Andy Cohen

The theater is a place with a million ideas waiting for one time. 8:00 P.M. The magic begins. The Sound of Music, The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Mama Mia, Oklahoma, Rent. These are just a few of the joys in the prestigious catalog of Broadway shows.

These shows all came to the magnificent Ordway and State Theaters. A fantasy world is waiting for each person who walks in. Inside, there are many amazing sights. There are the boxes looking over the large black stage and all of the seats around. The brightly colored paint all over the theater glimmers in the light.

When, at these places, you can look out the glass doors and see something such as a man running in an old, musty raincoat drawn up around his ears. One night when I went to the theater to see another amazing performance, my attention was drawn to a man who was wearing grungy, musty old clothes. He looked like he could possibly be living on the street. To my surprise, he stopped, looked slowly, as if he was embarrassed looking into the theater window at me. Then he looked down at his clothes, looked back up at my suit and tie. Then he opened the door and walked in.

Once he had made his way in, he didn’t look as hideous as he had when he was walking down the street and my imagination had kicked in. He had a discolored, dingy face that must have had mud splashed on it many times. To my surprise, when the doors to the actual theater opened, the man took off his coat. What I saw then really surprised me. He was wearing a tie. It was a clip tie, extremely short for the man, but he had tried to dress up to go out to the theater. It was over a pale white golf shirt that appeared to be rags, but it did hold together. That night was a magical night not even because of the show. That night, I saw a man who would probably never forget coming to the theater, but I still wonder one thing about him. If he had to wear such clothes as the ones he had on, how did he ever afford a ticket to go see a show? It must be magic.