If/Then: Decision-Making in a Musical Format

I loved "If/Then." Simple as that. It probably means that my Broadway palate is not as refined as others, but I'm willing to live with that label. It was the perfect show at the perfect time for me. "RENT," twenty years later. Well, not exactly, but close enough.

The whole point of the show is that even the littlest decisions have an impact on your life. The main character's life plays out based on one seemingly insignificant choice--to go with one friend or the other--and in one scenario, she becomes a career-driven city planner without much of a personal life, while in the other she becomes a career-stalled but emotionally-rich married mother of two. Neither path is without its joys and consequences, and her choices affect the lives of her friends as well (one couple in one scenario never meets in the other, another couple chooses to divorce).

I've written before about how I love seeing how people make decisions, and so a whole show on ramifications and pondering was perfect for me. There were so many great lyrics, too, and I haven't been able to stop the songs from cycling through my mind since the show ended. I think my favorite song was "You Don't Need to Love Me," which is performed by Anthony Rapp, but seeing Idina Menzel perform the powerhouse number of "Always Starting Over" was fabulous as well. When one character finds out about a pregnancy, the "wow, wow, ain't that some surprise" he responds with is just so perfect and on point, and the song that results "Hey, Kid" made me cry. "Some Other Me" imagines all of the possible other outcomes that could have occurred, and I know the line "some other me is a rock star" will come up in my mind frequently.

Marc indulged me and let me wait at the stage door after the show, and I had fun being a fan girl. I've been looking forward to this for so long now, and it lived up to all of my expectations. I'll be enjoying "If/Then" for a long time to come.

With Anthony Rapp