Even if it ain’t all it seems/ I got a pocketful of dreams... Baby, I'm from New York

I have a pretty undeniable achilles heel when it comes to children singing. Always have. Kids in general, really (no, I won't be kidnapping any, Seb). But I believe that kids singing is the exact intersection between Heaven and Earth. And I have never been in the presence of a large group of children singing without crying. 


It's no wonder I'm obsessed with Steven's day job at Rosie's Theater Kids. Those kids have been bringing me to tears left and right for YEARS. And the younger we make that VOTE! cast, the more we learn, the truer it all feels. Kids + musical theatre makes me so joyous. 


Same goes for PS22, the little Staten Island school who could. They've really blown up since Winter 09/10 when I first heard their rendition of "Empire State of Mind." Singing in the Oscars. Nice one, cherubs. 


And I did think it was pretty cute/special when Katy Perry (aka the Mayor of LA-- that one's for McC) came out to sing with them. I think I just prefer their version performed at the school for the Oscar's Press conference. The way they get into it!? That girl singing the lead? How she just steps back and lets them echo her in those spots. What a freakin star! (PS- Firework is a real conundrum for me. As a lyricist, I want to hate it-- not a perfect rhyme in the thing. Boom and Moon are about as close as it gets, and that's not good. And yet...I kinda love it.)


But not as much as I love or miss New York every time I even think about these kids. I obviously don't miss my late trains or literally running everywhere, all the time. The feeling of never having any money or that my life is a runaway train I'm powerless to stop. But there's an attitude from the oldest to youngest in New York that I just miss. If these kids don't make you want to go to New York, if they don't make your heart smile, you might not be human. 

If you don't like the tone of my gab, step back and I'll call you cab...