#the wing

"When I was in high school, I remember seeing the Tony performance for 'Next to Normal' and it was really impactful, because that was another like kind of underdog show, not an underdog show because they got recognized. And I believe Tom and Bryan won the Tony that year for music. Maybe I'm wrong. Do you guys know this one for 'Next To Normal'? Well they got, I think they won the Pulitzer, I think it did win a Pulitzer. But anyway, it was kind of a smaller show, not like a big blockbuster show. And then when I saw this performance, I was like, "wow, that like music is insane, I gotta listen to this!" And then I started like going down the 'Next To Normal' hole and like the Aaron Tveit track and started obsessing over the show. And that was one of the most like influential Broadway experiences that I ever had, was getting to see most of the original cast on Broadway. I remember getting to the end of the show. And there's this beautiful song at the end called "Light", and just like the whole theater kind of floods of lights and like these big cans like fly out and I was sitting in the Booth Theater - it was at the Booth Theater, so it was at a low mezzanine. And just like crying, like I couldn't really explain why I wasn't. I think 'Jagged Little Pill' broke me since like now I cry at everything but like back in high school, I didn't cry at all! And like that, it was like a thing for me, that - I was just like, if I can make people feel that way through my performance. Like, that is what I want to do, and that's like the coolest job ever. And also I'm reminded of that moment, every time I'm on stage being, like, there are people out there - I know I've been doing this for two, 300 times, but there are people out there who are seeing it for the first time, who have been obsessing over the soundtrack, who have been waiting months to see this and are having that moment right now, so that's important to remember. And it all kind of stems back to seeing that Tony performance is being like floored. With that, and also, Sidney Lucas' performance from 'Fun Home', I'm not sure if you guys remember that. But it was kind of just her - this like little petite powerhouse of a girl and just like, have this cinematic performance that was so beautiful. So that was another performance, it really stands out to me." - Derek talking about which Tony performances on Broadway stood out the most