One Year On Broadway

“Sixty seconds until live,” a male voice from above announced.

Guests dressed in their finest rushed down the aisles to make it back to their plush velvet seats before the live portion of the show began. The wisps of long chiffon gowns flowed behind the women in rivers of color as they whooshed past us to the front. This scene played out at every advertising break for the live broadcast of the 72nd Annual Tony Awards. The night was nearing the end, but excitement still buzzed through the air like bees in a rose garden. The biggest awards were coming up next.

“Thirty seconds until live.”

The big black crane holding the television cameras swung over our heads, moving into filming position.

I looked around in wonder. This was the one and only time our son, Ryan, my wife, Kathy, and I would ever be at something this grand. The lighting around the stage bathed the whole theater in an orange glow that mirrored the warmth in my heart. I almost couldn’t believe it was real. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We were at the Tony Awards, the crown jewel of the Broadway season. I never would have dreamed it, yet somehow this was where the winds had blown us.