I love a free trial. I make it a personal goal to cancel before I’m charged for subsequent months. I note the cancellation date in my calendar. I also note it for a few days before the deadline so it’s fresh in my mind and I don’t forget. When I cancel it’s a personal victory and a feeling so satisfying you’d think it actually mattered.

Disney +  is offering a free 7 day trial. I went for it since my kids have been asking for it and we have so much home time. I thought the purchase was mostly for them. I explored what it offers and it had me at Encore.

Before I continue I should establish that I am a card carrying musical theatre geek. I know, I know. I come off as totally “snatched”, “Gucci”, “sic” (as the kids say) but really I use to stage entire musicals in my childhood living room while singing along to Broadway soundtracks.

Theatre in grade school and high school defined and saved me. Not only did it give me purpose, passion, a sense of belonging and joy it gave me my career track and the world I would engage in the rest of my life. Thank God.

Encore is a high school reunion on steroids. Alumni from a high school musical theatre department come together to re-stage and perform a show they performed back then. To make the stakes even higher they do it all in one week. Some of the casts are from 28 years ago and some are from 10.

These folk have history, life experience, regrets, unrealized dreams, successes and fails. All of them share the desire to get that moment in the spotlight back for one night. As Kristin Bell the producer and host says,

“Being on stage feels like someone else but also more yourself than you’ve ever felt.”

That says it all. As a professional actress some gigs are just a pay check; not life changing. Sometimes you have the opportunity to remember all the reasons you first fell in love with theatre and dedicated your life to a career where there is more rejection than glory.

I had one of those transformative experiences with School Girls; or the African Mean Girls Play at The Goodman Theatre which sadly was suspended last week due to the coronoavirus. I played the role of Headmistress Francis the matriarch of an all girls school in Ghana. The entire process was fulfilling and rewarding.

There is a moment where I stand center stage with 7 other Black women around me and with an amplified voice from the depths of my being say “HEY!” in order to bring the chaos happening to a halt. In that moment,

“Being on stage felt like someone else but also more myself than I’ve ever felt.”

It was a powerful window into my inner strength and my potential. I’ll never forget it.

Every episode of Encore has brought sweet tears to my eyes whether it’s a member of the cast having a breakthrough or another expressing a pain from their past or present. These people are in a safe place where they can have the courage to let themselves be seen in all their vulnerability. That is the potential of theatre for a performer and for an audience.

Seeing the family members watch their loved ones have their moment on stage again is one of my favorite parts. In particular the delight on the faces of the children as their parent is the center of attention. The spouses with their proud grins and parents beaming with pride is heart expanding.

My children and husband came to see my final performance of School Girls and imagining them seated in the audience with those kinds of looks on their faces makes me want to ugly cry in a good way. I’m so grateful.

I highly recommend Encore on Disney +. I don’t think I’m going to cancel it either. My kids are loving it and I keep finding more things I want to watch.

Disney + if you’d like me to do at home commercials for your platform please contact me. I certainly have the time.

What are you watching? Please share in the comments below.

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