Amelie on Broadway: A Perfect Time for Dreamers

Last week I got to take my girl to see Amelie on Broadway. The show starts with a  young girl who relies on her imagination and dreams of a bigger world to survive a sheltered and rather difficult childhood. When this little girl grows up and makes her way into the bigger world, it turns out she has a more difficult time fighting her fears than she thought she would.

You get to watch as the show unfolds through a series of delightful songs and fantastic character points of view as Amelie learns to navigate the tightrope between keeping your heart safe and really living your life out loud.

I loved having my girl at this show with me. One of her most endearing qualities is that she is and has always been unabashedly herself. It gets her in to trouble sometimes. She’s not everyone’s cup of tea. She is honest and forthright and has a fairly sturdy moral compass and isn’t afraid to speak out when she spots injustice, among peers or adults in charge. As you might imagine, this doesn’t always play well in junior high circles. Turns out, Amelie was on to something when she found living as yourself can be scary in the big world. One thing is for certain, at night, my girl can lay her head down knowing she lived her life authentically that day. To me, that is one of life’s greatest accomplishments. Because, like Amelie, The Girl cares deeply about others. She wants to leave the world better than she found it and mostly, she is happy being herself.

And like any good dreamer, my girl, like Amelie, is strong-willed about following her path. I learn a lot from her on a daily basis. That night, after the show, she asked if we could stand at the stage door and wait for the show’s stars. The Girl is a vocal fan of Amelie’s star, Phillipa Soo, whose performance was incredible. Soo, who we first discovered in Hamilton, was obviously very talented in that ensemble, but in this show, where she carried the whole thing,  we were treated to just how incredible her voice really is and wow, is about all I can say. That may be reason enough to see it. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t also include Paul Whitty, my favorite from Once, who plays all manner of colorful and charming characters in this show, including a fish. I think he is incapable of disappointing. I adore him.)

So The Girl, my dreamer, walks up to the stage door at the moment Ms. Soo walks out of it. The Girl nearly screamed and asked for an autograph. Then she said, to her idol, “when there was a time last year I thought I should give up singing, yours were the songs I listed to and practiced. You inspired me to keep going even when I doubted it was the right thing to do.”

“Oh, you’re a singer?”, she asked. ( As I stared awkwardly because in addition to wildly talented the woman is radiant, even after a 2 hour show.)

“Yes, I mean, kinda. I mean, this is what I want to do. What you do.” She answered, while literally jumping up and down.

How about that? I knew she was excited to see the show. I knew she adored Phillipa Soo. I had no idea the real reason why.  Turns out, The Girl was inspired by Ms. Soo. She dreams of one day being just like her idol and she admitted right after, hands shaking, that she had dreamed she would one day meet her too.

Talk about a dream come true. And it was just a regular Wednesday night in NYC.

In today’s world, I think you can never make enough time for dreamers. Don’t miss Amelie. You never know, seeing it may mean your dreams come true.

                                                                       Look at the stars in her eyes!

*I was gifted two tickets to Amelie for review purposes. All opinions are my own.