I watched her intently for my cue.
It was the last night
of the best musical of my life.

Th last midnight
before the spell ended
and slipper would be found in the pitch.

I was on the glockenspiel. And the bass drum. And snare drum. And keys. Wherever I needed to be.
In my mind I had the best seat in the house. No one could see me. But every once in a while, I could sneak a sweet glimpse of what was going on above me…

 

Into the Woods
A whimsical fairy land. Only the fairies and the sprites and the old men and giants —
they were all
my best friends.
And down here, in this aptly-named “pit,”
we were the willing slaves running the flying ship,
keeping the boat moving forward as she directed us.

Do you ever walk into a world when the stars are perfectly aligned?
Because that’s how I felt when Grandview High School performed Into the Woods in 2009.
Those stars
were my friends,
the most passionate, talented, professional young men and women
you would ever meet.

Most of them today are choir directors, drama teachers, heads of college marching bands, worship leaders, composers —
fathers, mothers —

the nurturers and innovators of new worlds and emotions
who wish and wish
until their wishes
become realities
for new generations.

They were no less than this, that day, that last midnight.
These were the people I looked up to as an sophomore in high school.
What a standard they set for me,
their little sister!

And they made me believe I could do it, because I knew I wasn’t alone in whatever I wished for.

And tonight, some of us are reuniting to see the film version of Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece that brought life to us almost 6 years ago.

I had to write about it. There was just something so right about this musical. A bunch of people laying down their lives, passions, talents, and hearts day after day to create something amazing. There is something so unifying about that. You can tell because we’re all gonna pick it up where we left off tonight.

My favorite song in the musical is “No One is Alone.” In the midst of this fractured fairy tale, there are broken families, curses, deaths, disappointments, lack of belief the most real of all giants.

The disillusioned, rejected Cinderella whose mother has long passed away, sings maternally to Little Red Riding Hood, a young girl who watches as the adults around her are ruining their lives and the lives of others.

A humble baker whose wife ran away with a prince — he’s fumbling around trying to speak some kind of wisdom into the life of the young, naive, beanstalk-climbing Jack.

Yet through the brokenness — yes, even because of the brokenness — a new family is formed.

The spell of this  unconditional love is stronger than the ties of blood.
These children aren’t innocent anymore, but now it’s their turn to decide what is good.
To own what they believe, to carry the fire.
But they can only do it when they know, truly…
that no one is alone.

I don’t know what you’re facing in your life. But I do know this time of year can be isolating and depressing. It’s just too much. And too little at the same time. Maybe you never experienced such a family as these characters, or as I did in our young high school theater family. Maybe to truly feel not alone is something you’ve longed for your entire life… but have never received.

But would you believe,
would you wish,
(would you believe)
with all your heart,
that “someone is on your side?”

Fairy tales are sometimes hard to believe, but I’ve found more truth in them than in what most of the real world likes to tote around on its TV’s and T-shirts.

Just because you believe something doesn’t make it true.

But a wish can’t come true until you wish it,
now, can it?

 

Have a listen.

Lyrics:

Cinderella:
Mother cannot guide you.
Now you’re on your own.

Only me beside you.
Still, you’re not alone.

No one is alone. Truly.
No one is alone.

Sometimes people leave you.
Halfway through the wood.

Others may decieve you.
You decide whats good.

You decide alone.
But no one is alone.

Little Red Riding Hood:
I wish…

Cinderella:
I know.
Mother isn’t here now…

Baker:
Wrong things, right things

Cinderella:
Who knows what she’d say?

Baker:
Who can say what’s true?

Cinderella:
Nothings quite so clear now.

Baker:
Do things, fight things,

Cinderella:
Feel you’ve lost your way?

Baker:
You decide, but

Both:
You are not alone

Cinderella:
Believe me,
No one is alone

Baker:
No one is alone.
Believe me.

Cinderella:
Truly.

Both:
You move just a finger,
Say the slightest word,
Somethings bound to linger
Be heard

Baker:
No acts alone.
Careful.
No one is alone.

Both:
People make mistakes.

Baker:
Fathers,

Cinderella:
Mothers,

Both:
People make mistakes,
Holding to their own,
Thinking they’re alone.

Cinderella:
Honor their mistakes

Cinderella:
Everybody makes

Baker:
Fight for their mistakes

Both:
One another’s terrible mistakes.
Witches can be right, Giants can be good.
You decide what’s right you decide what’s good

Cinderella:
Just remember…

Baker:
[Echo] Just remember…

Both:
Someone is on your side

Jack, LRRH:
OUR side

Baker, Cinderella:
Our side–
Someone else is not
While we’re seeing our side

Jack, LRRH:
Our side–

Baker, Cinderella:
Our side–

All:
Maybe we forgot: they are not alone.
No one is alone.

Cinderella:
Hard to see the light now.

Baker:
Just don’t let it go

Both:
Things will come out right now.
We can make it so.
Someone is on your side
No one is alone.