Dear West Yellowstone,

My cousin was the Man in the Chair in the Drowsy Chaperone, so we went to see him. He was great. I loved the show. Someday I will see Sutton Foster.

I think my favorite thing about seeing you (aside from the Drowsy Chaperone, which I really enjoyed) was listening to eight hours of Jim Dale reading Harry Potter.

- Hogwarts School of Law Transfer Student

Ms. Ripley

it was an absolute pleasure to see you again. Thank you for coming to San Francisco.

britt

Britt,

Again, from the NY trip, two people who make a strong case for optimism.

Have faith in humanity. Trust a little more. Be willing to see the good in people. Believe that it will work out like it is supposed to.

Love,
God

Dear Alice Ripley,

picture from Craig, who I love.

I wanted to thank you for your show on Saturday night. My boyfriend flew out from Utah, and (pursuant to a suggestion from a trusted friend) we came to see you. I get why you won the Tony; I have never been so moved by a performance. I wept through the most of the second act. I mean, Next to Normal has an incredible plot and score, and the staging and lyrics are brilliant, but I wanted to thank you for making Diana’s feelings intensely personal. You reached me with the way you portrayed her experiences with motherhood, marriage, loss, love, guilt, fear, joy, pain, desperation. And when you remembered losing your son, I cried, Cary put his arm around me, and I could not have felt more alive. It felt incredible. Exactly how theater should feel.

Thank you,
britt

details from my perfect vacation

This morning I got back from a 5 day trip to Southern California. And I feel like now is an appropriate a time as any to say that I haven't been that shamelessly, deliriously happy in a long time. Lessons learned:

• Go on more vacations.
  
• Put Southern California on the list of places to live. How the freak was it not on there before?
• Always eat well. (Javier's, BJ's, and Beachcombers = all places you can do this)
  
• Who you travel with is just as important as where you go.
  
• See more, quality, live theater. Like this.
  
• When the beach is "closed," that means they will ticket your car, and a man in a truck may ask you to leave your bonfire.
• Sometimes it's okay to let your phone be dead for three days.
  
• Make time to do nothing. For example, sleep in, go to the beach at night and just sit, read Carl Sandburg at a duck pond, and play four hours of "would you rather."