If my life was a movie, I would like to think that it would be a musical. A light, airy, funny, neat but quirky little story laced with wonderful singing and dancing. The kind that plasters a big smile on your face when you get up to leave the theater and has you humming at least one of the tunes all the way to your car.
Not that I actually ever sing (or hum). Because I was told at the age of 10 that I couldn’t sing by my 5th grade choir teacher, and I never really tried again.
But I do dance. And I think that should qualify me for musical status.
But musicals are oh so much more than just singing and dancing. They present a view of the world that gives us hope and joy and there’s always some sort of lesson to be learned through the story….like…
Lesson #1: A boy and girl can find each other and be happy happy happy.
Lesson #2: You can get the bad guys and they will get what they deserve.
Lesson #3: The world is a better place when we hold hands and,
Lesson #4: If we pull together, we CAN put on a show!
I love the idea of defining my life with that kind of optimistic outlook on the world, where seemingly insurmountable problems get resolved and all of the characters end up better off than they were before.
I mean, WHY NOT?
Why not sing and dance through life? Why not have happy endings (and beginnings and middles)? Why not belt out a show stopping tune that tells everyone to Stop Raining on Your Parade?
I know musicals tend not to be taken seriously, but in terms of how to live a life…it sure is a lot better than being a suspense thriller, or an intense drama. I mean how scary and exhausting would that be!?!
The thing that trips me up on this one though is that we all tend to think of musicals as being rooted in fantasy (Brigadoon anyone!?). And I don’t actually consider my life to be fantasy based at all. Rather, I believe I’m a realist. I just like a little light-heartedness with my reality. And a lot of music, and dance, and humor and passion and goodness. All ingredients for a well rounded musical.
This isn’t a new thing for me. I was raised watching musicals. And I raised my children to watch and appreciate them as well. We used to go to see every Broadway musical we could, some on Broadway…some at our local dinner theater. But we saw them all.
So imagine my delight when a real life (in a matter of speaking) musical came to TV.
I’m talking about GLEE.
Unlike the old fashioned musicals, where everyone breaks into song mid-sentence for no apparent reason…there really is a reason for these kids to be singing and dancing.
They’re in the Glee Club.
And they make it cool.
And OMG the talent! Invariably one of the characters will sing some amazing song at some point in the show that ALWAYS makes me smile (or cry). And when the show is over, it makes me feel like the world is a better place.
Sometimes I think how cool it would be to ACTUALLY have my life BECOME a musical. I think it would be amazing to be able to break out in song when something disappoints me, or when something great happens, and have it be acceptable behavior.
But then I remember…I really can’t sing.
Oh well. I can still dream and I still have Glee.
I think that some people want their lives to be like a really serious movie. Like the kind where there’s no soundtrack and it’s super tense and uncomfortable and it’s only available in limited release in New York City.
Am I one of these people? Not so much.
Like most people’s lives, mine is mostly mundane. Also like most people, if my life were a movie, it would be lots of different genres.
All of us have a little bit of everything in our lives. For the most part, we live a life that nobody would want to watch a movie about. It’s boring and repetitive and there’s nothing really compelling about it, at least to anyone else.
But we all have those moments that are insanely comedic, or incredibly dramatic, or straight out of a love story (or a love tragedy).
Some of us have horrible things happen. Things that should stay firmly in the realm of disturbing entertainment.
But the theme throughout my life – thankfully – has been comedy. I can look back on almost everything, and see the funny in it.
I’ve been really lucky because my life has been incredibly easy going with little reason to complain. But even those few dramatic and crappy moments have taught me that seeing the comedy in every situation is the key to survival.
To be honest, and accurate, my life is probably best classified as a “dark comedy”: full of humor that makes others slightly uncomfortable and things that very few people find funny except for me.
But that’s my favorite kind of funny.
The only thing I truly wish for is that my life life in general was like a musical. Or at least like an episode of “Glee”. Then, when the bad shit happens, at least I could go into a well-choreographed routine while singing some amazing song from my favorite band or musical.
(Who wants to sing a song from Wicked with me?)
I mean, how many times have you wished you could belt out “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and have everyone look at you and think, “Man, that girl can sing… and I’m totally not going to mess with her anymore.”’
(Just me?)
(Liars.)
But other than the lack of singing and dancing, I’m pretty happy to accept that my life is totally and completely hilarious.
(PS: WAIT. I lied. If I could, I would live on Pandora.)
(PPS: As long as there’s singing.)
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