Cinderella Part 2

Hope you all had a great weekend! On Friday night, we went to the Fox Theater in Atlanta to watch my little brother perform as Prince Topher for Cinderella. I wanted to share a recap since it was such a special moment for our family. Back in the spring, my daughter and I flew out to see his debut in LA. He’s part of the ensemble cast for Cinderella as well as the understudy for Prince Topher and the other male lead named, Jean-Michel. He’s been traveling to different cities for over a year now and finally made it to our hometown this past week. 

This past weekend was really a gift to our family. I thank God for this new season and for his timing in all things. My parents were so happy to see their son perform for the first time. The last time they saw John perform was in college about six years ago. 

We took these three monkeys with us. It was an 8:00 show so I’m pretty sure most of the kids in the audience passed out towards the end. 

We went backstage to see Uncle John. Most people think this is such a glamorous life but in reality, it’s a ton of work. John and the cast perform 8 rigorous shows a week along with numerous rehearsals. They have two shows a day on the weekends. 

My parents and I went further backstage to his dressing room about 40 minutes before the show. We spent about eight minutes together before he had to do a final waltz rehearsal with Cinderella. 

All I see in this pic?! #crocswithsocks #sougly #butcomfortwins  I’m so lucky I got to see the show twice.

John wanted to pray so that’s exactly what we did. This picture symbolizes so many things to our family and it’s one I will cherish a really long time. I snapped the pic and then immediately joined. 

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Colossians 3:23

We had around 20 family members and friends come watch John perform that night. I was so glad my MIL and nephew came with us. 

My culdesac sisters came too!

So glad Jimmy and JJ were able to watch John this time around. Jimmy has know John since he was five or six years old.  It was just as emotional for him to watch his little brother in law perform in such an awesome venue. 

The ushers placed my parents in the row immediately behind the orchestra. Well, they discovered they were in the wrong seats and moved back a few rows. It worked out because you get a bit of a neck ache in this front row. In my opinion, the best seats are usually about 10 rows behind the orchestra. Thankfully, we all had excellent seats. 

Before the start of the program, a cute old man sat at this unique organ/piano and played his heart out. Then the whole thing descended into the lower level when the musical was about to begin. 

There is no photography during the show until curtain call. My point and shoot did a pretty good job!

Aren’t the costumes incredible? The wardrobe changes in the musical are unreal and some of my favorite parts of the show. One of the most talented costume designers, William Ivey Long created all the costumes for this musical and received a Tony award back in 2013 for Cinderella. 

Most Korean parents want their kids to become doctors or lawyers. If you told them, you wanted to go into theatre, you would probably get smacked. #imserious It’s not a field that has a lot of security. My parents always encouraged John’s passions and gifts and supported him throughout high school and college when he shared his dreams of doing theatre. How sad would that have been had they discouraged him to pursue that dream and go after something else. As parents, we hold a lot of power in helping uncover what gifts and talents God has given our children. When we utilize our gifts and passions for the Lord, we thrive and shine for Him.

John was so hot he immediately changed into his clothes after the performance. He gave some of us a backstage tour and we took pictures on the stage set. 

We took a bunch of family pics and with all of our friends. Unfortunately, Emmy was too young so she missed out on this family outing.

Sean absolutely loved the show and asked to take selfies with John with his phone. His picture kept coming out with his face and John’s lower teeth and chin. Finally after the third try, I told him I would take one with the camera. haha He even asked John for his email address. I think someone wants to go into theatre!! 

What a magical night! We ended up getting home after midnight and were exhausted. John stayed in a hotel across the street from the Fox since he had shows the rest of the weekend.

Last night after his final show, he came over to our house and had a Korean feast served by my mom. We spent some time catching up and today, he’s on his way to Orlando. 

Thanks for keeping up with my play by play action! It was a momentous event for our family and one we will always treasure forever. 

<><yuni

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. 1 Peter 4:10