Introduction
Whenever people meet me, they always say that I share many similarities with my mom. Not only do we look alike, but we act alike. This is probably because my mom has passed down many of her best qualities to me. One of those is her love of theatre. For as long as I can remember, my mom and I have been going to see shows together. I know that many people do not see St. Louis as having a thriving theatre culture, but I always say that if you are searching for it, you will find it. We are season ticket holders at The Fox, frequent flyers at The Muny, and established regulars at smaller theatres we have discovered throughout the years (check out Stray Dog Theatre!). Like much of the content you consume, there are lessons you will pick up on even without knowing it. Maybe it is a musical that you return to over and over again to find something new to grasp onto every single time. Maybe little bits of the plot stick with you and pop up years after you step foot outside of the theatre. Maybe you don’t even remember the musical itself at all but you remember how it made you feel. I have felt all of these. Today, I want to share with you some of the lessons I have learned from musicals.
“Because I knew you / I have been changed for good”
It is only fitting that we start with Wicked since it was the first musical I really remember. My mom took me to see Wicked when it was at The Fox in (I think) 2015, and it was love at first sight. It is probably the musical I have seen the most. Wicked tells the story before Dorothy ever appears in Oz. It is about Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West), Glinda (the Good Witch), their unlikely friendship, and the mistakes that are made along the way that lead to a bucket of water thrown on the Wicked Witch of the West. The biggest lesson I learned from Wicked is that you never know the full impact that you have on someone’s life. We forget the power we have to influence others. We always remember those who have influenced us the most. However, we rarely think about the fact that we might be that person for someone else. My friend Nidhi reminded me of that last year. I met Nidhi during my senior year of high school in the theatre department (which is very fitting for this blog post). During stressful times of having to reteach a Kindergartener the same dance for the fifth time, she would always make me laugh. We both made an effort after I graduated to stay in touch. Nidhi was asked in a college application last year to write a letter to someone she has not yet thanked but would like to. She wrote the letter to me and did actually send it to me. I had never realized how much I impacted her. So, please, go out and tell the people you love the ways that they have made you better. And Nidhi, you are the best-chosen sibling I could’ve asked for too!
“Progress is possible, not guaranteed / It will only be made if we keep marching”
I saw Suffs with the original New York City Broadway cast in the summer of 2024 with my mom and some family friends. It was seriously amazing. It reminded me a lot of Hamilton because of its focus on history, legacy, and the fight for freedom. Suffs tells the story of (some of) the most influential women in the American Women’s Suffrage Movement and highlights the events that led up to the passing of the 19th Amendment. While Suffs does not go into all the depth and complexities of the movement, it does spotlight the real stories of the American Women’s Suffrage Movement, and those stories are not always pretty. From Ida B. Wells being asked to march in the back of the first Women’s March on Washington to the in-fighting between many of the movement’s leaders, Suffs highlights the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the passing of the 19th Amendment (and the continual struggle to add the Equal Rights Amendment). From Suffs, I learned that the fight does not end with you. Progress is always possible; it is something that I have to believe in, or else I will fall into inaction. However, progress does not happen just from complaining. Complaining is easy. You get to talk like you understand a topic, but you never have to put your neck on the line. It is all word, no action. Change will only happen if we continue to demand it with our words and our actions. I ask you all to take inventory of your beliefs and ask yourself if your actions match your words. It could be the difference between progress and regression. And please go out and vote in November! If I can do it from London, you can do it too!
“I’d rather be me than be with you”
If there is one word that I try to live out every single day, it would be authentic. I truly try to live an authentic life because it is a gift to be you. The musical that speaks this truth very proudly and loudly is Mean Girls. As any fan of the early 2000s knows, Mean Girls follows Cady Heron as she begins high school and encounters Regina George (a very stereotypical mean girl – ha, get it?). After Regina falls from grace, Cady steps into the power vacuum left behind and betrays her authentic truth. It is not easy to live authentically. In the past, I have struggled with people-pleasing. I was extremely self-sacrificing. I would bend over backward to help people, even people who never returned the favor. I did this because I cared too much about what other people thought about me. From Mean Girls, I learned this truth: if someone likes you only because you agree with them, they are not your true friend. And if someone does not like me, so what? Most of the time, it is a reflection of them and their insecurities (and not of me). Your authentic truth is the best gift you can give to a friend. Today, I surround myself with people who love me for who I am and not who I pretend to be. I try hard to not take it personally when someone does not want to be my friend or continue our friendship. I will not betray my values, my goals, and myself to be friends with someone. I live without regrets because I am honest about who I am at my core. I would rather be authentically me.
“To love another person is to see the face of God”
Les Miserables is the oldest musical on this list, which is kind of funny because it took me until 2023 to finally see it. Les Miz follows Jean Valjean, a man who is released from prison in 1815 and takes on a new identity during the revolutionary period in France. With his adoptive daughter Cosette, he tries to outrun his past when it threatens to catch up with him. There are so many forms of seeking found in Les Miserables. Jean is seeking a new start in life. Cosette is seeking to find love for the first time. The revolutionaries are seeking a better future. I utilized the word seeking here for a reason. Les Miz taught me to seek God out in the people that I love. I firmly believe that we are called to love all people, and to love others is to love God. This is the base of my beliefs. I have struggled with religion all my life. However, I know there is a higher power when I look at my loved ones. I see God when my parents always make time to FaceTime me while I am in London. I see God in my sibling dinners with Gabe and Owen. I see God when my GG bakes me my favorite cookies for my birthday. I see God in the late-night talks with Sarah, in all the TikToks that Meris sends me, and in the home-cooked meals that Louisa makes for me. I even see God in the kindness of complete strangers. God is always present in my life because I am surrounded by people who love me. I need to recognize this because it makes me so grateful for the people in my life (more on gratitude in a moment). I am extremely lucky to have this much love in my life and Les Miz always helps me remember that.
P.S. I talk more about religion in my blog post from three weeks ago so check that out if you are interested!
“Look around, look around, / At how lucky we are to be alive right now”
Would it really be a blog post about musicals if I did not write about Hamilton? Hamilton follows the life story of Alexander Hamilton, from his first time arriving in America to the legacy that his wife, Eliza, worked tirelessly to build. There are so many things that I could write about this show. Today, I want to focus on Eliza. Eliza has always been one of my favorite characters because it is through her role in Hamilton I learned the importance of gratitude. Eliza is a humble character who always remembers that the next day is not promised. She constantly reminds others of the importance of being thankful. I think that gratitude is something that we sometimes overlook, especially when life gets hard. When times are good, it is so easy to forget to be grateful. Every day, I try to write down at least three unique things that I am grateful for. They can be big things. I am grateful I get to study abroad in the beautiful city of London. I am grateful I get to graduate college debt-free because of the sacrifices my mom makes for me. I am grateful I get to vote from 4,000 miles away (seriously, go vote!). They can be small things. I am grateful my hairstylist Emily gave me hard water packets because the water in London sucks. I am grateful the tube arrived right when I walked onto the platform. I am grateful for my friend’s mom teaching me how to cross-stitch. Even just writing these sentences down here reminds me of all the things that I have to be grateful for. I think that we can also forget the power of a “thank you”, especially to our parents. Even if it is a quick sentence in your Notes app as you listen to your favorite song from Hamilton, I ask you to start a gratitude journal.
Conclusion
Because of my mom, I have seen more musicals than the average person. I am eternally grateful to my mom for taking me to see so many musicals. Through these musicals, she has taught me so many valuable life lessons about love, freedom, authenticity, faith, and gratitude. However, my favorite thing she has taught me is that she will always be there for me. By routinely spending time with me in theatres from St. Louis to New York to London, she has shown me the value of making time for the people that you love. I know that she will always be there for me. I know that when I am feeling homesick at WashU, the next Fox show is just around the corner. I know that even now that I am in London, I feel connected to her every time I go to a show and text her about it afterward. Thank you, Mom, for always being my theatre partner and I cannot wait to continue going to shows with you for years to come!
Bibliography
The Coneflower Chronicles 
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