The mysterious gray clouds looming above reminded all of LA what month it was. The humid October air wrapped itself around me as I marched down the crowded street. There wasn't an overwhelming amount of foot traffic today, which was completely unexpected for Los Angeles but I wasn't complaining. I shivered as I pushed open the door to a downtown theater and stepped in. Every inch of my skin absorbed the air conditioning that enveloped me and the few others inhabiting the space. As I looked around, I was shocked at the variety of people surrounding me. There were teenagers with bright eyes, annoyed parents on their phones, elderly women waiting to pay for up front tickets, toddlers who didn't know what they were signing up for, everything. All walks of life seemed to meet here in this lobby, all awaiting the opening night of the newest Starkid production, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals.
In all honestly, I had barely heard about them before and I knew the bare minimum. The suicidal parents around me were probably more informed on what they'd be watching in the next few hours. I only had these tickets because of my best friend, Dylan. It seems weird to have a "best friend" at 24 years old but really there was nothing else good enough to call him. Dylan worked at the theater and was always getting cheap tickets and special passes and so on. He'd tried to convince me to see shit with him before but I never had the time.
Dylan was a huge fan of Starkid, and got tickets to the new musical for every night they were playing. That was Dylan for you. Even if he didn't go to all of them he needed to be the guy who could. He was constantly trying to prove to everyone (including himself) how much he had and how far he'd come.
So for all 16 shows, Dylan planned to be front and center. It was just his luck that he had to go home to Indiana for a few weeks. The tickets are mine now and I honestly have no idea what I'm supposed to do with them. It's just not sane to see a musical 16 times, especially when you aren't a huge fan in the first place.
I made my way around the lobby until I caught the attention of someone familiar. Almost all of the workers there knew and liked me, but Nick and I got along especially well. I flagged him down and began making small talk.
"Hey man, nice to see you. How's Dylan been, what're you doin' here?" Nick smiled loosely and grabbed my hand, pulling me into one of those guy hugs that can still leave you secure with your masculinity.
"Nicks okay, he's holding up. I think he secretly likes being back in Indiana. I'm just here for the show, he hooked me up with tickets before he left," I explained and studied Nicks features as he nodded along.
"Cool, cool," his smile was more subtle now as he shifted his body farther away from mine. "Well I'll be out here working concession if you need to be 'hooked up' with anything else." He nodded back towards his booth that I was all too familiar with. "Oh and if you stick around with me after you might get to meet some of the cast."
I shrugged, definitely not as enthused as any other person around me would be to hear that. We said our goodbyes and I slugged down to Dylan's reserved front row seat. That kid had terrible taste. Being in a public audience is bad enough but I can't help feeling like their all staring at me when I sit in the front. Watching TV in your boxers is one thing but to know the people are watching you back when you're zoned out, absorbed, and an ugly mess it's even worse. Then of course you aren't aware of how invested you were until the end, when it all hits you that you probably had a double chin and the cute guy saw your pudge as you relaxed. Sadly Id never know if this was true because Ive never been in a show and I don't plan to ever be.
I checked my watch and realized the show would be starting soon. I shut down my phone and flipped through the knock off playbill Nick gave me. I always liked looking at the cast there before I saw them on stage. A few of them looked familiar from Dylans attempts to expose me to them, but there were still people I'd never seen before. One baby faced and soft eyed kid stood out in particular. Robert Manion. If he was as cute in person as he was in his headshot this could be the best musical anyone's ever fucking seen.
