Descriptive Essay: Boxing Day At The Belasco Theatre

The apprehension started on 44th street. January brought an unforgiving chill that numbed our fingers and burned the tops of our ears. We dressed for the city, not for the weather, and had only our spirits to keep us warm. Bits of recent Christmas still hung about Midtown. I kept my hands in my jacket pockets more so to indulge my obsession of feeling the tickets tucked inside than to ward off the cold. There are few things I consider more wonderful than getting to see a Broadway show, this one especially. Miles had surprised me on Boxing Day with orchestra seats to Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a work of art that is very dear to me. I had worshiped the film and was dying to see it live with its creator and originator, James Cameron Mitchell, in the lead role. After witnessing the Tony performance however, I was a little worried what my fictitious idol had turned in to. By the time we defrosted in the lobby and found our seats, the house

We were rewarded for our perseverance with a spectacle of bright lights that danced like wild to music that rang from inside and out of us. Our beloved hero shed his wig and glam rock dress and rose higher and higher on a platform for the gods. You could hear, ever faintly behind the thundering ballad, the humming of its mechanics in motion and the hissing of a fog machine working over-time. The heat of 1,000 pounding hearts made the moment all the more extraordinary as an endless rain of glitter and confetti fell upon our dizzy heads and clung to our sticky skin. Amidst the riotous splendor, I turned and beamed at Miles. His smile cut in and out between the flashing strobe lights, making the entire extravaganza a stop motion dream. He handed me a broken chunk of a cookies and cream bar that was halfway to melting and together we cherished every sweet second of our candy colored existence. Betrayal was far behind us then. I doubt I have ever been