You Gotta Have Heart and Music...

It is not so much what we give but what we share,

For the gift without the giver is bare.

I've loved this quotation for years, but I can't remember where it came from or how I came to know it. I tried googling it, in hopes of finding an author to credit. You can be sure that the English teacher in me has little tolerance for plagiarism. But I couldn't find anything even close. So I'm going to leave it without an author, but I want to be clear: I can't claim it as my own. I know I didn't write it.

This weekend we had the privilege to watch Eli perform in Skyview High School's production, "Broadway Bound," a delighful review, with performances from 14 Broadway musicals. This photo shows Eli in his costume for the song "Heart and Music" from the play New Brain. This was a new one to me, and I was so invigorated by it that I could barely refrain from singing right along with the cast.

Watching Eli perform is pure joy. The kid positively comes to life on stage. This show had considerable diversity. At one point Eli stands high on a platform and sings a solo about an upcoming attack in "One Day More" from Les Miserables. After a 15-minute intermission, he comes crawling across the stage, holding his stomach, singing about having just been in a fight, part of the song "Rent" from the musical of the same name. Then, just two numbers later, he comes out dancing in a group of eight boys, all wearing goofy crowns on their heads with equally goofy expressions on their faces, doing the can-can while singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Spamalot.

I laughed. I laughed to the point of tears. I cried. And then I laughed some more. Both nights.

I enjoyed all 14 numbers without exception. These kids did not merely give a good performance; they shared their love of music and their love of life with the audience. Lucky us!

You gotta have heart and music. The cast of "Broadway Bound" most certainly had both.