Everyday Theatre Anonymous

As I drove up the driveway, my little sister called from the backseat, “we’re home!” I immediately launched into a performance of “Home” from the musical Beauty and the Beast. I could hear my siblings groan from the backseat. The message was clear: here we go again.

I don’t just sing, either. I act. What starts as a cookie-baking session can turn me into a new character in a split second. The baking continues, but this time it’s Luisa from The Fantasticks baking cookies. The utensils become my props; it’s not uncommon for my sister to find me aggressively stirring cookie dough as I beg an outlaw to take me to see the world.

Yes, it’s a little eccentric. But music - specifically musical theatre - is so deeply ingrained in my mind that a sentence, a phrase, or even a word can set me off singing for the rest of the day. It’s not that I am particularly extroverted, or overconfident, or even love the spotlight. It’s that there is never not music in my head. I hum as I restock shelves at work. I sing softly to myself as I load the dishwasher. I put on classical music while I do my English homework and blast Hadestown on each car ride. I bring a little extra beauty into each day.

And to all those who criticize musical theatre for...