In The Musicals

This is a short piece I wrote for a column way back in 2003, when I was a mere 42 in Playboy bunny years. I was reading through it and decided that it was still relevant, especially since musicals have made a big comeback in recent years (and simply because I love them), so I decided to blog it. It's quite fascinating to read through these old pieces and compare where I was 7 years ago to where I am today.

I've always had a thing for musicals. As soon as I was tall enough to reach the hi-fi, I was playing my mother's old LP's. From Barbra Streisand classics to The Sound of Music, to My Fair Lady. The ones which notably caught my attention were, of course, those of Barbra Streisand. And thus started my journey into the world of idealism. 

Imagine a six year old boerseun with a decidedly 80's hairstyle listening all starry-eyed to Funny Girl. It's a sight to behold, I tell you. As I grew older, this didn't change. Being the tall and awkward looking kid that I was, I got picked on a lot at school, and music became a refuge to me. I would sit at the piano, singing along to Second Hand Rose and lamenting that no one loved me. I wanted to be happy like everyone in the musicals. I wanted life would to be a ball, and I wanted someone to catch me when I fall. I thought life would be like a Broadway show. 

Needless to say I was hideously mistaken. Life is nothing like the musicals. People don't burst out in song in the middle of the street; they mug you and steal your money. But wait, I thought to myself. Maybe I'd been getting it backwards all this time. Musicals aren't really happy at all; they're just like real life. Only lyrical instead of literal. Think Fanny Brice wanted her first husband Nicky Arnstein to gamble away all their money? No, I don't think so either. But despite everything, she belched out one song after another, grabbing life by the balls and doing things her way. 

That's what I learned in my reevaluation of musicals. It's all about challenging life with a smile on your face; it's about seizing the moment and just feeling what there is to feel, whether it's good or bad, and enjoying it while you still can. So hey, Mr. Arnstein, here I am! Bring it on! I can take what you have to give. Only can die once, right sir?