They Say There's Magic in the Air

The first entry I ever wrote on this blog had to do with my small, but memorable, role in contributing to the premiere of the musical, 13, in Los Angeles in January of 2007. Now, after a long and most likely arduous process of revising, rewriting, recasting, and retooling, the musical will make its Broadway debut on Sunday. If you'll be in NYC during its first run, go see it. If you need some new music, check out the cast album. This is a big weekend in my household, with a big Trojan home game and the Dodgers poised to make a run into the NLCS. And now thanks to my friend Jason, the success of 13 is right up there at the top of my list.

To all the cast and crew:

Break a leg!

13

"Wow. I don't even know where to begin, but 'wow' seems like a good start. I'm still trying to absorb everything I experienced on 13's opening day."

I wrote these words just a day after "13" opened at the Mark Taper Forum. I had been unable, quite honestly, to wrap my head around writing as a professional and being published up until the moment I saw the piece in print in the program for the show. In that same vein, the events of January 7 still seem surreal. It was literally insane how well I was treated. There's a desire to be self-deprecating and talk about how undeserved the treatment was, but these people at Center Theatre Group bent over backwards for me and they deserve all the credit.

My parents and I got to our seats early, so we had plenty of time to peruse the program. Speaking of the people at CTG, I was absolutely dumbfounded by the placement of my piece. It can be found directly under notes written by Jason Robert Brown, composer of "13" and my editor, and by Todd Graff, director of "13". My essay follows their words and comes directly before all of the info on the cast and crew. Who could ask for anything more?

The essay is available on the Web at: http://www.centertheatregroup.org/uploadedFiles/Plays_and_Tickets/Productions/2006/13/files/13%20Program%20FINAL(1).pdf