returned to learn our kids would be remote learning, and it snowballed from there.
I have two big losses. One is not being able to see my best friend, who doesn’t get out much. When we had planned to have a girls’ night the week after our state canceled all gatherings of 100 or more, we were trying to figure out if we could still do it. When all the restaurants closed, that clinched it and we had to cancel.
The second is not knowing whether I will get to go to our family reunion on Memorial Day. I haven’t seen my Dad’s side of the family in 7 years, and my parents had bought plane tickets for me and my two kids to fly out to meet them. But that may not happen.
I think the thing that has hit me the hardest is not being able to access the beach at the end of my street. It’s a public beach and therefore closed!! 😢 I’m looking forward to the day it opens again. I also miss being able to go out to eat. I know I can still order curbside and bring the food home or eat in my car, but that’s not quite the same.
I love tennis! I took lessons as a teenager, and got a friend to sign up for tennis lessons relatively recently — say, last 8 years, as an adult. Unfortunately, I got tennis elbow by the end of the lessons! LOL.
Hopefully we’ll all be back out doing the things we love soon. It sure does make you appreciate the things we used to take for granted.
I’ll have to find that! I saw his first one and thought it was funny.
Oh Lila, I’m right there with you. My two sons, and one daughter in law have been planning to come out for a visit, with their dogs (three dogs in the house!!) for at least six months. They all got approved vacation time from work. It’s beautiful here in May. But now, it’s only a month away and I can’t really picture it a) being possible and b) being entertaining to have a houseful of company here. The last time they were all out, they were chased away by a hurricane evacuation. Now, the pandemic.
So little has changed for me that it almost seems unfair. Actually, it probably is unfair. Although not technically home-bound, I get out very little. So this is same-ole, same-ole. In some ways, it’s been an improvement. I have helped with getting our Sunday morning small group on-line so I get to participate where I might not have in the flesh. All the talk of theater has me pining away. I’m an actor from way back but I haven’t been on stage in a looooong time. If we get nothing else from this experience, it will be a shift in perspective. I just happen to have lost health and work for other reasons before COVID-19 ever came along. But God has been so wonderfully present for us, His provision has been humbling and marvelous. No matter what the hardship or discomfort, I think we will each find God to be faithful in yet another way that we haven’t seen before. Just like the end of The Last Battle in Narnia: “Farther up, Farther in!” Even once we are free of Earth’s brokenness and pain, the journey, the fellowship, the love will never end and will never cease to grow. Growing in our understanding of that and our ability to live it out seems like something to look forward to.
The beaches closing hit me hard too!! We get our beach fix at Huntington Beach State Park. Our first indication that things were going to change was that it closed Mon – Thurs, but was still open on Fri – Sun. One day, even that was gone. CLOSED. So, we drove to a nearby public beach access and were able to take a couple beach walks that way, until that was closed too. I’m not saying I disagree with the beaches closing. It’s necessary. It’s just hard to get exercise with gyms and parks and beaches all closed. Let’s get through this and back to normal!
Lincoln, what a lovely comment! Thank you for your positive thoughts! I have to ask: what roles have you played as an actress and what were your favorite plays?
The inability to find things that were usually always on the shelves at the local grocery stores or your local Wal-Mart store.
I think the hardest for me is when the restaurants and shops all closed. I so enjoy going out to eat and browsing around stores. Having them closed will help me be more appreciative for them when they open again though.
Yes! Along with memorizing the delivery schedules of your favorite stores!
Me too! I’m used to having little outings/errands/chores around town to keep me busy. I miss that and will so appreciate it someday soon!
Oh my. That list might be a bit tedious. For traditional theater: the Stage Manager in Our Town, Anne Frank’s father in The Diary of Anne Frank, Brutus in Julius Ceasar, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, Helen Keller’s brother in The Miracle Worker, Nigel the black sheep nephew in Something’s Afoot, Grandpa in the world premiere of a play written by Dan Castellaneta – the voice of Homer Simpson – called A Purple Dawn. (I suspect that it may also have been the only production of A Purple Dawn.) Add to that an improv revue, church dramas and musicals and technical and musical crew a few times.
My niece will not be having a prom, and the graduation plans are unknown.
Oh I feel so bad for the 2020 seniors!! They’re missing so much! My friend’s daughter is a college senior, softball player, getting married in early June. They cancelled her senior season, emptied the entire campus, sent them home. Graduation is postponed till Aug and she has no idea if she’ll have her wedding. :(
Oh, wow! Our beaches are open if you can walk there! All of the parking access is closed, though, so I can’t go. My sister lives a few blocks from the beach, and she walks there. The beaches in Volusia County are open for “exercise”, too, so people can be outside. Of course, still 6 feet apart and no crowds! Which also means you need to be able to walk there!
I was all set to buy tickets to the touring production of The Play That Goes Wrong, that was coming to town in May, when the cancellations started. I’ve seen in elsewhere, but was looking forward to sharing it with friends.
I believe our police will ticket you if you’re found walking on a public beach.
Fantastic! Congrats on all your acting successes@
I’m so sorry. I hope they will reschedule in a few months!
Church closing has been the hardest as it means no Sunday School where I help with the kids and no youth groups that two of my grandkids went to. I know they miss it.
Disney World closing impacted me and hubby. We love Disney and had a trip planted for a year and now it is closed. Don’t know when we will be able to reschedule. We are like 2 little kids when we are there!
The coronavirus hit home for me when I decided I was going to cook my enchiladas and needed hamburger meat and I went to Sam’s and they were sold out of meat. March 13. I started to realize this was really serious.
Thanks. I have something called Occipital Neuralgia along with chronic daily migraines. Botox keeps it undercontrol with over the counter pain killers. I know I can go 4 months and then it starts to increase. 4 months is the second week in May so I know I have another month or so before it will get worse. Its more when you have a break when pain comes back it is harder to deal with for a bit.
Yes, very difficult! I’m so glad we’re in the technological age of watching church services online, but there’s nothing like being there in person. I have to admit I was pleasantly impressed with my pastor doing virtual Communion!
Oh I love Disney too! Hubs and I took our little boys twice, but I always wanted to go once without kids!
Yes! No meat. No eggs. No milk. Crazy. My husband is our forager, looking for key items when we need them. He’s got the whole gloves/Lysol wipes/mask scenarios down pat!
Hi Laurie. My sister and I went to a Broadway show the first time we went to the US. It took a bit of travelling and figuring this out, but we made it (she was 18 I think and I was 21, so we were bravely going from Brazil to visit family in the US and took a train from NJ to NYC on a Sunday morning then back at night, walking in the streets and going back … ). I loved every minute of it. Just took a lot of our savings but it was so worth it.
Quarantine seems to have taken over our lives around the globe. Recently I miss going back to school (to teach) and taking my toddler to school too. How bad is that? My husband says nerdsRus, but really I just miss life how it was. I love being home with everyone, but it’s hard too. I haven’t had a social life since son #1 was born, and after son#2, whatever I still had was soon vanished (nope, I don’t feel sorry for myself; it was a choice and I love every minute of it). But maybe a park with a playground for the kids would be my outside work/school experience to miss.
Priscila, bravo for your brave NYC/Broadway story! I’m so impressed!
Yes, I think if nothing else, this isolation makes us realize how great our lives “were” and grateful that this is just temporary and hopefully we can get back to it. Best wishes to you!
Very early on in the COVID19 awareness in our state, a customer pulled me aside and said his adult son had been overseas on a business trip and had returned home with COVID19. He was #3 in our state to test positive. We live outside our largest city an hour. This news shocked me. (The son went straight into self-isolation upon his return).
Soon after that, the immediate closing of places of employment (and everything else) all at once across our state – the vastness & suddenness of it all hit me. And now after 3+wks it continues. Thank goodness for God’s word. He is indeed a comfort in times of need.
And – ooops! – I’m late by several days; no worries! :D