To be back in a real live
Honest to god theatre
With ushers
And cramped seating
And toilet lines (not bad before the show)
Show proof of vaccination and ID
Check bags
Walk through a metal detector
Finally show your ticket
Photo of the playbill and the curtain
#InTheRoomWhereItHappens

Somewhere behind the curtain
Someone has called places
(Unheard on this side)
And the lights dim
And the curtain rises
And there's a stage and a man
And the depth of it
The physical realness of it
The lights
The hazer
The place where 1 + 1 = 3
And I love thinking about all the hands that made this moment happen
You look at the set and the lights and the costumes
And you hear the words breathed into life by the actors
The way they move across the stage
Will I ever tire of watching excellent actors do what they do best?
The comedy and the drama of it
The elemental nature of it
Watching someone breathe
Watching someone eat
Watching people spar and play
The moments of surprise
The knowing winks
You know that I know that we know that this is play

To see a Black man on a Broadway stage
Say the words
"Stop killing us. Clean your house."
In a play directed by a Black woman
Written by a Black woman
In a theatre named for a Black male playwright
That hasn't seen a production written or directed by a single person of color since it was named for him 
You know that I know that we know that this is not just a play

A phone rings
And the person actually says out loud
"I'm sorry"
Who even has their phone on ringer any more?
The actors don't miss a beat

More than once I realize I'm holding my breath
A glorious set reveal
I love it when a set surprises us
It's so satisfying, so thrilling
So theatrical

To be back
To watch stories 
To tell stories 
​To reflect on our past, our present
To imagine where we could be