I feel very shunned from my friends for loving Broadway.

I am a 19 yr old male who has had a difficult battle with severe depression. Therefore I ended up in hospitals, special programs and now a school for Behavioral and emotional problems. Currently I have no friends accept BroadwayWorld and the Broadway Community :) I love you guys so much!

But when I did people used to blast there rap, metal, "emo" music and when ever I put on a broadway CD I get light bulbs, cell phones, garbage, cigarettes thrown at me. cause they say it sucks and they would rather commit suicide than listen to one song from my mp3 player. I dont try to play phantom or Gypsy but I play Spring Awakening, hairspray, Mamma Mia, Wicked ect... and they either drink their vodka or smoke their bongs to ignore it.

RENT however they love cause alot of my friends were either gay or bi but they say they just love the Movie and NEVER would want to see it on Broadway. They say how they can't portray the movie on one stage. and that the orchestra is just for show the electronic computers play the music.

I don't want to force it into them but I just feel so alone when I see a show alone. I saw the 62nd Tonys Alone.... It really hurts inside. I listen to there music even though they hate it but they just i dont know, I wish I went to a real high school where they have theater groups and have plays and go on trips, I feel like King Arthur "I'm All Alone".

But still i have seen more talented actors than they ever will in their life and beyond. But still it hurts when you have no one....

SERIOUSLY though if it wasn't for Broadway and you guys I would probably be dead or locked up in a State HOspital

Or As Donna Murphy or should I say "Aunt Louise" From Pamela's first musical. "ooo darling A Musical can cure almost anything"

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You should seriously get some professional help. Some stuff you said is very disturbing.

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Updated On: 5/3/09 at 06:38 PM

Bundy, you have found something in life very important to you that defines you, brings you great joy and makes you feel alive. I not only understand but empathize completely. I once went through a very, very bad emotional period when I was a young adult such as yourself. I kid you not when I tell you that it was listening to the original cast recording of PROMISES, PROMISES day after day that pulled me through it because of its vital and high-spirited score.

To be true to yourself can often be a lonely and scary thing. It requires bravery to go 'where angels fear to tread.' The people who throw things at you are afraid of their own emotions and would rather play it safe by being numb and emotionally neutral. But please trust me when I tell you that there are many, many others out there in the world who feel the same as you do and share your passion. Though you always have the net to fall back on, you will inevitably cross paths with others in 'real life' with whom you can share your love of musicals. I don't know the particulars of your situation but is there a community theater or theater group in your area where you can volunteer your services, if not as a performer, then as an usher, carpenter, painter, etc., anything that will enable you to join a network of like-minded individuals?

The most remember thing to remember, bundy, is: DON'T POSTPONE JOY. Grab it and celebrate it wherever you can find it. It will give you the strength to weather all storms and give you a healthy perspective on life.

God bless you, my friend, and take good care of yourself.

Updated On: 6/29/08 at 07:03 PM

I'm sorry to hear about that. It's hard to believe that people can be so cruel about what kind of music others listen to. I'm glad that you were able to get yourself away from them, and I hope that things are working out better for you. Continue doing what you love, and if people don't like you for that, it's their problem and they're not worth your time.

Bundy, as long as you keep your counsellor in the loop, this too shall pass.

I've seen some very, very depressed people and when they came out of it they
said it was somethng that made them stronger and more compassionate people.

A little bit of music therapy for you: Whenever your friends ridicule you "Listen to 'I am What I am."

Toss in Linda Eder's "Man of a La Mancha". (Her version of "I am what I am" may be on You Tube, also.)

It's your life; their loss. All of us on this board have taken a cheap shot because we have been lucky enough to be the kind of people that can be profoundly moved and thrilled by theater.

One final thought: try not to compound your suffering by being afraid of your depression. I know at times you'd rather have every bone in your body broken rather than feel deeply depressed.

Music (as well as theater) has power to sustain you, Victor Frankl, the great psychiatrist, once wrote of a deeply depressed
young man defeating depression by listening to Beethoven's
Ninth Symphony. The great tenor, Jose Carreras gave music
a lot of credit in helping him beat leukemia. He said he listened to a Mahler symphony every day and it empowered him.

Most of all never forget that no sorrow or pain lasts forever. Every hour that passes brings you that much closer to when you will have put this behind you.

God always bats last.

Updated On: 6/30/08 at 12:01 AM

I really only have 3 theatre friends. Only one of which is my age. The other 2 are my 68 year old French teacher who saw the original productions of Guys & Dolls, & Gypsy, & one of the guidance counselors at my school.

get new friends or convert the old ones.

I don't think there's anybody here who didn't at some point growing up feel out-of-place because of their enjoyment of theater. People react badly to things they don't understand or haven't been exposed to...a person having the courage to be different is a threat to some people who feel insecure about themselves. And there's a lot of people like that.

You've got your whole life ahead of you - but don't waste time with people who put you down. There's a whole ocean out there full of fish.

I just MAKE my friends like it. And they eventually start to.

Updated On: 5/3/09 at 12:42 AM

I'm very sorry but you need to get some help some of the stuff written was to disturbing to be on here alot of kids at my school don't like broadway but there
are quite alot of peopl that do especialy in my choir class I don't care what other people think it's jut who I am but what kind of school do you go to. Bongs and Vodka?

"I just MAKE my friends like it. And they eventually start to."

Haha. I did that too. If someone is truly your friend then you should have enough in common that you can learn to appreciate each others interests.

When I was in high school my friends didn't have much of an interest in theatre but they were good people and they humored me. Now my best friend actually makes a living in the theatre and gives credit to me for turning her on to the joys of theatre.

Keep on being who you are bundy! Don't let any of 'em get to you!

Updated On: 6/30/08 at 02:04 AM