Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020 Miguel’s return to Broadway

First and foremost, Miguel’s return to Hamilton was flipping fantastic. He may have had eight weeks off between Chicago and New York but he didn’t miss a beat. I also have to admit that there truly is something special about Broadway. Miguel has refused this idea saying that the show they performed in Chicago was every bit as exceptional as New York - and he’s right. Also, the tier of contract for the show in Chicago was the same as New York, as was the salary. But there is something magical about Broadway theaters. The history, the lights, the energy of the city itself. I was so proud of Miguel owning that Broadway stage in a starring role that he has made his own.

The Richard Rodgers Theater, where Hamilton plays in New York, and the Cervantes family go way back. Everywhere I looked the ghosts of our former lives were playing out scenes of their own. I saw a two year old Jackson singing the ABC’s centerstage with Miguel during a between shows visit to the theater when Miguel was in If/Then at this very same theater. I saw the mezzanine stairs Jackson would run up and down releasing post-dinner energy. I saw the hallway I uneasily hurried through the first time we went to visit Miguel after we tragically terminated our second pregnancy. The If/Then cast could not have been more supportive during that time. I saw the seats that Miguel and I sat in the first time we saw Hamilton, before we had any idea what an integral part of our lives this show would become. He bought the tickets for me as an anniversary present and we went a couple months later in September. I was 8 months pregnant with Adelaide and could barely fit in the narrow seats. Like everyone else who ever saw the show we were in awe. We walked out of the theater and I know Miguel was wishing he could have the opportunity to be a part of such a life changing piece of art.

2-year-old Jackson stealing Idina Menzel’s spotlight during If/Then, 2014

The next time I would enter the Richard Rodgers was with a four-year-old Jackson and an eight-month-old Adelaide. We visited the theater one day when Miguel was in rehearsals to go in as the Hamilton alternate, which meant playing the role one performance a week. He would do that for a month before starting rehearsals to own the role in Chicago. We walked into the theater and who greeted us but none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was still playing the role of Hamilton at the time. I tried my best not to fan girl but am sure I failed, though having the distraction of two small children certainly helped. We were standing in the right center aisle and Lin came over to chat with an unimpressed Jackson who just really wanted to get back to running up and down the mezzanine stairs. After learning Adelaide’s name, in true musical theater nerd fashion he began singing Adelaide from Guy and Dolls to her. It was one of the better times in her life. She was seizure free, (we think), infantile spasms hadn’t hit yet, she wasn’t physically progressing the way she should have been but otherwise looked and responded like a typical child her age.

A few weeks later I would return for Miguel’s first performance as Hamilton. It was a Wednesday matinee and my mother went with me. I was a nervous wreck but of course Miguel was great, although, I seem to remember him spelling Alexander wrong during the opening number. A week later Adelaide was diagnosed with infantile spasms and I wouldn’t be able to see another show in that theater until this week. So. Many. Memories. And now we will make more because, as they say, the show must go on. No matter how much I wish it would just pause so I could work through it all.

Taking good ol’ NJ Transit home after Miguel’s first performance back

So, the Richard Rodgers theater will continue to be a part of our family's life. I can’t even pretend to imagine what memories will be made there in the year (years?) to come. If there is one thing that the last few years have taught me its that there is no way to predict what the future will hold. All you can do is make the best decisions you can with the hand that you are dealt and hope for the best. The Cervantes family will embark on this next chapter of our lives together with a backdrop that is so completely familiar to us. It extends beyond the theater to all of New York City and across the river to our home in New Jersey. The setting is known but the people who are returning to it are so completely changed.

This week, I walked around our town in New Jersey trying to figure out how this new me would fit in here. How could one little ladybug so completely change the way I see myself, the world, and how I interact with others? That’s an entire blog post in itself. Thankfully, I have months to gradually figure that out with multiple trips planned between O’Hare and Newark International. But, in the meantime, to safely avoid devolving into an anxiety ridden ameoba, I’m going to choose to focus on this new, albeit, temporary normal. We’re all so excited for Miguel to come back to Chicago on Sunday morning and stay until Tuesday. The last couple weeks have been jarring with Miguel leaving, me visiting him without Jackson, Miguel starting in the show and, you know, all the things. But we will find our rhythm and life, like the show, will go on.