My Beauty

When I was a sophomore in high school, Beauty and the Beast came to theaters. I will never forget seeing it and truly falling in love with the movie, the love story, and the music. I loved the movie so much- even despite Gina telling me in the lobby before the show started that the Beast dies at the end. I could have killed her! Moving on . . .

I have always had an affinity for this movie and was thrilled in college to learn from a girlfriend that it was made into a Broadway Musical. I immediately bought the CD and soon knew all the new songs by heart (I'm proud to be a nerd!). I longed to see the musical and soon got my wish as I saw it with a few friends from college. Long story short, I have now seen the off-Broadway musical at least 5 times and it gets better every time. Damien surprised us last year and took us to a local production of it and the kids loved it! It really appeals to all ages and the characters are so amazing- you can't help but get caught up in the story line. Michael and Claire have literally begged us to take them to it again, but there haven't been any local performances.

Our friend, Dan Romanski, who volunteers for an organ- ization called Birth Rite, sent us a flier for a benefit performance of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Even cooler than that- was that the performance was on the evening of Claire's actual birthday! It was a no-brainer and we immediately bought tickets for ourselves, Damien's parents, and his sister, Heather. We didn't mention it to Claire because we knew that if we did- she would be asking about it every minute of the day. Instead, we waited until her actual birthday and told her she needed to get dressed because we had a surprise. She wanted to know what to wear and I told her whatever she wanted- but it had to be nice. I am not sure who came up with the idea of wearing her Belle dress, but nonetheless, she wore it. Out of the house we went to get some dinner. We picked up Dan and Heather and actually went to Stuft Pizza because we were short on time. She still had no idea where we were taking her. Basically, the irony of Claire in a Belle dress was lost on her. We, however, found it funny. We finished dinner and Claire told us she knew where we were taking her. In her sassy voice she said, "Um, I know where we are going. We are going to the movies to see Charlotte's Web." We all breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Nope!", we answered.

The musical was being performed in Saratoga so we weaved through the city and the car finally came to a stop. It was getting dark and Claire was getting worried it would be too late for the surprise. We got out of the car and saw a lot of people gathered outside the theater. She still had no idea. I took her to Will Call and got the tickets. When we picked them up, the lady behind the counter said, "Do you have Claire with you?" I answered yes but was confused how she knew my daughter. She told me when Damien had purchased the tickets he mentioned that it would be a special night for our family because it was Claire's birthday and she loves the musical. Out of the ticket booth came the woman with a very large gift bag. "This is for you, Claire." Out of the bag, Claire pulled out a box with a gorgeous porcelain Belle doll in it. Claire gasped and for good reason. The doll is exquisite. I asked the woman if the gift was from her and she nodded in agreement. What an amazing random act of kindness. She didn't know Claire, but she sensed that this night would be a special night for her. I gave the woman a hug and said thank you. No sooner did I finish hugging the woman did I get a tap on the shoulder from a man. "Are you Claire's Mom?" He waited for my affirmation. "We have a special job we would like Claire to help us with at intermission. Do you think she would come on stage and pull the winning ticket stubs for the raffle?" Claire said she would! Wow! The night was already amazing and we hadn't even seen the show yet! She soon realized where we were and that she was going to see Beauty and the Beast! She was ecstatic! We sat in the theater with Damien's parents, Heather, and Dan. We made sure we had an aisle seat so when Matthew started acting up, we could take him out.

The show started and it was awesome! It was really well done and completely held the kids attention despite the fact that the show started when they usually go to bed (8pm) so they were tired. Matthew lasted for quite a while before intermission (we were impressed) and everyone was having a great time. At intermission, Claire- complete in her Belle dress, went up on stage and did great. She kept waving to us and it warmed my heart. She looked like such a big girl up there. After Claire had drawn the winning numbers (Heather won one of the gift baskets!) the show went on. Claire cried, laughed, and was frightened through the rest of the show. It is so funny how live theater can make you forget that you are watching a show. You kind of feel like you are there witnessing it first hand. Claire knows what was going to happen but it was so real, she was swept up in the magic of the performance.

Once it was over, we went out to the lobby and a lot of people came over and told Claire what a great job she had done at intermission. A few of the characters were outside so they took pictures with them (Gaston and the Swooning Girls). One of the directors came over to me and tapped my shoulder and said that Claire could go back into the theater and take a picture with Belle! No way! She couldn't believe it. So, into the theater I went with Michael and Claire and we experienced a once in a lifetime thrill. Both of the kids were speechless as Belle and the Beast gathered around them for a photo opp.

The night was perfect. I mean perfect! I was so happy that we could bring Claire's birthday to a close in such a magical way. Damien's family loved the show, I was again blown away! Even Matthew managed to stay in the theater for over 1/3 of the whole performance. It was late. Some might say that we were starting to turn back into pumpkins- but that is a whole different Disney story. Many thanks to all who made Claire's birthday amazing. I know that she will never forget the magic this birthday brought her.