If I Were a Bell

It’s been nearly a week since we last met – the weather and long weekend were too perfect to spend inside on a computer. Let’s catch up! It’s been a busy few days, and we’ve got much to discuss!

Thursday night, I saw Guys and Dolls on Broadway – this was my second time seeing this production. Despite the negative reviews the show’s received, you’re seeing Guys and Dolls on Broadway – without a smidgen of doubt, one of the best musicals ever written! Period – tied only with Bye Bye Birdie and Sweeney Todd. I was lucky enough to see The Donmar Warehouse production in London four times, which was beyond brilliant. If you have the opportunity to see the current Broadway revival, go for it! Again, I reiterate, it’s Guys and Dolls on Broadway!!! There is certainly something special about that experience.

The end of Act I never fails to make me well up and cry – each and every time I see the show, I nearly lose it when Sky Masterson asks Sarah Brown what kind of doll she is?

“A mission doll,” she replies and slams the door of the Save-a-Soul Mission.

Queue end of Act I music…ahhh…it’s so romantic and melodramatic. It gets me every time.

For most people, Miss Adelaide is the showstopper – her subplot with Nathan Detroit often overshadows that of Sky and Sarah’s love story. Of all the characters in Guys and Dolls, Sarah Brown is generally considered to be the blandest. However, I’ve always thought her the most interesting character. Her journey resonates the most with me, and her happy ending excites in me the greatest joy.

I spent the greater part of Thursday night and Friday wondering why this show and Sister Sarah Brown appeal to me so deeply.

Friday night, I met a friend for drinks – I had not seen him in a while, so the greater portion of the start of the evening was spent catching up and making small talk. After a couple of rounds, we jumped into the ever-juicy topic of marriage and relationships. I do not know if it was mere coincidence or whether he is a regular blog reader, but my friend asked my opinion regarding marriage and open-relationships.

We did not see eye to eye on the subject; only on one point did we manage to agree. My romanticism, idealism and strict moral values are strongly aligned with that of Sarah Brown’s.

I am her and she is me.

Sarah Brown’s moral backbone and character arc are close to my own. Through the course of the show, she changes. Meeting Sky Masterson is the catalyst that awakens a side in her that has been deeply buried. I love Sarah Brown, because she loosens up, she let’s her hair down and recognizes that the world is not black-and-white. But in doing so, she does not abandon all that she believes in. Sarah reconciles her idealism and romanticism with the world as it is.

I think anyone who knows me well will agree I have changed greatly in the past six years. When I moved to Boston, I was far more reserved, uptight and close-minded. But with time and a few dulce-de-leches mixed in along the way, I too have loosened up and let my own hair down – sometimes with the help of a flat iron. Like Sarah, I refuse to abandon my idealistic core and hope to reconcile my romantic dreams with the world as it is.

At my friend’s suggestion, I am going to apply the principles of The Secret to my own life. He’s insistent it worked for him. I started reading the book this morning. I’ll admit much of it is hard to swallow and easy to dismiss as ridiculous. However, I do believe in the importance of eliminating negative energy and thoughts from the mind. And I also believe that with positive thoughts come positive results.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I’m going to try to radically change my way of thinking in favor of The Secret – and perhaps; my heart’s desires will manifest this summer.

How many of you also love and adore Guys and Dolls? Have any of you tried The Secret and found it successful? And who would have thought that Jessica Biel would prove herself a dazzling and gifted actress? More on that third question later!

Till next time, om, chanti, chanti, chanti, namaste.