The Amazingly Awesome Emotional Roller Coaster of NOW. HERE. THIS.

                My journey to NOW. HERE. THIS. began over a year ago, when my friend and I saw [title of show] at Virginia’s SignatureTheatre.  We absolutely loved it, and became obsessed – we now know every word to the cast recording, and do the whole show on road trips, fighting over who gets to be Susan.  I never miss an episode of Side by Side by SusanBlackwell on Broadway.com, and I’m a self-admitted Susan fangirl.  The woman is, quite honestly, an idol of mine – I respect her so much, and I think she’s such an asset to the Broadway community in general.  So, when I saw that the [tos] foursome’s new show, NOW. HERE. THIS., would be playing the Vineyard Theatre, I convinced my friend that we needed to see it.  Well, perhaps “convinced,” is too strong of a word – I think it went more like this:

                Me: Hey, they’re doing NOW. HERE. THIS. at the Vineyard Theatre.

                Him: We are so going.

Now that plans were in place, we were ready.

Photo credit: Broadway.com

                This was, believe it or not, my first venture into an Off-Broadway theatre.  It’s strange, since I travel to New York several times a year, and I see so much Brodway stuff.  But, as we arrived at the Vineyard and took our seats in the second row (squeal!), I found that the Off-Broadway vibe really suits me.  I like the smaller house and the intimate feel.  As the show started, I had a lot of trouble containing my excitement – I’m pretty sure the cast could see me grinning and wiggling in my seat, not knowing what to do in the presence of four of the coolest people on the planet.  My excitement was certainly merited – the show was amazing!  We loved it so much. 

The show is less linear than [title of show], but delves deeper into the idea of finding the intersection of now, here, and this.  The basic premise is that the four are in the natural history museum trying to find how they can live in the moment.  The cast made me laugh at their hilarious stories and anecdotes, cry with them about touching personal and family moments, and laugh again.  I’m pretty sure there were several times when I was laughing and crying at the same time.  More importantly, the show made me think about my life and my creative endeavors.  Those four made me stop and think about what’s important, and how a person gets to the point in which they feel fulfilled.  It’s been on my mind a lot in the few days since seeing the show.  I’m also thinking, “God, I hope there’s a cast recording in the works.”

  The two of us (my friend and I) waited in the lobby to meet the cast after the show, and it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.  I got to meet all of them, and they seemed so genuine.  We had a real conversation with Susan about seeing Sleep No More, which we were seeing later that evening - more on that in my next article.  They seem to really care about the people for whom they create, and that didn't go unnoticed.  I love when I meet people who I imagine to be really cool and I'm not disappointed.  They really are classy and awesome.

              In short, the odds of anyone not loving NOW. HERE. THIS. are about an Ann Jillian to one.