September 20th, 2010 by Kateastrophe

If you know me well, you’ll know the only celebrity I’ve ever worshipped is a man who is really only well known in Broadway circles.  His name is Brian Stokes Mitchell.  I first saw him as Coalhouse Walker in Ragtime when it was still in the experimental process in LA.  I believe I was 16 years old.  He quite literally took my breath away in a performance I will never forget.  I’ve been slightly obsessed with him since that day.  I’ve often said Mr. Mitchell is the only celebrity I would ever wait outside in the freezing cold to meet.  I have a rule that I leave celebrities to their business if I ever see them because I would hate to be bothered by drooling fans all the time if I were famous.  This rule does not apply to Brian Stokes Mitchell.  I am basically a non-creepy stalker.

Let me ’splain.

While I was studying Music Dance Theatre at BYU, I had an amazing opportunity to attend a Belt Singing Conference (Belting is a somewhat difficult technique used in Musical Theatre and Pop) in New York City.  It just so happened that Mr. Brian Stokes Mitchell was starring in Kiss Me, Kate on Broadway that year in the role that would win him a Tony.  I was able to sit on the fourth row for the show which again, took my breath away.  Then I waited outside of the stage door for almost two hours in -4 degree weather so I could meet him and have him sign my program.  He signed it “Kiss me, KATE!” and was so kind and wonderful.  My obsession grew.

Two years ago he was the guest performer at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert at Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  Tickets were free but given out in a lottery system and they were very VERY hard to get.  My whole family and one of my best girls all submitted for as many tickets as we could get.  Only my girlfriend Hannah was able to get tickets and she was kind enough to share them with my Mom and I.  I flew to Utah just for the concert and arrived early, again in the freezing cold weather, to run in and get great seats to the show.

You’re seeing a pattern here, right?

So to make a long story longer, a few months ago I found out that he would be performing a concert at my Alma Matter, BYU, over Labor Day Weekend.  Tickets went on sale the day after I returned from my brother’s wedding and I was completely slammed at work but I deviously snuck away so I could buy two of them.  I didn’t even have plane tickets but I knew I would be attending.  Unfortunately, when I looked online to buy plane tickets, they were almost $300.  This was not going to go over with my spouse.  So I waited.  And waited.  And I checked online every single day for plane tickets.  Every day they were expensive and I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to make it work.  Finally, two weeks before the concert (TWO!!!) tickets went on sale for $190, round trip.  PURCHASE MADE.  All the pieces had fallen into place.

Then, two days before I was supposed to leave, I realized that if Mr. Stokes was going to be at BYU…a teaching institution with a world-class Music Theatre program…he’d probably be asked to do some teaching there, right?  Que me emailing my professor from college and VOILA I had myself an invite to a two hour Master Class taught by the man himself.  Now I had to figure out how to get there in time because it was the morning of the day I was supposed to arrive, just twelve hours earlier than I was landing.

I got out my magic wand, said abracadabra to US Airways and found the cheapest rental car in the history of the world so I could make it on time.  For an extra $126 I had myself a seat on the early (HOLY SEVEN AM) flight and a clown car (thank you Chevy Aveo) to get me there. 

Naturally, my plane was delayed due to a burned out exit light above the rear exit door.  You know, the huge door at the back of the aircraft.  With the door like parts and the door looking pieces.  Apparently we couldn’t FIND IT without the EXIT LIGHT.  Twenty-five minutes and a pool of sweat on my seat later we took off.  I was barely going to make it on time as it was and now I had a twenty-five minute Exit Light delay under my belt.  We landed, I ran off the plane, ran to the twenty-person long line at the rental car place where there was one customer service agent.  I almost lost it.  Luckily right at that moment about ten people appeared from heaven and helped us all.  I narrowly escaped having a bright yellow Chevy Aveo and hopped into my fun grey one and I sped as fast as that little car and the fourteen cops along I-215 and I-15 allowed me to go.  I pulled into a Faculty Only parking space at BYU with ten whole minutes to spare and ran up the stairs of the Richard’s Building to the new MDT wing.  Of course I got upstairs to the room and realized I’d left my camera in the car so I raced my tush downstairs and back upstairs and sat down just in time to watch my hero make his grand entrance. 

…and that’s all the time I have today folks.  I’ll be back to finish the story of my obsessive, stalker behavior tomorrow.  Or the next day.  Or when I find time.  Jobs.  Who needs ‘em.  Wait…