#like. its been Years. legally blonde is one of my first ever musicals (after wicked and matilda and...maybe like a tiny bit after hamilton?

[thepandalion]

once again listening to the legally blonde musical cast recordings and somehow it took me this long to figure out they made Emmett's last name forrest because emmett forrest and elle woods and. don't mind me I'm off to be pathetic in a corner

[la-fille-en-aiguilles]

Dog Tags

Billy Russo x Female!Reader

Request by @nebulastarr​ : Hey! Whenever requests open up again, could you do a Billy Russo x Reader where the reader liked Billy but doesn’t want to tell him because she thinks he won’t feel the same way

A/N: I was going to wait and get down to writing this once I was finished with my series... But this one has simply hit a little too close to home. I couldn’t stop thinking about it when I saw it and I ended up putting a lot of personal stuff in it so I’m sorry if it feels chaotic at times. Thank you for requesting, love, I hope it lives up to your expectations.    The Only Living Thing series will be back with its third part next week.  The song: Isak Danielson - Power

All you heard was an excited scream, that raised above all of the New York’s past-6-pm commotion, as a slender tall body smashed into you, locking you in a bone-crushing hug. You laughed happily, albeit feeling a little bit uncomfortable in Karen’s strong hold. You knew it didn’t seem that way, but Karen packed a wicked punch in those elegant arms of hers. Those self-defense sessions with Frankie boy that she’s been gushing about over the phone must have been finally paying off.

“Once I am done hugging you, I am so kicking your ass,” she breathed out into your hair as she squeezed you harder, as if reading your thoughts. “You’ve been ghosting me for what, a month now?”

You sighed guiltily as Karen pushed you slightly away, keeping her hands on your shoulders. You watched her as she studied your face, a creeping smile stinging at the corners of her mouth.

Grabbing one of her elbows, you groaned dramatically, pulling her towards the busy road. With your hands locked, you finally admitted:

“I did suck at communicating these past couple of weeks. Work’s been…. hectic”, the lie tasted bitter on your tongue, but this was the best explanation you’ve been able to come up with so far. “Please don’t kill me”.

Trying to keep up with your power walk, Karen let a bubbling laughter leave her lips.

“You’re not the one who should be worried then,” she gave you one of those bright trademark smiles of hers. “Next time I’m going to interview Russo, I’ll…”

You stuttered at her tirade as you walked, and of course it didn’t go by unnoticed. Karen was the best journalist you have ever met during your prominent career. She just sensed that sort of thing.

“I’m getting this ‘I-meant-to-tell-you-Karen-but-I-didn’t-and-now-you’ll-need-to-fight-it-out-of-me’ vibe”, she gave you a scrutinising look. “Want to maybe share whatever it is you’ve been not telling me before I go full interrogation mode on your plump backside?”

You rolled your eyes as you led her to a terrace-ringed Upper East Side high-rise, waving to the doorman through the glass doors. Jackson, a thirty-five year old ex-military with three kids and a labrador, gave you a brilliant smile as he hurried to open them for you.

“Good evening, Mrs Y/L/N!” He bowed his head in a stiff, very army-like manner. “A package arrived this afternoon for you, should I bring it up?”

From the corner of your eye, you caught Karen looking around, confusion written all over her face. You had a lot to catch up on.

“Don’t worry about it, Jax, just give it to me,” you didn’t mean to urge him, but you couldn’t wait to change out of your corporate attire into some comfortable old pyjamas and crack open a bottle of whiskey - that’s right, some habits did die hard. And to think you were a bubbles-kind of girl a year ago when you met him.

You could feel Karen’s blue eyes drill a hole in the back of your head as you took a small, envelope-sized package from Jackson’s hands.

It wasn’t until you both stepped into the elevator that Karen cleared her throat.

“When you said you’d rather have a girls’ night in, I asked Frank to pick me up from Queens, not from…here,” she spoke, her eyes skimming expensive red wood and mirrors. “Did you finally sleep with Russo and moved in with him?”

Whatever it was that Karen expected you to say to that, it definitely didn’t include you spitting out a roaring laugh, as you nearly dropped the package on the floor.

“Quite the opposite, actually,” you informed her after you finally restored your breath. “I left Anvil. And, well, Russo. At the end of last month”.

—

A half-bottle of whiskey for you and a bottle of white wine for Karen later, both of you were sprawled out on the lambskins thrown over the hardwood floor in your living room. Jazz music was seeping out of the speakers by the TV, a couple of Diptyque candles emitting a soft yellow glow.

You stared at the ceiling of your new living quarters, your mind a blur. As you folded your hands on your stomach, you felt Karen twitch as she bent her elbow and leaned her blond head on the palm of her hand, facing you.

“So let me get this straight,” she paused, narrowing her eyes. “After becoming the Forbes’ hottest CSO, concluding what can easily be described as deals of the century - especially the one with Anthony Stark aka Iron Man and his magnificent goatee…”

Involuntary, you giggled at this. This talk brought out some very dear memories that you wouldn’t trade for the world - the way Billy’s dark eyes shimmered in the dim lights of the opera house as he gave you a look that said you did it, ever the perfect team… Or the way he threw his arms around your frame, his long fingers sliding down your back… You knew you looked good in that dress, but the moment Billy saw you wearing it… You felt like the only girl in the world, the way his jaw dropped a tad, his lips opening up in awe…

Oookay, Y/N, can’t go there, your mind screamed at you as you wiped that dreamy smile off your face. Sitting down, you took your whiskey glass, and washed those memories away with a gulp of amber liquid.

Meanwhile, Karen ranted on.

“…you just quit?!”

She jumped to her feet all of the sudden, brushing her blond hair away from her face as she watched you excitedly.

“Jesus Christ, did Billy make a move?! He made a move on you, didn’t he?”

The urge to facepalm was fierce, almost overpowering, but you managed to resist. Slamming your empty glass against the floor harder than you intended, you gave her a bored look.

“No, Karen, why… Why in the world would you think that?” You sounded just a little short of desperate, so you cleared your throat. “I was his second-in-command, that wouldn’t have been appropriate…”

When you were done studying the flame, dancing within the glass walls of one of the nearby candles, you raised your eyes to meet Karen’s. She wore quite possibly the most blatant look of ‘you are shitting me’ on her face.  

“So you just quit?” she stared at you in disbelief, unblinking. “No explanations provided?”

“This wasn’t how it happened,” you said, hating the fact that you felt like you had to justify yourself. You brought your knees closer, hugging them tightly. “I…”

—

“…I’m here to see William Russo”. 


With a nonchalant gesture, you unbuttoned your Burberry coat, looking at a red-head secretary behind a desk that screamed power and status with every inch of its epic proportions.

Anvil was certainly new money. With all of those hedge funds injecting their cash into emerging companies, there was no shortage of these - entrepreneurial endeavours that didn’t last long.

You didn’t know that at the time, but you were going to make sure this one would.

“My name is Y/N Y/N/L,” you added, perching your sunglasses on top of your head. “He’s expecting me.”

The red-head gave you a polite smile before checking something on her Mac.

“Welcome, Miss Y/N/L,” she almost seemed shy, as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before standing up. “Mr Russo is indeed waiting for you. If you would like to follow me, please”.

As the redhead led you through the training grounds, packed with fit men and women that looked like they walked straight outta Gym Shark ad, you did notice a couple of vagrant stares in your direction. You couldn’t blame them. You looked slightly out of place; more Vogue than the setting allowed for.

You quit your job as the COO of a global FinTech company just weeks ago, looking for a new challenge. It was an adventure of a lifetime, and while your ex-executive board had literally begged you to stay, once you’d decided something, no promise of a generous promotion could make you change your mind. While you absolutely loved your job, working for one of the most prominent online payment giants in the world, it felt like it was time for you to step down. Due to all the processes and wise investments you’d initiated, the company could make millions of profits without their CEO having so much as to lift a finger.

And you, well, you lived for the hustle. And that’s exactly what you were here for.

You still had your doubts about Anvil’s owner and acting CEO, though. William “Billy” Russo had already become a household name in the financial circles, albeit the company he was spearheading had little to do with the FinTech space. Some said he had the potential to succeed; others badmouthed him for being ruthless and balancing on the very edge of legal limits.

In short, the man had you intrigued. So the very moment he called and invited you to drop by Anvil to talk strategy, you knew you had to meet him.

See the beast for yourself, so to speak.

The first thing you noticed about William Russo as you walked into his office, spacious and entirely transparent, with its glass walls overlooking the training grounds, was experience, for the lack of a better word. It was etched into his every handsome feature, especially into his scruff strong-willed jaw. As he raised his gaze to meet yours upon the red-head’s announcement, his black eyes swallowing you whole, you realized no light reflected on their surface. There was a certain confidence to him as he raised from his chair, his white shirt straining some over his chest, long dark strands of hair falling onto his long eyelashes. This man meant business, as those black impenetrable eyes zeroed in on yours. He almost seemed too flawless - to spotless to be an ex-marine, stained with blood and murder.

All that Hallmark handsomeness was nothing but a cover.

Before William Russo had even got a chance to open his mouth, you were determined to find out what was lurking underneath.

“Mrs Y/L/N”, the hot-shot gave you a polite smile. “Thank you for coming”.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Russo”, you didn’t move an inch. He may have invited you for interview, but he wasn’t the only one with a long set of demands.

You briefly wondered if he knew that.

Before your thoughts could take you further, William Russo made his way to you, composed and calculated. He stopped by your side, albeit for a moment; rolling the sleeves of his shirt further up, he shot the red-head a charming smile (nothing like the one he gave you).

“Olivia, would you please bring a fresh pot of coffee to the conference room? Mrs Y/L/N and I have a lot to discuss”.

When he turned back to face you, you noted unconsciously that he was taller than you expected, the top of your head barely reaching his shoulders. The cool and composed look was back on his face as he motioned towards the doors.

“Would you like to follow me, Mrs…”

“Y/N”, you cut in with a slight raise of your chin. “I’d also prefer to call you William while I tear Anvil’s strategy down”.

His reaction didn’t disappoint. Some tension left his arms, his stung-up body relaxing just enough for a spark of mischief and curiosity flicker its way to his eyes’ surface.

A twinkle of a smile danced across his lips as he bit on the inside of his cheek, nodding ever so slightly in approval.

“It’s Billy”, he said, amusement echoing in his every word. "I don’t expect any leniency, Y/N”.

“Good”, you replied instantly, looking him straight into his eyes. “That’s not what I came here for”.

He nodded again.

And this time, there was liveliness in the quirk of his brow and a touch of insecurity in the corners of his mouth.

Now that was the man you could potentially work with.

—

Working with William Russo was anything but predictable. There were, however, certain patterns to his way of handling things. Whatever the trouble was, Billy was good at seeing the bigger picture - he was usually able to put things into perspective, but there were occasions when he refused to. You dare say that sometimes, you felt like he thought that money didn’t matter - like Anvil’s financial prosperity didn’t matter - as long as his team got not to risk their lives one extra time. You watched him turn down several lucrative deals that you’d busted your ass to put on his table, because it involved sending his men a little too far from home, in a place where he had no strings to pull whatsoever should anything go south. A part of you (the part that wasn’t frustrated as hell) admired him for that - it didn’t, however, stop you from disagreeing with him, time and again.

You may have never been to Iraq, and may have never known the horrors of sleeping with the bombs exploding a mere kilometer away, but you knew a game-changer when you saw it. There were risks involved, there was no arguing about that, but those were calculated, and those kind of deals could make Anvil jump straight to the top of the private military sector overnight.

William and you disagreed.

When William and you disagreed, no voice was raised, no blood was spilt, but Billy usually became distant, cold and just short of snappy when those conversations took place.


He only crossed the line once. 



You were three months into your job as Anvil’s Chief Strategy Officer when Mayhew happened.

The clock on your desk showed midnight as you paced in your office, on the phone with Rex Mayhew, the U.S. Ambassador in Cairo. A cat-and-mouse game between the Egyptian Armed Forces and the nefarious arms dealer group had become common knowledge since a week or so; the U.S. special forces got involved in the conflict when it’d been discovered that the arms were being transported onto American soil. Rex, an old friend from your Yale days, had let you in on the fact that General Richard Ravelin, in charge of the operation, was looking to reinforce his rangs with private military before “neutralising the threat”. This was a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with a potential governmental recognition in play… and Billy wanted to hear nothing of it.

You were exhausted and barely hanging in there; Billy was categorical and stubborn.

You’ve dropped the phone on your table promising Rex you were going to give him an answer in two hours, tops. Taking a deep breath, you walked out of your office, your bare feet thudding on the parquet floors of the corridor. When you reached Billy’s hideout, you found the man leaning against his desk with a glass of whiskey in his unnerved hand.

“Billy…” you spoke firmly, barely stepping through the doorway. “Rex…”

“Can go fuck himself”.

Oh, okay. No sugarcoating this. Alright.

You saw his lips barely touch the amber liquid as he slammed the glass against the surface of his desk.

“I said no, Y/N,” he wasn’t facing you anymore, leaning on his desk with his hands digging into the wood, his back tense. “Please just go home. Have a good night sleep. We will talk about this tomorrow.”

You could have sworn you felt your head starting to fume. This was the third time Billy Russo was shutting you down. For the third time he was making you feel like an incompetent fool when you were trying to do your goddamn job.

Why in hell would he hire you if whatever vision you had for Anvil didn’t match with his own?!

“You could at least say this to my face, Billy,” you spoke a bit harshly before you could stop yourself. “You know, to my tired and disappointed face, with a mouth that you have been shutting up every time it offers you a deal of the century”.

This sounded so much better in your head.  

“Why did you hire me?” you asked almost immediately, trying to soften the impact of the words that had already escaped. “If this isn’t the direction in which you want to take your company, maybe I should just…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Y/N, just fucking leave already!” Billy snapped like a branch that’s been holding too much weight, the sound of it dry and final.

…maybe I should just rethink the entire plan.  

There was no point in finishing that sentence now, was there?

“I was there long before you came along, so I’d think I know a shitstorm in the making when I see one!” Billy was looking at you alright, brushing his hair back, his eyes black and void.

You had wished It would have been new to you - looking in William Russo’s eyes and not seeing him there. But it wasn’t. He was back to his Hallmark version of a man, but instead of playing a hero, he was now putting on his villain guise.

“Let’s get something straight here,” he leaned back on his desk, crossing his arms on his chest, his black eyes narrowed. “While you were making your way to the top of a rich-ass cookie-cutter FinTech company, I was crawling in the dirt in Iraq under a downpour of the Trident D5LE missiles. While the closest thing you’ve come to havin’ your hands dirty was bribing an investor or two, I was fucking beheadin’ people under the direction of the CIA,” his words were cold, measured and rhythmic, like a round of bullets being fired on a range. “You know nothing of what’s it like to be in the middle of that kind of shit show, princess, so when I fucking say no, you listen. Is that clear?”

Bark. Sit. Roll over.

“Crystal. Sir.”, you finally broke the heavy silence hanging in the air, just barely resisting the urge to salute him. “I’ll see myself out.”

Biting the inside of your cheek like your life depended on it, once you turned your back on him, your first thought was don’t you dare cry on his account, bitch and then almost right away wait at least until you’re home.

You could have sworn you heard William call your name in a stranded voice, but you made sure to slam the door somewhat hard as you left his office so you could pretend you didn’t hear him.

If you were to face him now, with all that power and toughness he exuded… You would never admit it, even to yourself, but you’d just end up on the floor, huddled into a shivering little ball.

—

You were grateful that the next day after the shit went down with Mayhew fell on a Friday. When you stumbled into your apartment in Queens at almost one in the morning, you immediately shot an email to the HR department asking for a day off. Once that’d been done, you dialled Rex to decline his offer to introduce Anvil to general Ravelin, washed the makeup off your face and crawled into bed, hugging the second pillow close to your chest.

You didn’t cry, if that’s what you’re wondering.

As you rolled out of bed in the morning at around 8 am, you took a shower and grabbed a coffee from the kitchen before settling behind your home office desk with a heavy head. When you opened up the Keynote presentation with your strategy outlined for the H1, you couldn’t help but steal a glance at the iPhone you left on your couch last night.

You weren’t going to check if you had any missing calls.

There was nothing you had left to say to each other.

…with your chest hollow, you powered up the screen. There were no missed calls and no new messages.

It all looked like you had another strategy to build now. If Billy Russo thought that calling you a rich-ass princess that knew nothing of the world, all butterflies and rainbows, was going to make you resign, then man, was he in for a surprise.

You once heard one of his men compare you to a military convoy, when the guy thought you weren’t listening.

He had no idea.

You spent the morning refilling you coffee cup and rebuilding your H1 plan from scratch. After about eleven calls with the people you knew could get you a foot in the door of the offices of some government officials, billionaires and generals, after typing, deleting and typing again for 5 hours straight, by 2pm you had a solid game plan. You were pretty sure it would still need some tweaking from Castle, who essentially held the role of the Chief Operating Officer, dispatching men and women on missions and planning operations, and, well, from Billy Russo.

The Badass-ex-Sniper-turned-CEO himself.    

You kept the email short and to-the-point, sending the document over to Russo with Castle on copy, saying you’d be in the office to debrief on Monday. 

Refusing to check whether your email’d been opened, you slammed your MacBook shut.

The rest of the day rolled on uneventfully. You grabbed a coffee with the People Culture Officer from your previous company, who also happened to be one of your dearest friends; then you picked up your dry cleaners and did some shopping, cracking for a pair of new shoes in Saks Fifth Avenue.

Shoes were, indeed, your weakness.

By the time you got home, the tired sun was yawning, stretching its rays in one last effort before rolling into bed. Humming a Dua Lipa song under your breath, you were putting your new Jimmy Choo’s away when you suddenly heard your phone ring.

You didn’t even have to look at it to know who it was. 

You checked the time, however, noticing is was two minutes after the official end of the working day.

“Hi, Y/N”, Billy spoke, clearing his throat. “Are you… Um… Any chance you’re available to meet tonight? I would really appreciate it if you could give me fifteen minutes of your time. Please.”

It sounded like the real Billy Russo was back around. Insecure. Rugged. Imperfect.

“Can you pick me up?” you asked softly, “I’ll text you my address. There’s a pizza place just around the corner, I could use a free slice”, you circled the cold coffee cup you left on the counter with your finger. “Free as in you’re paying, Russo”.

A laugh that came somewhere from within caressed your ear.

“Uh, yes, I’m actually… Yeah, thanks. I’m leaving the office now,” even if he tried to hide it, a shocked surprise still seeped through the cracks in between the vowels.

You chuckled silently at his reaction.

“Just one more thing,” you ventured, placing the cup in the sink and making your way to the balcony - your small piece of heaven with a wooden chair, pillows and lavender. As you stepped outside, you put oyour free hand on the railing, just to feel the coolness of it, the evening air and the gentle flower smell stroking your skin. “What kind of car should I be on the lookout for?”

Billy hesitated, biting his bottom lip, running his nervous fingers through the thick strands of dark hair. The setting sun was hitting him just from the right angle, making his sculpted cheeks look like they were made of marble.

“A Rolls Royce Wraith”, he squirmed, rubbing his forehead, probably realising how lame and pretentious it sounded. “I’ll call you once I’m downstairs”.

“Uh-huh”, you smirked, leaning on the railing with your forearms.

You saw Russo pinch the bridge of his nose, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip again. 

Your small balcony provided quite a view, when you really thought about it.

“Don’t take too long”, you couldn’t help it, it really was stronger than you. “I’m starving”.

With a wide grin, you dropped the call and went back into your apartment.

You were planning to make him wait for ten extra minutes when he would finally “arrive”.

Just for the hell of it.

—

“That’s a lot of hot sauce for one pizza”, Billy commented, watching you spray your truffles and cheese generously with the piquant olive oil.

You gave him a mischievous smile.

“What can I say,” you shrugged, leaning back in your chair and licking the tip of your finger after you swept a drop of it from the top of the bottle. “I like them hot”.

That startled a laugh out of Billy as he eyed you with something in his irises looking a lot like awe.

Just when he was about to speak, a servant brought a glass of red wine for him and bottle of sparkling water for you.

You thanked the guy with a sweet smile, while Billy eyed him a bit coldly, obviously waiting for him to leave.

When the waiter had finally made himself scarce, Billy softly called your name.

You raised your eyes to meet him, struggling as hell to keep your stare vacant. (Which was hard to do with some foreign tightness in your throat).

“Before we dig in and I hope spend a nice evening as two friends, getting together on a Friday night”, he didn’t even blink? Was he blinking? You couldn’t tell, his black eyes swallowing you whole, again. “I want to apologise. I was completely out of line… It was unacceptable. You don’t need my validation, of course, but I still want you to know that you are doing a terrific job at Anvil, taking us to the heights I never even thought existed. It’s just… It’s hard for me sometimes to be a good CEO and someone who promised to take care of my men at the same time… Everything is happening so fast, I’m afraid to lose my footing.”

You reached out for his hand across the table before you could stop yourself. You didn’t take it, but your fingers brushed his ever so slightly before you realized what you were just about to do. Your eyes widened as you looked at him, searching for a reaction. 

Billy remained perfectly still, not taking his eyes off you.

You grabbed a napkin next to his wrist, pretending this was what you had meant to do all along. 

“We’ll get there, Billy”, you said, a small encouraging smile blooming on your lips. “We just need some tweaking”.

You weren’t sure if you were talking about strategy at this point anymore.

—

You had a great time at dinner.

(And a whole-hearted laugh as Billy finished your remainders of the truffle pizza, downing a litre of water to numb down the burning sensation in his throat afterwards).  

You talked about your respective lives, your ex-colleagues, your hopes for the future… You dared think this who the real Billy Russo was.

And he was incredible.

After the two of you were done with dinner, you offered him to come upstairs to your place and go through the new strategy together. He didn’t hesitate, although you could swear you’d seen something ambiguous flash in the depths of his dark eyes before he nodded.

(You must have imagined it.)

The two of you ended up sprawled out on your soft faux fur carpet talking game plan, bouncing ideas off each other. You watched Billy frown, as he rubbed his mouth with his long fingers, smile in excitement and shake his head in awe when you voiced your ideas - you felt proud and appreciated, and you wouldn’t trade the sensation for anything in the world.

A couple of hours later the two of you had finally decided that it was enough brainstorming for one night, and you rose to your feet to go and make Billy a coffee before he got behind the wheel. As you pushed the start button on your coffee machine, you heard him speak over the noise.

“You know I’ve done four tours - three in Iraq and one in Afghanistan”, you popped your head up, only to see him play absentmindedly with something on his chest. “And every time I’m considering a mission for Anvil, I find myself back in there again… A part of a death squad.”

You carefully picked up his cup of coffee and made your way back to him. You didn’t say a word as you leaned lower to hand it over to him, encouraging him to go on. 

Billy thanked you in a whisper before clearing his throat.

“Every time I have to send them somewhere, especially overseas, I force myself to stop and think… Is this really worth it? Is a fat check really worth putting the lives of my men and women in danger? And most importantly - you may think it’s stupid…” he avoided your gaze, staring into his coffee cup, a miserable smile on his lips. “I think, will it make a difference? If one of them dies on a mission, I have to at least know they made a difference… it’s selfish and it’s more about the peace of my own mind, but it is what it is, you know?”

When he looked up at you, his eyes were full, full to the brim. There was so much emotion in them, hatred, misery, hope, adoration, all whipped in a wild mix that was Billy Russo’s dark, velvet eyes.

“I carry these at all times,” the fingers of his free hand dropped to his chest, as he got a hold of something hanging around his neck. A necklace? “When in doubt, I just look at them - they help me remember where I’ve been and what I’ve done - and I just know if it’s worth it or not. The answer is usually no, by the way”.

He smiled again, the curve of his lips looking less haunted this time, as he sipped on his coffee.

Dog tags. Those were Russo’s dog tags.

“So they’re your reminder that, even being a badass CEO of a private military company”, you couldn’t help but feel some kind of zero gravity settling in your lower stomach as you saw him chuckle at your words. “…you still have a heart”.  

“How poetic”, Billy teased you without missing a beat, putting the empty cup on the floor next to him. “But yeah. Sort of, I guess”.

As you fell asleep that night, you dreamed about explosions, piquant olive oil and holding Billy Russo’s dog tags in your hand.

—

The time flew by after that. In 8-month time (after some tweaking) Billy Russo and you became a team. It sometimes felt like nothing could stop you, as long as you were together.

It should not have come as a surprise that the two of you earned yourselves a catchy nickname - at first, it was spoken solely behind your backs, but soon enough it became some kind of a title, more powerful than that of the CEO or the CSO.

Anvil’s men and women (and especially Frank - the fact that he invented the nickname secretly tickled him pink) - were now calling you Bonnie and Clyde. The ultimate partners in crime, against all odds, doing the impossible.

The two of you also settled in an almost homely kind of routine. Ever since that Mayhew fiasco and the day that followed, Friday had become the non-spoken partners in crime day. What it meant in practice was exchanging Friday jokes on Anvil’s internal communications suite…

(Billy once attacked you with a “would you look at this, just found the actual footage of your interview @ Anvil”. Before you even got a chance to answer, he forwarded you a cheesy meme with two old women speaking to each other, one of them saying “We need someone who can do the job of two men”, and the other responding “oh, so it’s only a part-time job then”. When you shot him back a message asking whether he really considered himself an arthritic old woman, that seemed to have shut him up).

…grabbing a beer in a bar nearby…

(you sometimes invited your colleagues to join you, plus it was an unspoken rule that Frank and Karen were to be there as well)  

…you making fun of Billy Russo’s eating habits…

(It was honestly a nuisance to have a lunch with him. The list of things he refused to eat went on and on: no asian food, no food chain restaurants (even high-rated), no soups, no cheesecakes… He sure was settling well in that peaceful life he earned after spending all those tours living off canned food).

…and just overall enjoying each other’s company.

By the time the ninth month of your being Anvil’s CSO had rolled in, you couldn’t imagine not seeing Billy Russo every day. Not noticing him rolling his eyes at a smart-ass comment you or Frank made, or his orbs lighting up every time you told him the deal with that or this decision maker had gone through. You simply could not understand how you managed to live day in and day out, and think you were genuinely happy, before you actually met Billy. Everything before him just faded away somehow, your memories lost their colour and spike in comparison to the life you were living now. You kicked ass at your job, your career thrived, but most importantly, you were feeling like this was exactly where you were meant to be, braving the obstacles by Billy Russo’s side, knowing he would catch you should you fall.

He would, wouldn’t he?

It was your usual Friday night outing, the seven of you - Billy, Frank, Karen, Curtis, James from legal, Ashley from mine clearance and yourself - occupying your usual table at Whimsy, the bar that must have made 90% or their revenus off of Anvil’s folk. It was just around the corner from the headquarters, after all.  

The overall mood of the evening was rather nostalgic. It’d been four weeks since you’d lost a team member in a crossfire in Falluja, Iraq. After everything was said and done, his loss still hung heavy in the air, and it felt right to get one more drink in Jasper’s honour. The conversation flowed easily, even though the topics you’d spoken about were anything but.

“I remember how I felt when I lost Andy”, Ashley nursed her beer as she stared into the distance. “I just literally had the weight of the entire world on my shoulders, pinning me to the ground, I just couldn’t move on”, she finished her bottle in one go and motioned for the bartender to bring her another one. “Sometimes, I just ask myself, what would have I done if I’d known he was going to die the next day? Would I have stopped him from going? I think I would,” she thanked the bartender as he put the beer in front of her, her eyes a bit foggy. “Yeah, I definitely would have.”

Frank grasped Ashley’s shoulder and squeezed it hard in a comforting gesture; Karen gave her a tender look.

You didn’t know why your mind had gone there, but all of the sudden a memory of Billy sitting in his office chair, laughing his ass off at some offhand comment you’d made flashed before your eyes; it quickly got replaced by the recollection of his hand brushing against yours during the Zoom meeting you’ve had with general Warren Singer; then you remembered him putting his hand on the small of your back, staring daggers at some army brat wanting to join Anvil, eyeing you like a piece of meat (you learned later that day that the man’d been thrown out before having a chance to introduce himself); until finally, your brain stopped dead at the picture of Billy running his nervous fingers through his hair as he called you from his car, telling you he was only leaving the office.

What would you do if you knew he was going to die tomorrow?  

Your heart sunk at the thought as you gulped hard, ducking your head and staring at your hands folded in your lap.

A soft touch enveloping your elbow had you facing the man of the hour, his black eyes shimmering with concern.

“Are you okay?” he half-whispered, half-mouthed, not letting go of your hand.

No.

Nothing is okay, Billy.

I’m so happy that I met you, but you’re scaring the hell out of me.

I never wanted any form of eternity until now, I never saw the point…

So stay. Please, stay forever, and feel something for me, too.

“Yes. I’m fine,” you whispered back, staring into his eyes, hypnotised and helpless. You watched him turn away from you as if in slow motion, the warmth of his hand leaving nothing behind but emptiness in your bones.

“Here is to always telling the things that matter to the people who matter”, Billy spoke firmly, raising his beer. “Here’s to never missing a chance to open up to the people we love”.

Well, if this was his way of crossing the t's and putting the dots to the i’s regarding his feelings for you, he couldn’t have been clearer. 


As far as confessions of love went, this one was non-existent.

—

You tried, time and again, to convince yourself you had to go. You learned the hard way that your unrequited feelings were feeding on a sort of inadvertent parasitic relationship where every moment of your day depended on the level of Billy’s unintentional emotional indifference. Your days were spent questioning his every move - every look and every touch; until, the grown-ass woman that you were, you’d commanded yourself to stop second-guessing everything - stop feeling - and decided your best course of action would be… to work yourself into the ground.

If Billy ever noticed anything, he didn’t show it - your were still you, after all, working hard, laughing when he said something funny, calling him out on his bullshit when needed. He didn’t notice slight change in your eyes, when their icy surface cracked at every other compliment he threw in your direction (and there was no shortage of those). He didn’t realize the smile you gave him was different from those tightlipped signs of appreciation you gave to Anvil’s potential clients, he didn’t think twice about the reason for which you glowed around him, your every move softening, your every gesture emanating warmth.

Because Billy hadn’t really known you until you started to have feelings for him.

You knew this couldn’t go on forever. This entire situation was bound to result in some explosion of nuclear proportions, and then all hell would break loose. You needed to get yourself out of this situations, but you just… couldn’t. You couldn’t imagine your life without Billy Russo. You couldn’t leave him.

Even if being friends with him meant tearing yourself apart and suffering in silence. 



Long story short, you waited with fear in your bones for someone to walk into your life and to get you out. You’ve had no fight left in you to do it yourself.

Your salvation came in the form of a phone call on a Friday evening, when Billy was on a recruiting mission in California.

You were typing back a response to his cheeky message when the call cut in half-sentence.

Billy Russo: Please remind me to take you with me instead of Frank next time? He’s driving me insane trying to set me up with the ladies from the Organising Committee. Any ideas on how I can calm him the fuck down?

You: Sorry, Billy, but recruiting is out of my mission scope. As for the calm down part, try bondage maybe? :)

Billy Russo: I’m going to pretend you did not just suggest I engage in sexual practices with Frankie. Karen will have my balls.  

Billy Russo: But perhaps you’re right. Taking you with me is probably not a good idea. Wouldn’t want my new recruits’ brains to turn into mush because of how beautiful you are.

You: The flattery will….

“Hello? Y/N speaking”, you brought your phone close to your ear, your cheeks still a lovely shade of pink. If you were going to feel miserable when Billy came back, acting like nothing happened, you were sure going to make the best of that fuzzy feeling in your chest right now.

“Miss Y/N/L”, a smooth deep voice greeted you, and you could have sworn you’d heard it many times before. “I hope I’m not interrupting?”

Frowning in an attempt to remember, you urged:

“No, not at all. How can I help you?” you stared into the screen of your Mac, wheels turning in your head as you silently catalogued all the men you were in discussions with regarding a deal. “I didn’t catch your name…”

“Oh, how rude of me”, the man chuckled but there was no mockery in his voice, more like self-depreciation. “Tony Stark, from Stark Industries”.

Your mind went blank. Did you hear his last words correctly?

“Uh… Mr. Stark”, you quickly got a hold of yourself - well, as quickly as you could. “I appreciate you reaching out to me directly. What can Anvil do for you?”

You did a pretty bang-up job trying to mask your amazement with polite cheerfulness, and Stark had caught on that.

Tony Stark just called your cellphone number. What in the world?…

“We don’t really do alien invasions”.

Ohyourgod, did you just say it out loud?!

His uproarious laughter took you by surprise, reverberating through your entire body. It took every ounce of your self-control not to giggle in response.

“That’s a good one, I love it”, Stark finally said, restoring his breath. “And the better question would be, Y/N - can I call you Y/N? - what you can do for me”.

Before your brain could take you into some naughty direction, freaking Iron Man cleared his throat.

“Okay, this came out wrong,” he admitted with a sense of self-irony. “I um… I’m looking for the Co-Chief Executive Officer for Stark Industries. Well, Virginia Potts is actually looking for a Co-CEO, I’m just her errand boy. And my missions apparently include recruiting…. Anyway,” it was a bit of a challenge to follow Anthony Stark’s train of thought, but you were also still shocked, so that could explain it. “…I think you are the perfect fit for the job”.

You just stared into the screen front of you, your breathing barely audible.

“Mrs Potts and I would love it if you could swing by the A-Tower, let’s say, on Thursday? You’ll be surprised, but I can also whip up a mean cup of coffee…”

Say something.

Fucking hell.

Say something!…

“Thursday sounds great,” you blurted out without thinking. “Let me just shuffle my schedule around… I could stop by after lunch?”

 Your hands were slightly shaking as you clicked on your mouse, opening your schedule window.

“Whatever works for you, Y/N”, you could hear Stark smile. “Not to sound like a creep, but I’ve been following your career for quite a while now, and I think that the work you've done in such a short span of time for Anvil is outstanding, even though you still don’t offer protection from alien invasions”.

That made you chuckle, pushing you halfway out of your stupor.

“I’ll put that on the list of things for us to consider”, you promised.

"Tell Mr. Russo I sent my best,” Stark added, and you felt your heart drop to your stomach. “I actually might have some ideas for how we could collaborate. Let's discuss this on Thursday, too, shall we?”

After you said your goodbyes, you fell back in your chair, dropping your iPhone on the table.

You: The flattery will….

...get you nowhere.

You never finished that message, leaving Russo on Read.

—

Starting with that evening, things were moving fast - too fast for you to keep track.

After a three-hour long coffee and the tour of the A-Tower, Virginia Potts, the acting CEO of the Stark Industries, had offered you the job - just like that - and asked you to come back to her executive assistant should you wish to take the job, with your salary expectations and the information about your notice period. You thanked her for her time and promised to get back to her as soon as you made your decision.

Virginia Potts was a brilliant woman; but running a company like Stark Industries while being equipped with a vagina was certainly no walk in the park. Sexism was still very much present within the Boards of the Tech Businesses. You understood perfectly well why she wanted a woman in her corner - it would have been a massive slap in the Board’s face, but it was also about having someone to lean on, who just understood.

In any other circumstances you would have peed your pants in excitement. It was an opportunity to work for Stark Industries - no, scratch that - it was an opportunity to step in as a Stark Industries co-CEO. The idea of it still made you dizzy.

…but as you looked at Virginia’s email sent to your personal address thanking you for stopping by, your eyes were swimming with tears.

You weren’t ready to leave Billy. 
You just couldn’t. 
You couldn’t leave him. 

There was no epic finale to your story. There was no big revelation, no closure, no moment of relief, no acceptance, nothing. Only a fat-ass what if.

And you didn’t know how to let go of a what if with Billy Russo.

And that was exactly why you had to do it.

You heard Billy come in the next Monday earlier than usual. He was positively humming Usher’s Yeah! quietly as he made his way past your office’s doors straight into his own.

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes. You’ve been psyching yourself up during the entire weekend, telling yourself it wasn’t a big deal, we wouldn’t even flinch when you were going to tell him.

You had to tell him.

As you stood up from your chair, straightening you skirt with the palms of your hands, you suddenly heard the footsteps coming back in your direction. You froze in place like a deer in headlights when Billy swung open the door to your office, a box of Pierre Hermé macarons in his hands.

Your goddamn favorite Pierre Hermé macarons.

“You’re here!” Billy’s warm smile illuminated the room. “So much for a surprise, huh?”

He shook the box carefully in the air. You stared at it, dumbfounded, every single thought leaving you.

You couldn’t breathe.

In the hazy morning light seeping through the windows of your office, Billy looked beautiful and dissolute, shirt open at the collar, longer strands of dark hair falling into his eyes.

He was going to be the death of you. It really wasn’t fair.

“Billy, I have to tell you something.”

Was it you who spoke those words? They seemed distant and cold, so uncharacteristically detached.

Blood roared in your ears.

“What’s wrong?”

Billy’s reaction was instant. In three decisive steps he closed the distance that separated you, leaving the macarons on your desk. He stood still just mere inches away, and just like during your very first meeting, you had a fleeting thought cross your mind: you really were tiny next to him, the top of your head barely reaching his shoulders.

You bit the inside of your bottom lip, trying to keep your composure. He stared at you unblinking. He wasn’t touching you, but it felt like his eyes were looking straight into your soul, undressing you, blowing that wall you built around yourself into dust. They were taking you down, piece by piece, determined to see what you’d been keeping from him. 

Because, of course, he knew. He should have known something was going on. Hence the surprise this morning.

He had no idea what it was though.

“Maybe you should sit,” you said, making a physical effort to tear your eyes away from him, feigning sudden interest in the buttons of his shirt.



That chest…



…was going to be just fine. He didn’t feel the same way you did. He would just find someone else to fill your position. With brilliant women stalking him - in cooperative packs - that would not be a problem.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you”.

You squeezed your eyes shut as soon as his words reached your ears.

Fucking hell, you should have done that by phone. Or with other people around. You should have…

“You’re leaving”, you heard Billy repeat as his voice broke a little. He stepped away, burying his face in his hands as he dragged them down his jaw and neck, staring into the ceiling.

“Billy, listen, I…”

You were the one to close the space between the two of you this time, and before you could think too much into it… You threw your hands around his shoulders, burying your face in his neck.

The sensation struck you like a bolt of lightening when you felt his hands cross behind you back and pull you closer.

He smelled heavenly. Like a forest fire, a hint of smoke with oud and pine. You inhaled deep, deeper still, losing yourself in his comforting touch.

In his arms, just for a second there, you felt home.

“You… The company doesn’t need me anymore”, you nearly choked on words, screaming internally at yourself to keep the waterworks at bay. “It’s thriving, there’s not much else I can give you. My job here is done.”

I need to leave because your indifference is destroying me, and when I think I’m ready to let go, all it takes is one look from you, and I’m back to wanting you, to settling for anything you give me, like a goddamn fool.

“What the hell are you talking about, Y/N?!” Billy exclaimed, his hands grasping your shoulders as he distanced your bodies just enough for him to look into your eyes. “I nee- The company needs you! I was… You know, I was planning to make you the CEO of Anvil in a couple months time,” his smile, as earnest as it was, did not reach his eyes. “Yeah”, noticing your eyes go wide in shock,  he let his hands slide down your sides. “You’re so much better at it than I ever was. I was going to join Frank and just manage operations… under you”.

You just stared at him, dumbfounded, not feeling a stray tear escape your eye and rolling down your cheekbone.

“These are the tears of happiness, I hope”, Billy added, and you barely registered his touch as his thumb wiped the salty drop off. “Well, I guess Anvil will have to settle for the little old me. With my best girl going places."

You gave him a strained smile before you carefully wiped your cheeks, just taking a moment to look at him. To try and read him.

Billy Russo was a goddamn ceiling. Plain white, cool and unattainable. In all of your time working for him, you have never seen this Hallmark version of him before. Which one was it? 


Oh wait, you guessed you knew. The happy-for-you friend.

“So where are you going?” Billy asked, his eyes empty. “Who snatched you away from m- Anvil?”

The stutter was so subtle you barely noticed. You were finally tired of reading into shit.

“Stark Industries. I’ll be their co-CEO”.

—

Before you left Anvil you promised yourself you’d get the deal with Stark Industries up and running. There was no one in the world you trusted more in terms of security than Billy.

(The fact that you couldn’t keep your heart safe from him didn’t really count, did it?)

As a matter of fact, Billy and you were going to shake hands with Anthony Stark on the deal on your last night of being Anvil’s CSO. It was happening in The Metropolitan Opera and required both Billy and yourself to dress for the occasion. 

He promised to come pick you up at 6pm sharp; you were putting on the Jimmy Choo’s you’d bought a coulee months ago in Saks Fifth Avenue when you heard a low knock on your door.

Straightening up, you threw a quick glance at your reflection in the mirror. You decided to go with a long Marchesa black velvet gown with a rather deep V-line, a pair of long diamond earrings and an elegant half-up half-down hairdo, soft curls in the front framing your face.

“I’m coming”, you yelled out, picking up your leather jacket (because why the hell not) and your purse from the kitchen counter. Sharply opening the entrance door, you realized moments later that you didn’t even take time to prepare yourself for seeing William Russo in a tux.

If you weren’t already half in love with him, the sight before your eyes would have sealed the deal.

God-fucking-damn, like he needed any help being unforgettable.

With a black jacket thrown on a crisp white shirt with a couple of buttons undone and the tie hanging loosely around his neck, Billy was here to make a statement, to leave a mark. His hair was coiffed back in his usual style; honest to God, he looked like he just stepped out of the Man of the Year special GQ edition…

Just when your thoughts were about to switch to the way you must have looked next to him, ridiculous in your simplicity, like you refused to make an effort…

…Your eyes met his.

And the way he looked at you was so intense, his big black eyes with galaxies in them probing into yours, his strong jaw slack. There was beauty and tragedy reflecting in those orbs, but only just for a second - just for a second, he looked at you the way he probably looked at the sky he could never reach. Just for a second, he looked at you the way that made your heart beat twice as fast, like the world could crumble all around him and he still would not have blinked.

Would not have taken his eyes off you.

“Wow, Y/N, you look… You look beautiful”, he finally said. “I just can't spot a part of you that beats the other.”

Something in your chest exploded silently.

“Thank you, Billy,” you smiled at him - a genuine and happy smile, because you felt on top of the world with his adoring eyes on you. “You’re quite a catch yourself”.

Before you could scold yourself for your choice of words, you stepped out of your apartment and locked the door behind you.

“Shall we?” Billy offered his hand to you, without hesitation it seemed.

“We shall”, you replied instantly, slowly sliding your hand into the crook of his elbow.

And, just like always, you were going to enjoy it while it lasted.

—

The crowd in the opera was so posh, the looks all the women had been throwing you first made you question your choice of outfit. It’s after overhearing their conversations that you realized, the reason they stared daggers at you was the man that kept by your side no matter where you went.

Virginia and Anthony welcomed you at the buffet with sun-stained sincere smiles. After a short small talk, Anthony Stark informed you both that he had signed the contract earlier today, thus officially giving Anvil an exclusive security deal with Stark Industries. As of now, Anvil was the only company allowed on the Stark Industries’ premises in the quality of guards and protection officers.

The look Billy and you exchanged spoke volumes; while your eyes were sparkling with excitement though, screaming “we did it!!”, his bottomless black eyes were whispering “thanks to you”.

The four of you then shook hands and went through rounds of gratitude and appreciation; when a pleasant woman’s voice announced the imminent start of Onegin, inviting the guests to go to their seats. Virginia immediately took you hand, leading you straight into the Opera house, saying something about leaving men to finish their drinks. You threw Billy a laughing look over your shoulder, mouthing “come join me” before disappearing out of his sight.

“So on the scale of one to ten, how pissed at me are you, Mr. Russo?”

Billy turned his head sharply to a side, leaning on the high table, and spotted Anthony Stark himself, nursing a glass of whiskey. “For taking your queen away from you? Excuse the chess metaphor, but that woman”, Stark took a sip of his whiskey and savoured it before swallowing it down. “Is a goddamn queen.”

Billy chuckled, straightening up, digging his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

“That, she is,” he whispered, his eyes still piercing the spot in the crowd where your smiling face was mere minutes ago.

—

When the opera ended, both Billy and you couldn’t be more relieved - because both of you hated it with passion.

Exchanging meaningful glances in the dark during the singers’ performances now and then, you had to bite your tongue in order to not just ask Billy if you could maybe sneak out. Russo proved to be more stoic than you, carefully covering your hand with his in what was meant to be a comforting gesture.

You didn’t look at him once after that, afraid to say or do something that would make him remove his hand.

How much more pathetic could you get?  

When the performance was over, Billy led you out of the opera house without saying a word, his hand hugging carefully the small of your back.

His silence was unnerving. You didn’t know what to make of it. Should you have shaken his hand off back in the darkness of the concert hall? Or should you have caressed it with your thumb?

Your mind was spinning in circles by the time he opened the door for you and you slid into the front passenger seat of his Rolls goddamn Royce.

When he got in the car and gripped his steering wheel, you reached out and placed your hand on his whitening knuckles.

“Billy,” you spoke softly, barely audibly. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” he whispered back, turning his head to a side to face you. His black eyes stared into yours, looking hypnotised and helpless. “Everything is fine.”

It didn’t take a degree in Psychology to see that he was lying. You could feel his gaze on you as you turned away from him, taking your hand away at the same time.

Billy started the car. The revving engine filled the silence, loaded with the unsaid words.

—

“…he then walked me to my door, we exchanged our goodbyes. And that was it,” you finished lightly, looking back at Karen.

Her eyes were red as she stared at you, unblinking.

“Unbelievable…” she whispered. “So you never told him?…” her lips barely moved.

You sighed.

“Have you ever felt like you’re potentially in love with someone? Like, you don’t actually love him, you know you don’t, but one day you realise that you could? You realise just how easy it would be for you to fall in love with him? With all the teasing and the banter, the play hitting each other, calling each other names, just…. You start to pick up on little things - like if you listen closely, in every shut up, there’s a barely-there ring of I could love you.”

You shifted on the floor a little, and Karen watched your memories transport you somewhere else again. While physically your were here, in your apartment - with your fluttering eye-lashes, uneven breathing and loaded expression - mentally, you were somewhere else.

“….You probably don’t notice it at first, but your body is drawn to him. Every accidental or absentminded touch…” you continued quietly. “And there’s that twinkle in his eyes when he looks at you and it messes you up, because - what’s going on with you? What the hell does it even mean? Are you imagining shit? You’re trying to make sense.”



Karen didn’t interrupt, still staring at you as if she were seeing you for the first time

“I mean, he didn’t ask for any of it, you know?” you finally raised your foggy stare at Karen, as if searching for confirmation. “Maybe he just did something dumb one day, smiled at you or said something that seemed important and then all of the sudden you’re full on Looney Tunes, seeing stuff that isn’t there?”

Your words barely audible, you swallowed hard, before continuing.

“…I just kept looking at him with what ifs, and could haves, seeing all that goddamn potential. It’s so fucking twisted. Over-analyzing everything? Waiting for a sign?…” you chuckled bitterly all of the sudden. “…I was so fucking scared of reading too much into it, of crossing that line, because… It would be so easy!… Falling in love with him would have been so easy.”

Oh sweetheart, Karen’s eyes glowed with comfort as she reached out for your hand and squeezed it softly. But you already are in love with him. 



A loaded silence ripped through the air in your living room. The sound of an engine revving somewhere close squeezed its way through the slit of an opened window, and it seemed to break the trance.

Both Karen and you shuddered, and as you took in the realisation Karen’s eyes just bestowed upon you, you pinched the bridge of your nose.

“It’s pretty late,” Karen spoke up, reading you like an open book. She knew it was her cue to leave the stage. You needed time to process. “Frank is in a bar nearby with Curtis, let me just give him a call, okay, sweetheart?” she gave your hand one last reassuring squeeze. “You know where to find me when you need me”.

“Yes”, you responded, blinking tiredly. “Thank you so much for coming, Karen. I didn’t mean to unload on you like that…”

“Shut the hell up,” the blonde advised, raising her eyebrows. “But honestly, Y/N, please call me once you… come to terms with things, okay?”

You nodded.

When Karen left, leaving the sweet and pleasant smell of her perfume behind, you closed the door behind her and turned around, leaning on the cold wood and metal with your eyes closed.  

It’s been a month. This was supposed to pass by now. Billy was supposed to stop inviting himself into your dreams. You were supposed to heal.

You may have just realized you were in love with the man instead.

Letting out half a moan, half a groan, you peeled yourself from the door slowly, and brushed your hair back, wanting nothing more than to fall face-first into bed.

After you at least cleaned up a bit and put out the Dyptique candles, that is.

As your eyes scanned your living room in an attempt to asses the size of the job at hand, you stopped mid-way, zeroing in on the box Jax gave you earlier in the evening. It rested silently on the kitchen table.

Tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you made your way to the kitchen area. Grabbing the package, you turned it around, looking for any indication of the sender.

The package wasn’t even stamped.

Curiosity getting the best of you, you took a moment to grab a knife from one of the drawers, and carefully swished it between the two cardboard sheets.

Flipping over the envelop, you heard something fall out of it before you could actually see it. A small sheet of paper floated in the air before falling on the surface, partially covering whatever fell out of the package.

Your heart squeezed the second your brain identified the object, attached to a worn silver chain.

With trembling fingers, you slid two metal pieces from under the paper, covering your mouth.

Finding their home in the palm of your hand, Billy’s dog tags shimmered in the dim candlelight.

Squeezing them in between your fingers, you grabbed the paper with your free hand, your eyes staring at one single sentence scribbled on its surface.

“You took my heart with you”.

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Hello!!! How are you?

So I had this idea have you ever written or read a double date fanfiction of pipabeth and jercy? I really wanted to read one

and what's your all time favorite jercy and pipabeth fanfic?

You are my favourite blogger and I love this blog so much!!!

Okay this has legit taken me like a week to get to because life has just been the most hectic but even if I do say so myself I am obsessed with this fic and I really really really hope you like it.

Also you legally own my soul now because you said so many nice things it automatically ascended from my body and it's on its way to you😩🥺thank you my angel!!!!!

I have never done an active pipabeth x jercy double date thing but I think pipabeth is sometimes mentioned and/or featured briefly in my jercy fics or vice versa. The only one i can think of is my Bakery AU. My favourite pipabeth x jercy fic is Stranded by @punkpipabeth because everything about it is just *chefs kiss* and I love it endlessly. I cannot tell you the amount of times I've read that fic.

Masterlist

Okay here's my one, please enjoy:

Find definitions to ballet terms here;  ma raison d’être means ‘my reason for being’

"Alright everyone, let's start from the chassè."

"And," His teacher rolls, "Five, six, seven eight."

Percy Jackson pushes off from the bar and strolls to the middle of the room, amusement swimming in his eyes. Jason Grace winks before turning to the front and standing in position.

He pushes his foot forward bending over his leg and brushing the floor with his fingers.

"Good Piper," She calls, "And grand jetè and pas de chat and relevè, relevè. Pirouette."

The music fades as they all breathe heavily, a leg raised behind them and arms fanned over their heads in a V.

"Well done everyone, good class. I expect to see that perfected by Tuesday. But for now enjoy the weekend and rest easy."

The class breaks into chatter and excited bubbling as the weekend stretches out before them.

"Piper," Their teacher says, "Can I talk to you about the costume?"

Percy flops onto the floor, talking a large desperate sip from his bottle and tugging off his ballet shoes.

"Ugh," Jason groans, "I swear these elastics get tighter every time I wear these."

"Maybe if you stopped stretching them with your massive feet you wouldn't have these problems." He teases, green eyes dancing.

"Shut up. Not all of us can look like faerie princes."

"You think I'm a faerie prince?" Percy wiggles his eyebrows.

"Graceful and devious?" The blonde matches his expression, "Hell yes you're a faerie prince."

He blushes, brown skin heating under that electric gaze.

"Hey you two," Piper McLean crashes down next to them, pulling at the ribbons wrapped under her ankles.

"Sup Beauty Queen," He smiles, "You looked incredible out there."

"You really think so?" She shares a rare look of shyness.

"Definitely." Jason's gaze is full of pride.

"Well thank you. Who knew playing Cordelia would be so..."

"Challenging?"

"Inevitable." She sighs and there are possibilities flickering in her brown eyes.

They finish changing out of their sweaty ballet gear in content silence. Percy doesn't bother taking off his tights, just shoves a pair of grey sweats over them before threading his arms through a wind jacket and leaving it to fall open on his bare chest. The wind is cooling against his heated skin and he almost groans in relief.

"You guys want to grab burgers at the Banter Bar?" Jason looks between them.

"Yes!" He squeals, "Gods yes! Let's go." He grabs their hands and races out the studio doors and into the vibrant night air.

Piper laughs, "Let me at least tell Annabeth to meet us there before she thinks I ditched her with no warning."

"Good plan," He echoes her happiness, as he tugs them out the gates and down the road.

The neon lights from all the little diners and bars make their skin look effervescent and their eyes glow with the magic of youth. The wet ashpalt from the afternoon storm is neon with allure. Tonight it feels like the world is theirs to spin and whatever direction it goes they'd go flying with it. Tonight feels like the start of something wonderful. He breathes in the winter wind and his lungs gasp like it's the first time they've tasted life. Tonight feels limitless.

The three of them skip up to Banter Bar to see an amused Annabeth Chase already waiting outside, her skateboard tucked into her side.

"Hello babe," She crashes into her girlfriend and they squeeze each other.

"Hello ma raison d’être," Piper whispers, kissing her softly.

Soon enough they're all flopping into a booth, menus placed in front of them and smiles stretching their cheeks.

"How was class?" Annabeth wraps a hand over her girlfriend's shoulder and slouches into the leather.

"So good! Your darling is spectacular." Percy grins.

She squeezes her shoulder, "I can't wait to see the show."

"It's not only me that's wonderful," Piper looks to the boys across from her, "They're unbelievable. I think Madam Alima is still astounded that Jase can jump that high."

"Says she hasn't seen anyone do that in all her thirty years of teaching or her twenty years of dancing." Percy brags.

"Well everyone in class is in awe of this one’s grace. Cannot count the amount of times people have stopped to stare as he does his adage." Jason fires back, blue eyes sparking.

"Can't believe I'm friends with the most talented dancers in the school." Annabeth smiles at them, her pride shining bright on her face.

The waiter comes back then to take their drinks order and when they all get chocolate milkshakes laughter bubbles from them like brooks and breezes.

"Gods," Black curls bounce as he turns, "Doesn't it feel like you could do anything right now?"

The girls thread their fingers together and squeeze softly before looking at him.

"There's just something about tonight." Piper agrees.

"Everything is irrelevant but this: to embrace life. To feel it. To savor it. To love it. Marty Rubin." Jason whispers.

"Yes," Percy turns to the blonde. To that strong jaw, and scarred lip and cerulean gaze. "That's what it feels like."

His head falls to his friend's shoulder and he feels a little closer to home. Their milkshakes are set down before them, a glazed cherry gleaming on the mountain of cream. With a delicious smirk he licks off the sugary whipping and offers the cherry to Jason. A gleam enters the blonde’s expression as he leans forward, eye contact like concrete sin, and closes his lips around the bright red fruit.

Their boundaries had always been a little blurred. Had always been one trip away from more. But it was fun, exhilarating to tiptoe on this edge. See who fell in first. If they would catch each other. Drag one another down with wicked smiles and warm hands.

"Where are we going after this?" Piper pauses her slurping to ask.

"Wherever the cobblestones take us." He shrugs. It's the kind of night to dream about the future and pretend the present is nothing but an exciting mystery.

"Let's go to the Hovel?" Jason suggests, pushing away his empty cup.

"Oh gods," Annabeth groans, "I couldn't even walk the last time we went there."

"Whose fault is that?" Her girlfriend laughs, "You were the one that fed us more shots than we have fingers."

"I’m a sucker for two-for-one. Sue me." She grumbles, sticking her tongue out.

"I'm down. But first I have to get out of these clothes."

"Before all that you little gremlins," Grey eyes narrowed, "Eat. I know how you guys get. Once an idea is sitting in your brains nothing else matters."

"Alright mom," They laugh and wave the waiter over to order greasy, cheesy, stuffed with everything but the kitchen sink burgers.

Class always makes them hungrier than should be possible and they can devour just about anything in front of them. When the food arrives, they dig in immediately. Faces stuffed and giggles bursting between them.

Jason picks a fry from Percy's plate and he looks at him incredulously.

"You did not just steal a precious potato from me."

The blonde responds by reaching over and stealing more.

With a laugh from the girls and a gasp from him, the black-haired boy jumps at Jason and attempts to steal his fries. But his friend is quick and the fries are held up in his right hand, high in the air and faraway from him before he blinks.

He scrambles onto the blonde's lap, unaware of the sharp inhale it drags out.

"Give me your fries you thief." He bounces as he tries to reach them.

Jason's hand is warm on his hip, keeping him pinned down so he doesn't go toppling onto the floor, "Nope. You were too slow."

He whips his ocean eyes to look at his friend, shoving his face so close their noses brush, "I was too slow?"

The boy hums and Percy’s attention falls the vibration of that smooth throat.

"Maybe you should have used some of that grace everyone loves you for."

He huffs a laugh, "Maybe you shouldn't steal."

"Trust me you stole something first." Blue eyes flash.

"And what exactly is that?" He breathes, as their foreheads fall together.

Jason just smirks and pushes him off his lap.

Annabeth and Piper are wrapped up in each other, whispering softly into their skin. They all turn to one another and if you ever went back to ask the waiter what they saw that night they will swear the room changed colours for that brief moment.

Later when the group arrives at the club, donned in outfits made from glitter and sacrilege, they shove their way to the center of the dance floor and became one with the music. Hands and skin and magic weaves between them. Like the start of something dazzling. Like obsession.

Percy wraps a hand behind Jason's neck and pulls their bodies together, so nothing is between them but electricity and indulgence.

"If this night never ends I'll be happy." He screams over the music, hot breath and joy in his friend's ear.

"Wanna die here?"

He can feel Jason's smile on his cheek.

"In your arms?" His lips graze a golden neck, "Every time."

"Want to know what you stole from me?" They pull back slightly, so emeralds and aquamarines meet.

"What?"

The blonde grabs his hand and puts it on his chest. He feels the rapid beating under his palm and his fingers curl into the shirt.

"If I fall into hell," He pushes into his face, "Catch me will you?"

"Let's fall together?" That grin is ungodly in its beauty.

"Lets fly."

And then Percy Jackson kisses his best friend and finds home between their souls.

[whythowastakenwhatisthis]

pnat secret santa present for @feministhotline​! it’s a couple days late for christmas but right on time for new years -- hope you enjoy!!!!!! also @pnatsecretsanta thank you for setting this whole thing up i adore u

[ao3]

At 8:30, Isabel turned up on Max’s doorstep, ponytail whipping in the wind. The scarf around her neck did nothing to stop the flush in her cheeks, and she offered Max a shaky smile. “Almost the new year, Max,” she said.

Max opened the door a little wider and she stepped in.

For his last couple New Year's Eves in Baxborough, Max has not had Isabel Guerra by his side. This year, he does, along with some explosives.

At 8:30, Isabel turned up on Max’s doorstep, ponytail whipping in the wind. The scarf around her neck did nothing to stop the flush in her cheeks, and she offered Max a shaky smile. “Almost the new year, Max,” she said.

Max opened the door a little wider and she stepped in.

The second Max reached the top of the stairs, Isabel a step behind him, Zoey had leapt over the couch, shoved a Gatorade into Isabel’s hand tugged off her coat and scarf, and handed her a slice of pepperoni pizza. It drooped in Isabel’s hand, plateless, and Max watched the oil slide across the cheese. Zoey raced downstairs to toss Isabel’s coat in their closet, which was really the maintenance room behind the slushie machine.

Isabel leaned against the banister. “Um,” she said, “are you watching the Muppets?”

Max shrugged. “It’s a tradition.”

He got her a plate, and she followed him to the couch. They sat. Max watched the Muppets with one eye and Isabel with the other; Isabel seemed to watch the Muppets with both eyes. Zoey wedged herself between them and played on her phone.

“So,” Isabel said as the credits roll, “this is what you do for New Year’s Eve?” She had tucked herself up, arms wrapped around her knees and a blanket thrown over her shoulders, and the hairs around her ears were curling softly against her cheekbones. Max stood to put in another movie.

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, this is the first time Dad left us by ourselves for any part of tonight, but we normally watch movies.” Pausing to look over his shoulder at her, he asked, “You?”

Resting a cheek against her knee, she shrugged slightly. “Stay up, mostly. Ed and I would sometimes go outside for a while.” Her bangs were falling into her eyes, and she wouldn’t look at Max.

Max decided not to ask anything else, and tossed the remote to Zoey. She scrunched up her nose at him, but as Max hauled Isabel up she didn’t say a word, and as Isabel followed Max back down the stairs, Zoey switched the channel to the Times Square broadcast and returned to her phone.

Max grabbed Isabel’s coat from the maintenance closet, two slushies from the machine, and the box he had hidden underneath the counter that afternoon. He handed her the coat and the blue slushie, kept the red one for himself, hefted the box underneath an arm, and grabbed his baseball bat. Isabel continued to follow him outside.

They hiked, past the grove of trees occupied by partying high schoolers, past the school, and through at least eight backyards, until they reached the very top of the middle school’s hill. Max dropped his box and leaned against the handle of his bat, and the winter air scraped against his lungs and bit at his nose.

For a few seconds, Isabel let him stand and watch the sprawl of Mayview: the hubs of sound and people, music spilling out windows and back doors; the empty houses; the lonely windows shining boldly by themselves. Then she crumpled up her slushie cup, hip checked him gently, and gave him a slight smile. “So, what are we doing?”

Max cleared his throat. “This is one of my New Year’s traditions.” He crouched to open the box, and Isabel squatted next to him as he revealed its contents: fireworks. He’d been stockpiling them for months, ever since last year, and although they’d gotten a little beaten up during the move, they were still usable.

“Every year,” he told Isabel, “-- well, the last two years at least -- my friends in Baxborough and I would set of all these fireworks, all across the city. It was legal to have them there, mostly, but if you can’t in Mayview --”

“Like that’d stop me,” Isabel said. She was grinning now, fiercely.

He stood, grabbed his bat, and started spinning it around his hand and arm.“You wanna try some boom-snaps to start?” he asked.

“The ones you throw on the ground to make a little popping noise? Amateur hour, Puckett.”

Max threw his bat into the air, let it twirl around three times, and caught it. “Nope,” he told her. “Toss one of those packets at me.”

Isabel didn’t just toss one; she tossed three, and Max carefully lined his bat up and swung. All three connected, one of them a little shaky, and the packets glided through the air for a few glorious seconds before exploding in a tiny riot of neon color and sound.

“Alright,” said Isabel, dutifully impressed. “Gimme a go.”

It took a few swings for her to get it, but when she hit one at last she whooped and whirled around, bat in hand and hair flying. Max tossed another.

Eventually, they ran out of the little fireworks, and Max took back his bat and opened the box again. When he stood with an armful of catherine wheels Isabel hip checked him again, hard enough to nearly knock him over, but he elbowed her back and handed her an explosive.

They set off two or three quickly, all at once, and took off running. To the other side of the hilltop, where they carefully lit eight Roman candles, all in a row, and Max started on his slushie; down the back of the school’s hill and around to the front of it, pausing to watch a couple of black snakes writhe and glow; to Isabel’s front yard, where she stood resolutely and stared.

When she had been watching her house for too long, Max asked, “You wanna light something enormous on fire?” Isabel shook her head, took one sharp breath in, and marched to the back of her house. After several small pinging noises and some rustling, she rejoined Max with Ed trotting at her heels.

“Hey, man!” Ed told Max happily, and they stood back to watch Isabel light the wicks of a truly gargantuan amount of fireworks. She stood, dusted her hands off, and sprinted to the lake. They followed.

While groves of trees in well populated neighborhoods were the high schoolers’ territory, the lake, it seemed, was the middle schoolers’. Isabel and Ed led Max to the north beach -- the rocky one, where you either wore shoes or suffered sore soles -- and into someone’s backyard, filled with kids Max knew the faces of, if not the names.

“Look inconspicuous,” Isabel told him as she lead him into a brightly lit kitchen, and snatched his empty slushie cup. Max, juggling his baseball bat and a box of possibly illegal fireworks, nodded and tried to blend in with the butter yellow backsplash. Lisa eyed him apprehensively, but handed him a soda.

Ed tugged Max out of the kitchen, across a crowded patio, and back into the mostly deserted yard. In the soft light of a bonfire, Isabel grabbed a few bottle rockets and ran off; Violet sighed, seemingly asleep as she curled into a chair next to the fire. Max didn’t sit; neither did Ed.

“You come here often?” Ed asked Max, smiling. The light of the fire made his blond hair look golden, and the curve of one round cheek was rosy. Soft music came from the house, the patio spread chatter across the yard, and Violet hummed a frantic melody.

“Are you two gonna have to stay at mine tonight?” Max asked him instead of answering. Ed tilted his head to the side, considering, before shrugging, slow and broad.

Three consecutive cracks filled the air, and the kids on the back patio oohed. Max and Ed watched in silence, until the fireworks faded and Isabel rejoined them.

“How was that?” she asked, and shoved her bangs out of her eyes. “With it over the water?”

“Truly stupendous,” Ed told her, and she gave him a mock curtsy.

Their last three fireworks were used a street below the corner store. Max could see the glow of the television streaming out the front window, and he snapped a picture on his phone to show Zoey later.

Isabel lit them up as he was watching the store, and only poked Max to turn around when they began to whistle through the air. “Hey,” she said, and didn’t look at him. “Thanks for the pizza, and for… this, I guess.”

“It’s almost the new year,” Max told her. He rested his bat against his shoulder and shrugged, watching the fireworks, and turned his head to catch her eye.

“Yeah,” she said.

When their fireworks had finally faded from the sky, she told Ed that they were leaving and took Max’s crumpled box. “I’ll see you soon, yeah? For my scarf.”

“Yeah,” Max said, and shoved his hands in his pockets as the two of them left. The winter air filled his lungs as he breathed, and the metal of his bat was freezing against his arm, even through his thick hoodie. He took the short way back home, climbing through someone’s yard and up the steep grassy hillside, until he could unlock the door of the corner store and climb back up the stairs.

His father was back, sitting on the couch with Zoey and cold pizza. “Hiya, son-boy,” he said, and Max dropped his bat in the umbrella stand. “Zoe-toes said you went out with some friends?”

“Yeah,” Max said, and climbed over the back of the couch to join him.

His father handed him two slices of pizza, somewhat lukewarm, and smiled at him. “Glad you’re back for the countdown,” he said, and Max leaned his head into his father’s side, ate cold pizza, and watched TV until the ball dropped.

[jaclynnicole-blog]

Sitting in my bedroom staring out the window watching the rain pour down as it has been all week here in what most call “sunny” Florida. The irony in that it rains quit a bit over the Summer. Listening to one of my favorite Musicals/Soundtracks, wearing some of my favorite Broadway Attire that I have purchased attending some of my favorite shows and just reflecting on what has gone on since I last sat down and written a post on this blog (August 2019). Almost one year since I took the time to write out my birthday experience and NYC trip I had last March (2019) which I now realize would be the last travel experience I had since everything has gone on this March (2020). Wow. that is really crazy to think about. March, being my Birthday month, I had plans to go to Disney to celebrate ON my actual Birthday (March 28th) which was quickly changed after COVID-19 started making its way around in March and everything was shutdown, including all theatre (Broadway, Tours, Local Theatres etc.). Around March 13th, Broadway announced their shutdown until at least April. We didn’t really go anywhere for the weeks leading up to my birthday. On my actual birthday we ended up staying in and just spending time with my parents and family who I live with (blessed to have been able to be around them at this time). My mom and I always shared a birthday month and my dad was not far off early April. At first I think many, including me, only thought it would a short temporary break from everything and not thinking much of it. Thinking back to December... right around the week of Christmas I had ended up with an on and off fever everyday for a week and along with that came a what felt like a never ending dry cough. I rarely have any respiratory issues but as you may know have other health related challenges I deal with everyday. We actually had family visiting that whole week I wasn’t feeling well, which I felt so exhausted but we rarely see them so I made the best of it and tried to enjoy them and also keeping my distance. the day they arrived drove to visit my grandma (my dad’s mom) who wasn’t doing so well herself and was in her early 90′s. She was always so healthy this just came out of nowhere and she was not getting any better. The day my family left a few days after Christmas, is when my mom started not to feel well and she had the same symptoms. Actually I woke up one morning to her sitting up on the couch and she had told me she slept there all night because she woke up not being able to breathe with my dad having to help her. It was for sure a scary moment. Soon after my family left, we had gotten a call and my grandma had passed away...It is definitely an interesting and empty feeling when you realize you have no one to call grandma anymore. My Nanny (my mom’s mom) had passed in 2015 after battling Alzheimer’s. Thinking back now definitely feel like COVID-19 could have been around a lot longer than just March that’s for sure. After all this happening in December, all hopes for a better 2020 was for sure on my mind. 

In January, I took my sister to see The Musical Aladdin in Tampa at The Straz Center (was her Christmas gift). We had a wonderful time and got to reconnect with an old friend I used to dance with at the same studio. I have two sisters and normally don’t get to see them much (one lives out of state). My sister in Orlando is the one who I went with and was so special because rarely do we ever spend time together alone. The carpet ride in the show is by far probably one of my favorite moments that has stood out from any theatre show I have seen. By the end of January, there was one moment I was waiting for since I would say October 2019 when we purchased tickets to see The Waitress National Tour. I had seen the 1st National Tour in Tampa with my cousin awhile back in April 2018 and fell in love with the musical and the music by the amazing Sara Bareilles and just knew I wanted to introduce my mom to the show. My mom rarely attends theatre unless I really mention a show so much she decides to go to keep me quiet LOL. So as part of my Christmas gift, we had planned to see Waitress together. On January 23rd 2020, my mom and I headed to theatre after picking up our tickets the day before. RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida is where we ended up. Flash back to March 2019 when I had saw a show there for the first time (since we moved only 15mins from this theatre) which usually from Tampa we are about one hour. I remember them listing the shows for the next season and hearing Waitress, I jumped out of my seat and kind of made a fool of myself sitting next to random fellow theatre fans (attending a show on my own) and just so happy and smiling so big about this knowing I would be able to see Waitress again and introduce this beautiful show to my mom. Flash forward to that night January 23rd. First time my mom was in this theatre (near our new home) and it had been a year since we went to see a show together, we saw “Anastasia: The Musical” on Tour in Tampa in April 2019 which was wonderful. Back to Waitress... My mom and I were in the the fourth row I believe all the way to the right of the theatre. They were wonderful seats and to see a brand new cast take on this incredible show was so beautiful. Enjoying our pies we bought, sitting together and seeing my mom was enjoying the show just as much as I was. Now this theatre is a little different and the show was only going to be here for the one night, and we took it all in. After the show, even though they didn’t have much time the wonderful cast came out the stage door and greeted every fan that was there to see if they would be able to get a chance to say a quick hi to some of the cast. I walked up to the little one Adriana who was touring with the cast for certain performances and chatted with her and her mom for a quick moment. I was a bit hesitant to walk up to some of the older cast members of the show (not the most comfortable making conversation with anyone new...) but little by little I did say hi and the last person I had gotten the courage to go up to was Bailey McCall, who was the current “Jenna” of the show and tour. I quickly said hi to Bailey and took a quick photo with her. What I would have said to Bailey if I had the courage to that night: Bailey truly took the role of “Jenna” and made it her own. The connection between her and the audience was unbelievable. The raw emotion Bailey put into her role was seen from the very first moment. I knew they had to get going pretty quickly but the whole cast stayed out as long as they were able and were so generous with their time.

Come February. The first weekend we ended up flying to New York for my grandma who had recently passed and there only three nights... that Sunday before had left I decided to head into NYC alone to see The Musical Frozen for a second time to see some of the young talented kids in the show who I had been talking with for a few years. Suri Marrero (”Young Elsa”), one of the girls in the show had invited me to meet with her after the show and I had ended up seeing Fiona (”Young Anna”) who had performed with Suri that night. What a wonderful memory from that night and to think back now my last professional theatre show I would see most likely for awhile (most likely one year at least). 

Ok so flash forward to end of March after my birthday... Things seemed to be getting worse by the day and being kind of told to stay in until further notice was at first not bothered by it much, but as everyday seemed to get longer and longer and the days just going by I felt like I for sure needed to start some sort of routine or something to keep me going. Especially since all photoshoots and anything related outside physically to my magazine was put to a hault like everything else. I didn’t realize how much I have missed taking photos and photography since I had stopped. When I first started my magazine, I had relied on someone else to help with photos and slowly little by little I had started doing my own photoshoots especially locally here in Florida. I decided to put out a submission request to have talent from anywhere out of state of Florida to submit their story for me to feature them on the cover (starting in April), which normally I do not do and have a separate spotlight and page I use to feature talent (as most who I feature on cover I usually meet in person and get to know them before doing anything.) So already I was adapting to something new. As the days went on, I came across a Disney Animator, Michael Woodside, who started posting how to draw videos of Disney characters. Every week day he would draw a new character. I don’t think at first I felt like I would enjoy it or let alone even draw anything close to a Disney character especially since I had tried it at Disney World (live) and didn’t even come close. It all starts with a circle. Really. I started with Mickey and ended with Minnie. Looking back I can tell and see how much I had improved since day one. He then took a break so I haven’t really drawn much lately, but I hope to get back to it soon. As I started taking on these drawings... come beginning of April and Broadway and theatre extended their shutdown and I just knew this was just not something that was going to go away anytime soon. I didn’t realize how much theatre has had an impact me in the last few years. Long story short, I didn’t really see my first professional theatre show until I was 19 in California, at a camp for girls with Turner Syndrome (19 was my last year and chance to attend the camp). They ended up taking us to see Wicked (2007) at The Pantages Theatre. Megan Hilty (”Glinda”) and Eden Espinosa (”Elphaba”) were incredible. That was the first time I was introduced to theatre physically (first time was Legally Blonde with Laura Bell Bundy on TV for an assignment in college). And my first professional show on Broadway was even later in 2015. Being born in Florida, it was for sure not often I saw any shows but I think all of this being introduced later and closer to my 20s makes me appreciate it even more. Also had found out Frozen would not be coming back to Broadway when everything settled and shows opened up. I was devastated and had a little cry but realizing afterwards how my last professional theatre show I had seen before this all started was Frozen on Broadway... that night now means more to me than I ever thought it would. I felt like I just wanted to help everyone in the theatre community from the talent on stage to those behind and in front of the stage and all around it. What could I do to help? Really at home? I was missing theatre and music so much and I would say every single person whether they realize it or not, has used music, theatre or something related that has helped them through tough times and not being able to go out for the little things and so much we take for granted this time at home has and still has made me think a lot. Being able to attend theatre is a privilege and is not something that anyone can just do. I have been blessed to be able to see various tours around and so grateful to have family still living in New York that I can stay with when I feel like I am missing theatre and New York. Not knowing when all of this would settle and things would be safe enough to even go out in general let alone see any shows wherever they might be was for sure hard to grasp. I had saw something that inspired me to try to help raise awareness and funds for an organization that helps those in theatre/arts and really anyone in Entertainment throughout their lifespan, The Actors Fund. Virtual Concerts and meetings had just started getting around and was something I saw an opportunity to try and use my platform and my online magazine to help and at the same time bring music and theatre to anyone around the world. What technology can do these days, is for sure something we also use for so many things but leaves such a huge opportunity to use our voice and platforms for good. I would say at first, it took me a good minute to figure out how I would go about this. Instagram was the app I was most familiar with and have seen many go live (video) before but rarely used it as again I am not the most comfortable in front of a camera or talking much. If I did go live it was to showcase the talent I was featuring and only focused on them. This was all so new to me, and something I was at first really hesitant about. I just still knew I needed to do something to help the theatre community. I thought about an all day concert and music on Instagram Live and to fit in as much talent as I could maybe just a short 10-15min time slot for each talent to perform one song and answer a quick question or two for everyone to get to know them a little. I started mentioning it to a few talent I had connected with through my online magazine and who I had previously seen on National Tours/Broadway etc. to even see if any of them would be be willing to lend their voice and take the time to do this during this time. I think one of the first few I had connected with was Bailey McCall and David Socolar who I had recently seen perfrom from the latest Waitress National Tour. Bailey and David were so sweet and so supportive and were for sure willing to join the concert. The first one was set for Saturday, April 18th. It all came full circle when I was able to connect with Christy Altomare (who I had seen perform twice on Broadway and had sang me Happy Birthday on my last trip to NYC) and she had said she would be able to perform at the concert. Arielle Jacobs (most recently came off of Broadway as “Jasmine” from Aladdin) had mentioned sending in a Press Release to Broadway World and so from there, the concert was well on its way to happening. Flash forward to the day before the concert I was all set and ready for the next day but also really nervous. The anticipation for sure had taken over with it all being so new and not knowing what to really expect. Re connecting with so many I had met and meeting a few for the very first time (I had been speaking online to for years). I just kept telling myself it was all for a great cause. Now at the time, Instagram didn’t have a Donate Button available during the live videos at the bottom of the screen while everyone is watching, but that had changed later on after the first concert. I was able to put the button in the story but overall the first concert was a success. I ended up in my room all day (and had so many who were able to participate) I didn’t really even have much time to eat. It was such a fun day of music and I would say the second it was over, I had this odd feeling inside of me. Not sure what exactly it was, but the big question was was I going to continue this once a month or just let the one month go as planned? Nothing was certain about the outside world and what was going on, and I decided that continuing the concerts once a month for The Actors Fund would be something that everyone could rely on and look forward to while everything else was at a stand still. I think consistency and routine is something every person needs especially right now. Working out a few little technical difficulties here within the first few concerts has for sure given me some challenges but overall, working on planning our 5th Concert now for August 22nd and it for sure won’t be one to miss. I cannot believe it is almost August already. Being so hesitant at first about these concerts and knowing I am not really one to make conversation or feel like it is easy for me (As you can see I am more of a writer than speaker) I have to say I didn’t realize how much these concerts have had a major impact on me personally. Mentally, at first not knowing what to really do with this time at home and being in one place for long period of time not knowing when this will all settle for sure has gotten to me... but planning these concerts has kept my mind busy and what a blessing it has been to be able to still focus on something I am so passionate about theatre and my magazine while being at home. Keeping me busy each and everyday and the consistency for sure has helped. I am always thinking of something more and what I can do to help others and to make each concert even better bringing those all around to one place. I do not know what the rest of the year 2020 holds but I do know that when theatre comes back it will be stronger than ever and the first show that I see (and anyone who is able to) will be one to remember. I for sure know there will be happy tears (from me) the first show I see out of this. For those in theatre and anyone that works beyond the stage my heart is with all of you each and everyday. Attending a show at any theatre in the near future I sure hope is not taken for granted. I for sure know that I will taking in every moment of the experience like it is my last. I know that may seem a bit harsh but even in life live everyday with no regrets. Do what makes you happy and never take the little things for granted. The past few months have taught me so much. 

“Music is The Universal Language” 

There are so many beautiful languages. We may not be able to speak all of them, but the one language we can all understand is music.”

[an-aspiring-jester]

Thank you so much for the tag!! <3 <3

fav movie: Oh my... This one’s hard. Hm, Frozen (2013) comes to mind first for nostalgic purposes, as well as Lion King (1994). I remember being pretty obsessed with Balto (1995), Sindbad Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), Pocahontas (1995), Anastasia (1997) Rise of the Guardians (2012) and Toy Story series, so... one of those? Probably? XD

fav book: Thirteenth Night by Alan Gordon. Wszyscy jesteśmy podejrzani (We are all suspects) and Lesio by Joanna Chemielewska - queen of Polish ‘ironic detective stories’, I love her style. Also Wszystko tylko nie mięta (Anything but mint) by Ewa Nowak and Kwiat Kalafiora (Cauliflower Flower) by Małgorzata Musierowicz - both are teenage romance stories, but they’re extremely funny and I’ve re-read them an insane amount of times.

fav tv show: Avatar the last airbender, Ducktales (reboot), BBC Sherlock (4th season doesn’t exist), Ranczo (Polish comedy series about an American woman who moves to Poland after inheriting an old manor in a small Polish village, making quite a revolution in its narrow-minded community. It’s a wonderful satire on our ‘national flaws’ without ever being mean-spirited or preachy, It’s a classic here.)

fav band: Like @frustratedpker​, I don’t follow any, just individuals I guess (and it’s more about their musical-acting career anyway - Christian Borle, Jeremy Jordan, Idina Menzel among others...) If we wanted to get All The Way Back to the One and Only Time I could have been considered a ‘fan’ of a single band, it would be Polish group Ich Troje - when I was in primary school basically EVERYONE was obsessed with them. XD I grew out of it completely and at this point I’m not even sure whether they still exist, but I sometimes remember fondly their older hits. Ohh! I just rembered, I’m not sure if it counts, since it’s not technically a band, but I’m a big fan of Studio Accantus - it’s a Polish YouTube channel created by Bartek Kozielski - the “director” of the Studio - he invites dozens of AMAZING singers, and they do Polish covers of Disney and musical theatre songs (and Bartek’s Mom, Dorota, is doing incredible job translating them if they haven’t had their premiere in Poland yet, which is most of the time XD) - they don’t have a set ‘cast’ though, there are a few ‘flagship’ performers who appear fairly regularly, but the only untouchable constant over the years has been Bartek himself. :) They really did numbers to promote this genre in Poland, it’s such an amazing passion-born project, all the people involved are crazily talented and so positive, I can’t help but love them!

fav album: All OBCR: Wicked, Beetlejuice, In the Heights, Legally Blonde, Little Shop of Horrors (2019 Off-Broadway Revival). And TONS of other, those are just the ones I’ve statistically been playing most often, recently.

Tagging (only if you want to!) @musicofthedaylight​ and @incomingalbatross​

Tagged by: @is-it-mungojerry-or-rumpelteazer (thank you!! ♥)

fav movie: Moulin Rouge (2001), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Great Gatsby (2013)

fav book: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

fav tv show: Σαββατογεννημένες, Mr. Robot, Umbrella Academy

fav band: I don't have a particular one, it's mainly individual musicians (e.x. Μαραβέγιας, Marina and the Diamonds, Άλκηστις Πρωτοψάλτη, Aaron Tveit etc.)

fav album: Electra Heart by Marina, Maraveyas Illegal, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet OBST, Heathers OBST

Tagging: @iveneverbeenmorestressedinmylife and @an-aspiring-jester (no pressure ♥)

[auditionsuggestions]

The List

A list of songs to maybe avoid in the audition room.

Pre-List note: This list goes out the window if they tell you singing from the show is ok or if they specifically tell you to sing from the show. Remember, this list is generally speaking. Also, for some of these songs I’m going to offer some alternative suggestions – songs that sound similar or have a similar arc or character, but maybe aren’t done so often (that I know of).

Also, this list is a lot less important when it comes to community theatre, generally speaking, though it does depend on the director. Still, don’t sing “On My Own”.

Additionally, songs from shows that have been on Broadway in the past 5 years tend to be a bit too new to use for auditions, so they should probably be avoided.

There’s exceptions to every rule, but please if something is marked with a ~ REALLY think about whether you want to sing it.

The list is below the cut due to length

~Adelaide’s Lament from Guys and Dolls

This song within the show is adorable and hilarious. In an audition setting it’s just not great to sing in an accent with an affectation (the typical New York accent that Adelaide is played with on top of her having a stuffed nose from the cold). Unless you’re able to pair it with another song that shows off your real voice, it’s best to leave this one for cabarets and karaoke.

Maybe look at:

“Waiting in the Wings” from Ain’t Broadway Grand

~Astonishing from Little Women

I love, love, love this song…but not for auditions. It’s a great ‘I want’ song with a killer money note at the end if you have that Eb5. However, unless you can do it better than Sutton Foster, leave it at home. Those behind the table will probably have heard it butchered at auditions a lot and just end up comparing you to the OBC in their minds (not intentionally, it just happens) or tuning out.

Maybe look at:

“Woman” from The Pirate Queen

“Sweet Liberty” from Jane Eyre

Being Alive from Company

Sondheim at an audition is always a gamble. Additionally, the stakes for this song can be VERY difficult to build up in 16-32 bars. My gentledudes and gentledude identifying people, maybe skip this one.

Bring Him Home from Les Miserables

Unless you are going to sing the hell out of that Bb, don’t. Just don’t. It’s what we’re all waiting for. If you screw it up, you look bad. If you don’t sing it, you look bad. So my dear tenors, please have that note and have it perfectly.

~Defying Gravity from Wicked

If your name is not Idina Menzel, they don’t want to hear this. It has been so over done over the last 15+ years that the team behind the table may just tune out entirely. Also, if you can’t guarantee belting that F5 every time, you can’t do it under the stress of an audition, so don’t risk it. Yes, you can belt safely but you’re more likely to slip up with your technique if you’re nervous and hurt yourself.

Maybe Look at:

“Look at Me Now” from The Wild Party (Lippa)

“Carrie” from Carrie the Musical

~Don’t Rain on my Parade from Funny Girl

This song belongs to Barbra Streisand. It’s another one that you’ll just end up being compared to the original and that doesn’t bode well

Franklin Shepherd Inc. from Merrily We Roll Along

If you have ever looked at the sheet music for this thing you know exactly why it’s on this list. Trust me, I did this show in college. It is cruel and unusual punishment for your accompanist if you don’t know for 100% sure that they can play it (And typically that’s only because they’ve either played the show or already learned the song in advance). (Listen to it though. I love this show so much and it needs more love).

(Also I don’t really hear this one a lot, but it’s on the list as a precaution)

Forget About the Boy from Thoroughly Modern Millie

Millie in general just gets done a lot, best not to.

~Gimme Gimme from Thoroughly Modern Millie

See above and mix it with the Astonishing explanation and the fact that so many girls sing this in auditions. Heck, I used to use it a lot as my go-to for belting auditions. But it just tends to be severely over done (hence why it’s here with the ~ beside it)

Girl in 14 G

It’s hard to play the joke of the song in only 16-32 bars, so it really doesn’t work for auditions.

Glitter and Be Gay from Candide 

I’ve seen this one on a few lists. I personally haven’t heard it done a TON at auditions, but if you want to show off your more classical sound and some high notes without being all the way in the stratosphere…

Maybe look at:

“The Finer Things” from Jane Eyre: the Musical

Good Morning Baltimore from Hairspray

Eh, a fun song but Hairspray in general just tends to be done a lot.

~I Can Hear the Bells from Hairspray

The same reason as above with the added caveat that your body type becomes relevant due to the lyrics. If you don’t fit the body type for Tracy it just seems silly, like singing the title song from Legally Blonde if you have dark hair. Also this one is pretty damn repetitive.

I Dreamed a Dream from Les Mis

Between the movie in 2012 and Susan Boyle this has come back into some high popularity. Yes, it’s a lovely, moving song. This has a lot of the “Ballad face” thing that can happen (See below for where that term comes in) but you know the face, the “I’m acting like I’m sad right now but not actually feeling the emotion” face

Maybe look at:

“When I Look at You” from The Scarlet Pimpernel (Just a heads up, I suggest this one a lot in this list.)

If I Loved You from Carousel

As an article I read about overdone songs put it “Ballad face alert.” This one is hard to pull off without giving that face. If you are going to do this song focus more on the acting of it. Really think about what Julie is saying to Billy and why. Give it some background and depth not just “this is a pretty song, I’m a soprano (or baritone) and it’s a ballad”

Journey to the Past from Anastasia

Ooooh, this used to be a go-to of mine, but with the show being on Broadway now it’s best to avoid it. It’s still a nice song though. Maybe in a few years when the show has left Broadway it’ll be safer to use again.

~Let it Go from Frozen

This was on this list back when it first came out with how popular the movie was (and still is). Also belting that E and the end has a little bit to do with it being on the list. Also chances are if the people you’re auditioning for have young children, they already hate this song a lot from over exposure.

~Maybe This Time from Cabaret

This is one of those where you’ll be compared to the original. Liza is forever connected to this song in a lot of people’s minds and you don’t want to deal with that comparison.

Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera

Why? Just why would you sing this song at an audition? It doesn’t have particularly high stakes, it’s hard to sing, and is VERY specific to its show. Also it’s really plodding after a while (duhduhduhduhduhduhduh ^duh).

No Good Deed from Wicked

The stakes are high, the song is great, but Wicked may elicit some groans from the table. If you are absolutely bent on singing from Wicked this or “I’m Not That Girl” are your best bets.

Maybe look at:

“Painting Her Portrait” from Jane Eyre (The belt’s not quite as high, but it’s got the same intensity”

Not for the Life of Me from Thoroughly Modern Millie

Again with the TMM… I heard this twice in about 20 minutes at a recent audition.

~On My Own from Les Mis

If you are considering this you are either just getting into musical theatre or very ballsy. This is the archetypical audition song for women. It’s one of the most overdone audition songs. You may even hear a groan or two if you say you’re gonna sing it. Do yourself a favor and leave it for your shower.

Maybe look at:

“When I Look at You” from The Scarlet Pimpernel (Maybe)

“Wait a Bit” from Just So

“I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar (Might be a  little overdone)

 “As Long as He Needs Me” from Oliver (see above note, though I think it’s a bit more classic than overdone)

Out Tonight from Rent

This song is very tied to dancing and a lot of high energy movement. That’s hard to do a) in an audition setting and b) if you’re not a choreographer. Not to mention the register switch on the melisma of “Out” is a bitch to get right even when you’re not nervous.

Maybe look at:

“The World According to Chris” from Carrie the Musical

~Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz

Judy Garland sang it first and sang it best (at least in a lot of people’s opinions). The octave jumps in this are ridiculous tbqh, and if you’re nervous you may not quite make them.

Pity the Child from Chess

We call it “Pity the Singer” for a reason. It’s a difficult song. It’s super range-y. Just don’t. (Plus you’ll be compared to Adam Pascal)

Maybe look at:

“Why God Why” from Miss Saigon

~Popular from Wicked 

Say it with me: Wicked is not good for auditions because it is one of the most popular musicals of the past century.

Run Away With Me from The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown

If you really want to pay 10$ for sheet music, sure. Still, between Aaron Tveit, Jeremy Jordan, Michael Arden, and just about every other Broadway heart throb singing this, it may be a comparison you want to avoid.

Screw Loose from Cry Baby

I’ve seen this on a couple other lists and I know a lot of people who love this song (and love this show). It’s cute. I see why they like it, but the joke of the song is a bit hard to play in 16-32 bars. If you’re in an audition situation where they’re letting you sing the whole song and this one fits the show and the character you want, go for it. If not, I’d say look for something else.

Seasons of Love from Rent

This is the song everyone knows from Rent. Also it’s a group number it’s not gonna sound as good without at least 3 other people to sing the harmonies.

Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music

Aside from being one of the most well-known Sondheim songs, it’s just sung a lot. Also, a note to you teenage singer/actors who want to sing this at auditions: Don’t. As my old voice teacher often says “You’re not used up enough for Sondheim”

Maybe look at:

“Losing My Mind” from Follies

Show Off from Drowsy Chaperone

The whole tap number in the middle, the Sutton Foster association, and the “toot your own horn” factor should keep you from doing this song. It’s like when people sing “I’m the Greatest Star” from Funny Girl, you had better damn well be the greatest star or it’ll just make you look bad to the casting team.

Someone Like You from Jekyll & Hyde

FOOOOORRRRR IFFF SOMEONE sings this song again while I’m in the room I’m gonna scream. Yes, it’s a pretty song. Yes, Lucy tugs at our heart strings as a character. Yes, people sing this all the time. Hell, I’ve sung it in my voice lessons. It’s range-y though and Wildhorn can be kinda weird for auditions (also in my opinion this is not one of his better shows anyway).

Maybe look at:

“When I Look at You” from The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Somewhere That’s Green from Little Shop of Horrors

Personally, I haven’t really encountered this one so frequently in auditions, but a friend of mine had actually complained to me once about how it’s all he hears from women at auditions. It’s a beautiful song, but between its popularity and the urge to sing in the accent/affectation that Audrey is usually played with I would leave it at home.

Springtime for Hitler from The Producers

WHO IN THE 9 CIRCLES OF HELL SINGS THIS FOR AN AUDITION?!

(Again, haven’t really heard this, but it is funny to think of anyone with the balls to sing this in an audition NOT for The Producers)

Stars from Les Mis

Beautiful song. The problem here is you REALLY have to raise the stakes for this to work in an audition.

Stranger to the Rain from Children of Eden

Another great song. However I hear this one done a lot at auditions…even once at a Hairspray audition of all things. It seems to be dying down a little in popularity though, so you may be safe with it depending on where you live/are auditioning.

Taylor the Latte Boy

Another Kristin Chenoweth, not from a show, needs the full song for the joke to really land.

The Wizard and I from Wicked

We’ve gone over Wicked 500000times now (lies. It’s like 5, but still).

Maybe look at:

“The Spark of Creation” from Children of Eden

Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera 

The cadenza at the end is tricky as hell also this has no actual purpose in the show other than “oooh see how great Christine is” and to have Raoul recognize her. There’s not a lot of context you can add to it.

Maybe look at:

“The Finer Things” from Jane Eyre (Fun fact, Elizabeth DeGrazia who played Blanche back in the OBC was also Christine in Phantom at one point in Toronto. She’s Canadian)

This is the Moment from Jekyll & Hyde

My feelings on Jekyll and Hyde are now known. Please see the entry for Someone Like You.

Maybe look at:

“The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha

“Anthem” from Chess (similar sound-at least to me)

~Tomorrow from Annie

This song is great until you’re about 12-14. Once you’re too old to play Annie, you’re too old for this song.

For my younger singer/actors who want something else that fits their age...

Maybe look at:

“Everlasting” from Tuck Everlasting (Or really any of Winnie’s songs from Tuck Everlasting, I just happen to really like this one)

Watch What Happens from Newsies

The patter is tricky, and it’s sung a LOT. (It does have a nice 32 bar cut there though, but even so don’t bother with it unless you want to be girl #387 that they hear sing it)

Maybe look at:

“Spark of Creation” from Children of Eden

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again from Phantom of the Opera

Phantom is kind of like Wicked in that you just shouldn’t sing from it for the most part. This song also seems like it could become over indulgent with the “I am sad now” and less genuine if one takes it just as a cut for an audition.

Maybe Look at:

“Unusual Way” from Nine

“I Remember” from Evening Primrose

Your Daddy’s Son from Ragtime

This is apparently overdone in some places. It’s a beautiful song but it is also one specifically attached to a character of Color. If you’re not of her race (Sarah is Black), maybe just don’t sing it for an audition.

A note on composers that you “shouldn’t sing”: Yes, there are some who are notoriously difficult to sight read (see: Sondheim, Stephen and Brown, Jason Robert). But you’ll generally be able to find a few by these that aren’t too tricky (or you’ll find a key that makes them a bit easier to sight read). One thing I’ve come across (just in my experience mind you) is that the accompanists at professional auditions tend to be excellent. They can play just about anything you throw in front of them. At community theatre auditions you may be a little less lucky (Again, in general. I love community theatre and think pretty highly of it) but then again you may have a great accompanist there too. A general rule is if you’re worried about the difficulty of your song for the accompanist either don’t choose that one or bring a backup in case you hear that the accompanist isn’t all that great.

[bapakharyoso]

Mixtapes. YouTube videos. Dedicated playlists. Ancillary products. Viral marketing. Epic chart stays. These are things you expect to hear from a record label discussing Cardi B or Beyoncé. Instead, this is the new world of a very old staple, the Broadway original cast recording.

Robust stats tell the tale: Atlantic’s “ Hamilton [1] ” album beat the record held by Adele’s “21” for longest stay in the sales top 40, with an awareness assist from auxiliary releases like “The Hamilton [2] Mixtape” (starring the Roots and Chance the Rapper) and monthly online “Hamildrops.” The same label’s “ Dear Evan Hansen

Mixtapes. YouTube videos. Dedicated playlists. Ancillary products. Viral marketing. Epic chart stays. These are things you expect to hear from a record label discussing Cardi B or Beyoncé. Instead, this is the new world of a very old staple, the Broadway original cast recording.

Robust stats tell the tale: Atlantic’s “Hamilton[1]” album beat the record held by Adele’s “21” for longest stay in the sales top 40, with an awareness assist from auxiliary releases like “The Hamilton[2] Mixtape” (starring the Roots and Chance the Rapper) and monthly online “Hamildrops.” The same label’s “Dear Evan Hansen[3]” had the highest chart debut for a cast album since “Camelot” in 1961 and proved popular among young people who still only aspire to see a Broadway show someday.

The indie Ghostlight label issued an album of Joe Iconis’ “Be More Chill[4]” score when it was still launching in New Jersey and racked up 200 million streams, a number so powerful that off-Broadway and eventually Broadway producers took notice — with those bigger productions helping add another 100 million-plus streams to its total. With stories like these, it’s no wonder Decca Broadway, the label behind the first-ever cast album, 1943’s “Oklahoma!,” has just been relaunched.

Related

Variety spoke with Atlantic A&R president Pete Ganbarg, responsible for bringing “Hamilton” and the upcoming “Jagged Little Pill” to the label; Dickon Stainer, Universal Classics’ president/CEO; and Ghostlight label co-founder Kurt Deutsch about rethinking the original Broadway cast recording as pop.

Variety: There seems to be a hunger for Broadway albums among younger audiences in particular. Why now?  Pete Ganbarg: I am a big believer that everything is cyclical. When I was growing up, I remember my family listening to the original cast album of “A Chorus Line” on long car trips, singing “One Singular Sensation.” For me, that was as much a part of the pop fabric as anything on the radio. Everybody knew “Dance 10, Looks 1.” Five years before that, there was “Jesus Christ Superstar.” It’s the right show coming around and connecting with an audience that doesn’t even know they’ve been waiting for it. We got lucky as a label when we decided to jump in on “Hamilton” head first. What Lin was doing was so unique and special and the songs were so amazing and different … it was unlike anything we had ever done before, whether Broadway was hot or not. Kurt Deutsch: Now, you can reach audiences around the world with the way streaming works. It’s changed the dynamic so significantly. Musically, there have always been fans like me who grew up in St. Louis who didn’t have the opportunity to be in New York when an amazing show opened, who lived that through cast albums. Now there are communities and tribes for any inclusivity and sound, like a Comic-Con. That’s what happened with “Be More Chill[5].” That tribe found itself — a tribe that exists all over the world. The same with “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen[6]” and “Heathers.” If the story moves them emotionally, those people, generally young and high school music students, will watch the YouTube videos and listen to the music over and over again, just like I did with  “Hair” the movie or the DVD of “Pippin” — especially now because the music is so readily available. If had known there were a million people out there that had the same interests as me, the community where I hung in St. Louis would’ve have felt much larger. Ganbarg: We now take it for granted that “Hamilton” is “Hamilton.” But having to pitch it to people inside the company before it existed — only workshopped, not even at the Public Theatre as yet — was a wacky pitch. Imagine me telling the deal committee that whenever you record a Broadway cast album, it is super-expensive due to all the union fees, actors, musicians, everything literally on the clock — stopwatch even. Depending on the number of songs you are recording, it can get even more expensive: “Dear Evan Hansen” is 14 songs; “Hamilton” has 46 songs. Then there is the further pitch: not just that it’s 46 songs, but a new musical about the founding fathers, the American Revolution and its after-effects. And, by the way, all of the fathers are played by actors of color, and it’s all hip-hop, and some of the raps are about states’ origins and the Federal Reserve … You can feel the window opening and you being prepared to be thrown out the window. But it’s art and it’s not supposed to be always logical.

Kurt, when you first saw “Be More Chill” exploding, what went through your mind? Deutsch: When I first saw the show in New Jersey, I think I said to (composer) Joe Iconis that “Michael in the Bathroom” was destined to be sung by kids forever, as it touches on the angst of being an outsider; that’s what a lot of musical theater fans feel like. Joe’s music speaks to that in a way no songwriter right now writing today speaks to it. I think “The Last Five Years” was like that; this totally intimate musical that died after 9/11 has become something virally. Going back to “Be More Chill”: We sold a few albums at first, then noticed that people were watching the YouTube videos such as “Michael in the Bathroom” that we made. We saw Tumblr and Animatics things that the fans created, and it all started to snowball in a very homemade, organic way. It was beyond our control. Once we saw that, we began feeding the fire with more content. But we couldn’t force-feed or go over the top; kids know what’s real and not real.

Is it fair to say that the success of streaming capabilities in regard to the success of “Hamilton,” “Evan Hansen” or “Mean Girls” is similar? Ganbarg: Yes. People hear their music this way, now. When we working on “Hamilton,” we worked first on “Hamilton”-related playlists that were highlighting the new sound of Broadway. If you were a fan of Lin’s first show, “In the Heights,” we capitalized on that success. We used the digital streaming platforms as a marketing tool with playlisting, making sure that you could find our music wherever you were looking. Word got out that the show was something special. We made sure people knew that they could consume them however they liked. Deutsch: I should say, though, where Ghostlight is concerned, shows such as “Tina,” “Beautiful” and “The Cher Show” —those are album-buying audiences. They like physicals. They’re not into streaming so much. If “Be More Chill” is 90% streaming, “Beautiful” is 70% physical hard copies. “In the Heights” and “Book of Mormon” have both gone gold. “Beautiful” and “Newsies” are up there. “Legally Blonde” and “The Last Five Years” have sold well. Our “Hair” and “Pippin” revivals were big for us via our physical versions.

Famously, Decca Broadway released the first-ever cast album with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” Now, here you are, Dickon, with the newly-relaunched Decca Broadway, reconnecting with that classic American musical in 2019. Is it fair to say you timed the relaunch to your re-connecting with that musical? Dickon Stainer: Decca Broadway has such a storied legacy, having released the first ever cast album in 1943 of “Oklahoma!,” so when we knew we were going to release the cast album for the revival, we of course wanted to emphasize the connection. We are also releasing the cast album for “Tootsie,” so to be releasing the cast albums for two Tony-nominated shows to relaunch our label is an honor. … Decca Broadway now is part of Verve Label Group, among other storied and iconic imprints such as Verve, Impulse!, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and more. We have a renewed sense of purpose with Decca Broadway — the team believes in the artform and there are many exciting shows that we are looking forward to aligning ourselves with to continue the legacy of the label. “Wicked” and “Phantom” made huge cultural waves at the time; we hope to be a part of that again.

  “Hamilton” had its ancillary associated projects such as Hamilldrops and its remix album. “Be More Chill” had its viral YouTube videos. How do you see these marketing ideas affecting other shows you’re associated with?  Ganbarg: You always want to be able to lean into consumer demand. Once we knew that we had something special, the idea was to give the consumer more about what they were excited to hear. Lin did not want to release a cast album first. He wanted to release a mixtape first. Remember, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was a concept album before it was a stage musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted people to fall in love with the music and the songs first. By the time the show was staged, everyone knew all the songs. As “Hamilton” was written by Lin in a hip-hop place, he could get rappers together to do these songs. Eventually he changed his mind and went the traditional route, but it was in the back of all of our minds to do a mixtape. We just did it when the audience was ready for it. Once it became a phenomenon after the Tonys, we got calls from artists asking us about doing covers of the songs. So Chance the Rapper, Busta Rhymes and John Legend became part of the Mixtape. Now, because you don’t want to go to the well too many times and do “Hamilton mixtape Volume 17,” the idea of the Hamildrops came from Lin himself — something new every month in 2018, finishing up with the “44” remix of “One Last Time” with Barack Obama. Deutsch: I have been heavily involved with “Alice by Heart,” a show by Duncan Shiek and Steven Sater. We’ve been on it a number of years … a beautiful production. When people hear the score they will respond in a way that is akin to “Be More Chill.” It has that “Spring Awakening” feel, but it is a tragic love story between these two people. In thinking about the marketing of “Alice by Heart,” and how the audience grew from its first performance and the Twitter fans who followed it by the end of its 10-week run, there were a hundred kids waiting for the cast outside, similar to the “Be More Chill” crowds. The kids know what they love. I think of “Beetlejuice” and the character of Lydia as the gateway to a similar audience. Songs like “Dead Mom” have a similar sense of sticky humor. “Heathers” too, very much, too.

Broadway has a handsome track record for making its biggest stars into pop stars, from Streisand to Idina Menzel. What can a label do for a burgeoning star beyond Broadway? Do you try to build composers as stars, too? Ganbarg: Broadway music is popular music. As an A&R exec, I know that there are no new ideas, just new ways of applying them and new voices to apply them with. When we were at the opening of “Dear Evan Hansen,” my boss turned to me at intermission and asked me to run backstage and sign Ben Platt to a solo deal immediately. Which we did. If Lin wanted to do a solo album, we’d jump at the chance. The problem is if you do too many, you dilute the market and the special nature of the Broadway star coming off of the stage and into the arms of contemporary music fans. Deutsch: If we hadn’t made a recording of Joe’s show in NJ, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. When Joe does his next work, I’ll be there. … We did “Dogfight” with Pasek & Paul right before “Dear Evan Hansen,” but people have been revisiting “Dogfight” because they want to hear the body of work. The same with Jason Robert Brown with “Last Five Years,” “13,” “Bridges of Madison County” and all of his solo records that I have released. That’s a tremendous responsibility, maintaining all that.

What do you want to hear from a soundtrack that you believe makes it a hit? Is it one anthemic song? Or an overall vibe? Ganbarg: When you see a show and you want to hear its soundtrack, it’s because the entire show moved you. You want to recapture that emotion after you leave the theater. The best, most pure way to do that is with a cast soundtrack of the show you just saw. We knew from day one that we had 14 great Pasek & Paul songs on “Dear Even Hansen,” but in “Waiting for a Window,” we had a song that was instantly recognizable, something we could attach to something more. Not only did Ben Platt’s “Window” anchor all of the advertising online and on television, ultimately we, like with “Hamilton,” had other artists covering that song. We had Owl City cover it, which was perfect: if Evan Hansen was a pop star, he’d be Owl City: they’re both neurotic and insular. Katy Perry covered it to because she was so moved when she saw the show. Sometimes it’s us; sometimes it’s the artists who fall in love with the show. Deutsch: Cast albums are one of the only things now that people listen from beginning to end — and In order — because they wish to have the full experience. We don’t see a lot of single tracks sold. It’s about the score as a whole, and a few songs that will reach beyond the show and will live forever and become the new standards. A show such as “Alice by Heart” and a song such as “Afternoon” — we just did the video — that song will resonate so much, I think that people will want to see more. Stainer:  A good cast album comes from a good show. Does the show move you? Does the music move you? Those are the questions we ask.

References

^Hamilton (variety.com)

^Hamilton (variety.com)

^Dear Evan Hansen (variety.com)

^Be More Chill (variety.com)

^Be More Chill (variety.com)

^Dear Evan Hansen (variety.com)

PAGE 2

[milliondollarbaby87]

Here we go with my run down of everything I managed to catch at the Theatre in 2018, this includes plenty of UK Touring shows coming to Newcastle’s Theatre Royal and the Sunderland Empire. I squeezed in a few London trips and even another New York trip thanks to my marathon place!

A scene from Chicago The Musical @ Phoenix Theatre, London. (Taken 24-03-18) ©Tristram Kenton 03-18 (3 Raveley Street, LONDON NW5 2HX TEL 0207 267 5550 Mob 07973 617 355)email: tristram@tristramkenton.com

A scene from Chicago The Musical @ Phoenix Theatre, London. (Taken 29-03-18) ©Tristram Kenton 03-18 (3 Raveley Street, LONDON NW5 2HX TEL 0207 267 5550 Mob 07973 617 355)email: tristram@tristramkenton.com

In 2016 I managed to see 31 shows. In 2017 I managed to see 36 shows. My total for this year 2018 was 26 different shows. Not as many as the previous two years, but still a very impressive number. Check out which shows here!

FOLLIES by Sondheim ; Directed by Dominic Cooke ; Designed by Vicki Mortimer ; at the National Theatre, London, UK ; 21 August 2017 ; Credit : Johan Persson

January started off in spectacular theatre fashion as I started the New Year in London travelling down on the 2nd and staying for three nights. Managing an incredible five shows in three days!  First up was Follies at the National Theatre the night before it closed and it was an amazing way to start off my year! Read the full review here. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie was a new musical I had been following since its Sheffield opening and then transfer to the West End. It was a thrill to see it so early in its run and has so much going for it. Read the full review here. I also got to meet John McCrea at the stage door! Then another visit to see Young Frankenstein the Musical for what would be my final time seeing Ross Noble as Igor. Plus another stage door visit for this wonderful cast. It was then the day for the big one Hamilton the show everyone had been talking about after being the talk of Broadway! Read the full review here. But I had a nightmare with my seat being full price yet a restricted view! I had queued in the morning for day seats for Glengarry Glen Ross as Christian Slater had taken on the leading role. I was in the front row and it was fantastic to see him on stage from such a close angle! It’s a powerful play which is still more than relevant today. Read the full review here. I also got to meet Christian Slater and the stage door and then later won a cast signed poster! 

February – no shows

March everything picked up again with four shows this month. Starting with Cilla the Musical which was taken from the BBC tv series of the same name, something I had not actually watched. But that didn’t make a difference though as the show told the story and I enjoyed seeing the background for one of Britain’s biggest stars. Read the full review here. I then got to see the UK tour of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical having adored it in the West End! Read the full review here. I then bought a last-minute ticket to see Art, the Play which had a fantastic cast including Nigel Havers! Read the full review here and check out the stage door photos. I finished the month seeing The Bobby Thompson Story about a Newcastle comedian at the Theatre Royal, because my parents had tickets but then booked a holiday! Unfortunately though I didn’t review the show.

April was another good month seeing The Last Ship at wonderful Northern Stage, it was my first time in that theatre and the stage was huge. This worked well for the production being on a shipyard. Read the full review here. I then managed to get a very cheap ticket for Throughly Modern Millie and it was so much of a surprise show that I enjoyed more than I thought I would. Read the full review here. I was on the fence about going to see The Band Musical and that was because I was and have never been a huge Take That fan. I liked the way they had a new story with the songs mashed in it. Read the full review here. Next was a show I have always wanted to see due to loving the film Legally Blonde the Musical, and I was not disappointed one bit. It’s a terrific show with some very catchy songs. Read the full review here. The month then finished with a West End trip the day before I took on the London Marathon with my all time favourite Chicago and it had Cuba Gooding Jr in it! Read the full review here. Stage door with Cuba Gooding Jr here.

May started off with the cancelling of Russell Brand’s stand up show Re:Birth. I did manage to eventually see Matilda the Musical as part of its UK tour and was very underwhelmed by the experience, I was quite shocked with how much it had been build up and failed to understand why. Read the full review here. I then went to see another of my favourites in Evita and once again loved this show, yes it is depressing but it is so powerful at the same time. Read the full review here.

June was a one show month and a new musical! An Officer and a Gentleman the Musical and I loved what they did with this one, I have such a love for the film and the way they kept all of the best moments mixed with some fantastic songs was great! Read the full review here. Stage door with the lovely cast!

THE DUSTY SPRINGFIELD MUSICAL by Harvey, , Writer – Jonathan Harvey, Director – Maria Friedman, Production Photo from Theatre Royal, Bath, Credit: Johan Persson/

July was a two show month seeing Dusty the Musical the day after my birthday, and it was everything I had hoped for and more! Read the full review here. Then I finished the month making my teenage self extremely happy seeing Orlando Bloom on stage in Killer Joe! A very strange play, read the full review here. I also got to meet him at the stage door!

August was to be my final time seeing Young Frankenstein the Musical before it closed a few weeks later, I truly adore this show and was so sad that it closed so early. Read the full review here. 

September I saw Wicked for the 9th time as part of its UK Tour and I can confirm that I still love this show as much as ever! I then caught another show on tour with Calendar Girls the Musical, which was utterly lovely from start to finish.

October was a show I had been waiting to see for over a year after buying the tickets as soon as they went on sale for the return of a legend to the West End, that’s right Patti LuPone was coming back! In Company which is a truly outstanding show, this version they did a gender swap to the main character and it is one of the best musicals I have ever seen. Read the full review here.

November was to be a bonus with heading to New York for the marathon I managed to squeeze in two shows around my 26.2 mile run! The first was My Fair Lady and it was a wonderful production, which I throughly enjoyed. Read the full review here. I then got day seats for Pretty Woman the Musical and with Bryan Adams being involved in the music it was always going to be something that I would enjoy. Read the full review here. I then finished off the month and what would be my year with some comedy from Ross Noble and his El Hablador tour, read the full review here.

December – no shows

Which shows did you manage to see during 2018? 

2018 at the Theatre Here we go with my run down of everything I managed to catch at the Theatre in 2018, this includes plenty of UK Touring shows coming to Newcastle’s Theatre Royal and the Sunderland Empire.

[cynthiajayusa]

Florida Native Danny Burgos Talks ‘On Your Feet’

Both the Straz Center for the Perfoming Arts and The Dr. Phillips Center For the Performing Arts presents the hit Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET! – based on the life story of seven-time GRAMMY winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time GRAMMY winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan. The first national tour will celebrate its Grand Opening in the state of Florida hitting the Dr. Phillips Center from October 17–22 with tickets starting at $34.25 at DrPhillipsCenter.org, and then hits going to the Straz Center from Oct 24 – Oct 29, with tickets starting at $45 at strazcenter.org.

Gloria Estefan has sold over 100 million records and sold out stadiums around the world. Emilio and Gloria Estefan together have won 26 GRAMMY Awards – but their music is only half of the story. From the heart of Havana to the streets of Miami came a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the music industry had ever seen.  ON YOUR FEET! is the new Broadway musical that follows the Estefans’ journey to superstardom, set to their chart-topping, smash hits, including “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Conga,” “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Mi Tierra,” Don’t Want To Lose You Now,” and “Reach,” in addition to an original song written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan.

ON YOUR FEET! is directed by two-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis), with an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman, The Bodyguard Musical). The musical began performances on Broadway on Monday, October 5, 2015, with an opening night of Thursday, November 5, 2015, at the Marquis Theatre in New York City.

Completing the creative team are four-time Tony-nominated Scenic Designer David Rockwell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), Tony-nominated Costume Designer Emilio Sosa (Porgy & Bess), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray), Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Steve Kennedy (Lady Day, Guys and Dolls), Projections by Darrel Maloney, and Hair & Wig Designer Chuck LaPointe (Beautiful, Newsies). With Music Direction by Lon Hoyt (Hairspray), ON YOUR FEET! features Orchestrations by Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Dance Arrangements and Dance Orchestrations by Oscar Hernandez (The Capeman).

James L. Nederlander, Estefan Enterprises, Inc and Bernie Yuman have announced that Cuban-American Broadway actress Christie Prades will star as seven-time GRAMMY® winning international superstar Gloria Estefan, and acclaimed stage and television actor Mauricio Martinez will play her 19-time Grammy-winning producer and husband Emilio Estefan, in the First National Tour of the Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET!.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Danny Burgos, born and raised in Florida, who is in the ensemble and the Emilio understudy.

At what age did you begin singing/acting?

I started singing when I was around 7 years old in church, but acting didn’t come about until I was a junior in high school. My best friend wanted to audition for a musical, but was too nervous to audition on her own, so I went with her and I get cast as the lead.

What was your first Professional/Paid gig?

It was at Flat Rock Playhouse after my freshman year at the musical program at Florida State University. I was in the ensemble for Guys and Dolls.

You were born in Florida. Do you get back often and how excited are you to be touring in Florida?

I’m very excited as I don’t get back as often as I would like. I was born in Hialeah and my dad still lives in Miami. In addition, the Adrienne Arsht Center is where I saw my first musical, so I am so excited to be performing in that theater.

I see that Pizza is one of your hobbies, which is your favorite kind of Pizza and why?

This is an ongoing joke that I have with my friends. I just love pizza, and every Friday my mom would bring us pizza.  Papa John’s Pepperoni  pizza with the garlic sauce really makes me happy, but in New York, I went to Artichoke Pizza in Chelsea and I have to admit it’s the best pizza I had in my life.

Other than this show, what role has been your favorite to play and why?

My favorite musical that I have been in, other than “On Your Feet” is “In the Heights.” I was cast in three versions of the show and each time it becomes more familial as it is a Latin based show and I feel an attraction to my culture. The show is just about 1 day in the life of a Latin American in New York, and to me it’s so special. The characteristics of being Latin are stripped, and they are just shown as people. Its so special to me!

What should the Central Florida audiences expect out of this touring company of On Your feet?

I always tell everyone that this is an important story because you get to know the life of this important couple. Most people do not know the behind the scenes story of how they got to where they are now. Ultimately you leave the theater singing and dancing to the songs you love. I promise, you won’t leave without a smile on your face.

For more information on Danny, either go to his website at: DannyBurgos.com.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/10/05/florida-native-danny-burgos-talks-on-your-feet/ from Hot Spots Magazine http://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2017/10/florida-native-danny-burgos-talks-on.html

[demitgibbs]

Florida Native Danny Burgos Talks ‘On Your Feet’

Both the Straz Center for the Perfoming Arts and The Dr. Phillips Center For the Performing Arts presents the hit Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET! – based on the life story of seven-time GRAMMY winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time GRAMMY winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan. The first national tour will celebrate its Grand Opening in the state of Florida hitting the Dr. Phillips Center from October 17–22 with tickets starting at $34.25 at DrPhillipsCenter.org, and then hits going to the Straz Center from Oct 24 – Oct 29, with tickets starting at $45 at strazcenter.org.

Gloria Estefan has sold over 100 million records and sold out stadiums around the world. Emilio and Gloria Estefan together have won 26 GRAMMY Awards – but their music is only half of the story. From the heart of Havana to the streets of Miami came a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the music industry had ever seen.  ON YOUR FEET! is the new Broadway musical that follows the Estefans’ journey to superstardom, set to their chart-topping, smash hits, including “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Conga,” “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Mi Tierra,” Don’t Want To Lose You Now,” and “Reach,” in addition to an original song written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan.

ON YOUR FEET! is directed by two-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis), with an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman, The Bodyguard Musical). The musical began performances on Broadway on Monday, October 5, 2015, with an opening night of Thursday, November 5, 2015, at the Marquis Theatre in New York City.

Completing the creative team are four-time Tony-nominated Scenic Designer David Rockwell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), Tony-nominated Costume Designer Emilio Sosa (Porgy & Bess), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray), Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Steve Kennedy (Lady Day, Guys and Dolls), Projections by Darrel Maloney, and Hair & Wig Designer Chuck LaPointe (Beautiful, Newsies). With Music Direction by Lon Hoyt (Hairspray), ON YOUR FEET! features Orchestrations by Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Dance Arrangements and Dance Orchestrations by Oscar Hernandez (The Capeman).

James L. Nederlander, Estefan Enterprises, Inc and Bernie Yuman have announced that Cuban-American Broadway actress Christie Prades will star as seven-time GRAMMY® winning international superstar Gloria Estefan, and acclaimed stage and television actor Mauricio Martinez will play her 19-time Grammy-winning producer and husband Emilio Estefan, in the First National Tour of the Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET!.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Danny Burgos, born and raised in Florida, who is in the ensemble and the Emilio understudy.

At what age did you begin singing/acting?

I started singing when I was around 7 years old in church, but acting didn’t come about until I was a junior in high school. My best friend wanted to audition for a musical, but was too nervous to audition on her own, so I went with her and I get cast as the lead.

What was your first Professional/Paid gig?

It was at Flat Rock Playhouse after my freshman year at the musical program at Florida State University. I was in the ensemble for Guys and Dolls.

You were born in Florida. Do you get back often and how excited are you to be touring in Florida?

I’m very excited as I don’t get back as often as I would like. I was born in Hialeah and my dad still lives in Miami. In addition, the Adrienne Arsht Center is where I saw my first musical, so I am so excited to be performing in that theater.

I see that Pizza is one of your hobbies, which is your favorite kind of Pizza and why?

This is an ongoing joke that I have with my friends. I just love pizza, and every Friday my mom would bring us pizza.  Papa John’s Pepperoni  pizza with the garlic sauce really makes me happy, but in New York, I went to Artichoke Pizza in Chelsea and I have to admit it’s the best pizza I had in my life.

Other than this show, what role has been your favorite to play and why?

My favorite musical that I have been in, other than “On Your Feet” is “In the Heights.” I was cast in three versions of the show and each time it becomes more familial as it is a Latin based show and I feel an attraction to my culture. The show is just about 1 day in the life of a Latin American in New York, and to me it’s so special. The characteristics of being Latin are stripped, and they are just shown as people. Its so special to me!

What should the Central Florida audiences expect out of this touring company of On Your feet?

I always tell everyone that this is an important story because you get to know the life of this important couple. Most people do not know the behind the scenes story of how they got to where they are now. Ultimately you leave the theater singing and dancing to the songs you love. I promise, you won’t leave without a smile on your face.

For more information on Danny, either go to his website at: DannyBurgos.com.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/10/05/florida-native-danny-burgos-talks-on-your-feet/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/166080813630

[hotspotsmagazine]

Florida Native Danny Burgos Talks ‘On Your Feet’

Both the Straz Center for the Perfoming Arts and The Dr. Phillips Center For the Performing Arts presents the hit Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET! – based on the life story of seven-time GRAMMY winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time GRAMMY winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan. The first national tour will celebrate its Grand Opening in the state of Florida hitting the Dr. Phillips Center from October 17–22 with tickets starting at $34.25 at DrPhillipsCenter.org, and then hits going to the Straz Center from Oct 24 – Oct 29, with tickets starting at $45 at strazcenter.org.

Gloria Estefan has sold over 100 million records and sold out stadiums around the world. Emilio and Gloria Estefan together have won 26 GRAMMY Awards – but their music is only half of the story. From the heart of Havana to the streets of Miami came a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the music industry had ever seen.  ON YOUR FEET! is the new Broadway musical that follows the Estefans’ journey to superstardom, set to their chart-topping, smash hits, including “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Conga,” “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Mi Tierra,” Don’t Want To Lose You Now,” and “Reach,” in addition to an original song written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan.

ON YOUR FEET! is directed by two-time Tony Award® winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis), with an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman, The Bodyguard Musical). The musical began performances on Broadway on Monday, October 5, 2015, with an opening night of Thursday, November 5, 2015, at the Marquis Theatre in New York City.

Completing the creative team are four-time Tony-nominated Scenic Designer David Rockwell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), Tony-nominated Costume Designer Emilio Sosa (Porgy & Bess), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray), Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Steve Kennedy (Lady Day, Guys and Dolls), Projections by Darrel Maloney, and Hair & Wig Designer Chuck LaPointe (Beautiful, Newsies). With Music Direction by Lon Hoyt (Hairspray), ON YOUR FEET! features Orchestrations by Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Dance Arrangements and Dance Orchestrations by Oscar Hernandez (The Capeman).

James L. Nederlander, Estefan Enterprises, Inc and Bernie Yuman have announced that Cuban-American Broadway actress Christie Prades will star as seven-time GRAMMY® winning international superstar Gloria Estefan, and acclaimed stage and television actor Mauricio Martinez will play her 19-time Grammy-winning producer and husband Emilio Estefan, in the First National Tour of the Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET!.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Danny Burgos, born and raised in Florida, who is in the ensemble and the Emilio understudy.

At what age did you begin singing/acting?

I started singing when I was around 7 years old in church, but acting didn’t come about until I was a junior in high school. My best friend wanted to audition for a musical, but was too nervous to audition on her own, so I went with her and I get cast as the lead.

What was your first Professional/Paid gig?

It was at Flat Rock Playhouse after my freshman year at the musical program at Florida State University. I was in the ensemble for Guys and Dolls.

You were born in Florida. Do you get back often and how excited are you to be touring in Florida?

I’m very excited as I don’t get back as often as I would like. I was born in Hialeah and my dad still lives in Miami. In addition, the Adrienne Arsht Center is where I saw my first musical, so I am so excited to be performing in that theater.

I see that Pizza is one of your hobbies, which is your favorite kind of Pizza and why?

This is an ongoing joke that I have with my friends. I just love pizza, and every Friday my mom would bring us pizza.  Papa John’s Pepperoni  pizza with the garlic sauce really makes me happy, but in New York, I went to Artichoke Pizza in Chelsea and I have to admit it’s the best pizza I had in my life.

Other than this show, what role has been your favorite to play and why?

My favorite musical that I have been in, other than “On Your Feet” is “In the Heights.” I was cast in three versions of the show and each time it becomes more familial as it is a Latin based show and I feel an attraction to my culture. The show is just about 1 day in the life of a Latin American in New York, and to me it’s so special. The characteristics of being Latin are stripped, and they are just shown as people. Its so special to me!

What should the Central Florida audiences expect out of this touring company of On Your feet?

I always tell everyone that this is an important story because you get to know the life of this important couple. Most people do not know the behind the scenes story of how they got to where they are now. Ultimately you leave the theater singing and dancing to the songs you love. I promise, you won’t leave without a smile on your face.

For more information on Danny, either go to his website at: DannyBurgos.com.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/10/05/florida-native-danny-burgos-talks-on-your-feet/

[demitgibbs]

‘On Your Feet’ Kicks Off Broadway Miami Season

Broadway in Miami is pleased to announce that the hit Broadway musical based on the life story of seven-time GRAMMY winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time GRAMMY winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan – will celebrate its Grand Opening of its first national tour in the Estefans’ home city of Miami, Florida at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts from October 5–15, 2017 (Photo/Matthew Murphy).

Tickets to will be available through the Arsht Center Box Office in person at 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33132, by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at ArshtCenter.org, and start at $29.

Gloria Estefan has sold over 100 million records and sold out stadiums around the world. Emilio and Gloria Estefan together have won 26 GRAMMY Awards – but their music is only half of the story. From the heart of Havana to the streets of Miami came a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the music industry had ever seen. ON YOUR FEET! is the new Broadway musical that follows the Estefans’ journey to superstardom, set to their chart-topping, smash hits, including “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Conga,” “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Mi Tierra,” Don’tWant To Lose You Now,” and “Reach,” in addition to an original song written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan.

WATCH:

ON YOUR FEET! is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis), with an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman, The Bodyguard Musical). The musical began performances on Broadway on Monday, October 5, 2015, with an opening night of Thursday, November 5, 2015, at the Marquis Theatre in New York City.

Completing the creative team are fourtime Tony-nominated Scenic Designer David Rockwell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), Tony-nominated Costume Designer Emilio Sosa (Porgy & Bess), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray), Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Steve Kennedy (Lady Day, Guys and Dolls), Projections by Darrel Maloney, and Hair & Wig Designer Chuck LaPointe (Beautiful, Newsies). With Music Direction by Lon Hoyt (Hairspray), ON YOUR FEET! features Orchestrations by Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Dance Arrangements and Dance Orchestrations by Oscar Hernandez (The Capeman).

James L. Nederlander, Estefan Enterprises, Inc and Bernie Yuman have announced that Cuban- American Broadway actress Christie Prades will star as seven-time GRAMMY® winning international superstar Gloria Estefan, and acclaimed stage and television actor Mauricio Martinez will play her 19-time Grammy-winning producer and husband Emilio Estefan, in the First National Tour of the Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET!.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Danny Burgos, born and raised in Florida, who performs in the ensemble and the Emilio understudy.

At what age did you begin singing/acting?

I started singing when I was around 7 years old in church, but acting didn’t come about until I was a junior in high school. My best friend wanted to audition for a musical, but was too nervous to audition on her own, so I went with her and I get cast as the lead.

What was your first professional/paid gig?

It was at Flat Rock Playhouse after my freshman year at the musical program at Florida State University. I was in the ensemble for Guys and Dolls.

You were born in Florida. Do you get back often and how excited are you to be touring in Florida?

I’m very excited as I don’t get back as often as I would like. I was born in Hialeah and my dad still lives in Miami. In addition, the Adrienne Arsht Center is where I saw my first musical, so I am so excited to be performing in that theater.

I see that pizza is one of your hobbies, which is your favorite kind of pizza and why?

This is an ongoing joke that I have with my friends. I just love pizza, and every Friday my mom would bring us pizza. Papa John’s pepperoni pizza with the garlic sauce really makes me happy, but in New York, I went to Artichoke Pizza in Chelsea and I have to admit it’s the best pizza I had in my life.

Other than this show, what role has been your favorite to play and why?

My favorite musical that I have been in, other than On Your Feet is In the Heights. I was cast in three versions of the show and each time it becomes more familial as it is a Latin based show and I feel an attraction to my culture. The show is just about 1 day in the life of a Latin American in New York, and to me it’s so special. The characteristics of being Latin are stripped, and they are just shown as people. It’s so special to me!

What should the South Florida audiences expect out of this touring company of On Your Feet!?

I always tell everyone that this is an important story because you get to know the life of this important couple. Most people do not know the behind the scenes story of how they got to where they are now. Ultimately you leave the theater singing and dancing to the songs you love. I promise, you won’t leave without a smile on your face.

For more information on Danny, either go to his website at: DannyBurgos.com.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/10/05/on-your-feet-comes-to-south-florida/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/166075517705

[hotspotsmagazine]

‘On Your Feet’ Kicks Off Broadway Miami Season

Broadway in Miami is pleased to announce that the hit Broadway musical based on the life story of seven-time GRAMMY winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time GRAMMY winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan – will celebrate its Grand Opening of its first national tour in the Estefans’ home city of Miami, Florida at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts from October 5–15, 2017 (Photo/Matthew Murphy).

Tickets to will be available through the Arsht Center Box Office in person at 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33132, by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at ArshtCenter.org, and start at $29.

Gloria Estefan has sold over 100 million records and sold out stadiums around the world. Emilio and Gloria Estefan together have won 26 GRAMMY Awards – but their music is only half of the story. From the heart of Havana to the streets of Miami came a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the music industry had ever seen. ON YOUR FEET! is the new Broadway musical that follows the Estefans’ journey to superstardom, set to their chart-topping, smash hits, including “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Conga,” “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Mi Tierra,” Don’tWant To Lose You Now,” and “Reach,” in addition to an original song written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan.

WATCH:

ON YOUR FEET! is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis), with an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman, The Bodyguard Musical). The musical began performances on Broadway on Monday, October 5, 2015, with an opening night of Thursday, November 5, 2015, at the Marquis Theatre in New York City.

Completing the creative team are fourtime Tony-nominated Scenic Designer David Rockwell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), Tony-nominated Costume Designer Emilio Sosa (Porgy & Bess), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray), Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Steve Kennedy (Lady Day, Guys and Dolls), Projections by Darrel Maloney, and Hair & Wig Designer Chuck LaPointe (Beautiful, Newsies). With Music Direction by Lon Hoyt (Hairspray), ON YOUR FEET! features Orchestrations by Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Dance Arrangements and Dance Orchestrations by Oscar Hernandez (The Capeman).

James L. Nederlander, Estefan Enterprises, Inc and Bernie Yuman have announced that Cuban- American Broadway actress Christie Prades will star as seven-time GRAMMY® winning international superstar Gloria Estefan, and acclaimed stage and television actor Mauricio Martinez will play her 19-time Grammy-winning producer and husband Emilio Estefan, in the First National Tour of the Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET!.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Danny Burgos, born and raised in Florida, who performs in the ensemble and the Emilio understudy.

At what age did you begin singing/acting?

I started singing when I was around 7 years old in church, but acting didn’t come about until I was a junior in high school. My best friend wanted to audition for a musical, but was too nervous to audition on her own, so I went with her and I get cast as the lead.

What was your first professional/paid gig?

It was at Flat Rock Playhouse after my freshman year at the musical program at Florida State University. I was in the ensemble for Guys and Dolls.

You were born in Florida. Do you get back often and how excited are you to be touring in Florida?

I’m very excited as I don’t get back as often as I would like. I was born in Hialeah and my dad still lives in Miami. In addition, the Adrienne Arsht Center is where I saw my first musical, so I am so excited to be performing in that theater.

I see that pizza is one of your hobbies, which is your favorite kind of pizza and why?

This is an ongoing joke that I have with my friends. I just love pizza, and every Friday my mom would bring us pizza. Papa John’s pepperoni pizza with the garlic sauce really makes me happy, but in New York, I went to Artichoke Pizza in Chelsea and I have to admit it’s the best pizza I had in my life.

Other than this show, what role has been your favorite to play and why?

My favorite musical that I have been in, other than On Your Feet is In the Heights. I was cast in three versions of the show and each time it becomes more familial as it is a Latin based show and I feel an attraction to my culture. The show is just about 1 day in the life of a Latin American in New York, and to me it’s so special. The characteristics of being Latin are stripped, and they are just shown as people. It’s so special to me!

What should the South Florida audiences expect out of this touring company of On Your Feet!?

I always tell everyone that this is an important story because you get to know the life of this important couple. Most people do not know the behind the scenes story of how they got to where they are now. Ultimately you leave the theater singing and dancing to the songs you love. I promise, you won’t leave without a smile on your face.

For more information on Danny, either go to his website at: DannyBurgos.com.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/10/05/on-your-feet-comes-to-south-florida/

[cynthiajayusa]

On Your Feet’ Comes to South Florida

Broadway in Miami is pleased to announce that the hit Broadway musical based on the life story of seven-time GRAMMY winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time GRAMMY winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan – will celebrate its Grand Opening of its first national tour in the Estefans’ home city of Miami, Florida at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts from October 5–15, 2017 (Photo/Matthew Murphy).

Tickets to will be available through the Arsht Center Box Office in person at 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33132, by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at ArshtCenter.org, and start at $29.

Gloria Estefan has sold over 100 million records and sold out stadiums around the world. Emilio and Gloria Estefan together have won 26 GRAMMY Awards – but their music is only half of the story. From the heart of Havana to the streets of Miami came a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the music industry had ever seen. ON YOUR FEET! is the new Broadway musical that follows the Estefans’ journey to superstardom, set to their chart-topping, smash hits, including “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,” “Conga,” “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Mi Tierra,” Don’tWant To Lose You Now,” and “Reach,” in addition to an original song written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan.

WATCH:

ON YOUR FEET! is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots, Hairspray) and choreographed by Tony Award nominee & Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Memphis), with an original book by Academy Award winner Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman, The Bodyguard Musical). The musical began performances on Broadway on Monday, October 5, 2015, with an opening night of Thursday, November 5, 2015, at the Marquis Theatre in New York City.

Completing the creative team are fourtime Tony-nominated Scenic Designer David Rockwell (Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde), Tony-nominated Costume Designer Emilio Sosa (Porgy & Bess), Tony Award-winning Lighting Designer Kenneth Posner (Wicked, Hairspray), Tony Award-winning Sound Designer Steve Kennedy (Lady Day, Guys and Dolls), Projections by Darrel Maloney, and Hair & Wig Designer Chuck LaPointe (Beautiful, Newsies). With Music Direction by Lon Hoyt (Hairspray), ON YOUR FEET! features Orchestrations by Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan, Dance Arrangements and Dance Orchestrations by Oscar Hernandez (The Capeman).

James L. Nederlander, Estefan Enterprises, Inc and Bernie Yuman have announced that Cuban- American Broadway actress Christie Prades will star as seven-time GRAMMY® winning international superstar Gloria Estefan, and acclaimed stage and television actor Mauricio Martinez will play her 19-time Grammy-winning producer and husband Emilio Estefan, in the First National Tour of the Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET!.

It was a pleasure to sit down with Danny Burgos, born and raised in Florida, who performs in the ensemble and the Emilio.

At what age did you begin singing/acting?

I started singing when I was around 7 years old in church, but acting didn’t come about until I was a junior in high school. My best friend wanted to audition for a musical, but was too nervous to audition on her own, so I went with her and I get cast as the lead.

What was your first professional/paid gig?

It was at Flat Rock Playhouse after my freshman year at the musical program at Florida State University. I was in the ensemble for Guys and Dolls.

You were born in Florida. Do you get back often and how excited are you to be touring in Florida?

I’m very excited as I don’t get back as often as I would like. I was born in Hialeah and my dad still lives in Miami. In addition, the Adrienne Arsht Center is where I saw my first musical, so I am so excited to be performing in that theater.

I see that pizza is one of your hobbies, which is your favorite kind of pizza and why?

This is an ongoing joke that I have with my friends. I just love pizza, and every Friday my mom would bring us pizza. Papa John’s pepperoni pizza with the garlic sauce really makes me happy, but in New York, I went to Artichoke Pizza in Chelsea and I have to admit it’s the best pizza I had in my life.

Other than this show, what role has been your favorite to play and why?

My favorite musical that I have been in, other than On Your Feet is In the Heights. I was cast in three versions of the show and each time it becomes more familial as it is a Latin based show and I feel an attraction to my culture. The show is just about 1 day in the life of a Latin American in New York, and to me it’s so special. The characteristics of being Latin are stripped, and they are just shown as people. It’s so special to me!

What should the South Florida audiences expect out of this touring company of On Your Feet!?

I always tell everyone that this is an important story because you get to know the life of this important couple. Most people do not know the behind the scenes story of how they got to where they are now. Ultimately you leave the theater singing and dancing to the songs you love. I promise, you won’t leave without a smile on your face.

For more information on Danny, either go to his website at: DannyBurgos.com.

 .

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2017/10/05/on-your-feet-comes-to-south-florida/ from Hot Spots Magazine http://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2017/10/on-your-feet-comes-to-south-florida.html