Re-Posted from Facebook note (September 18, 2009)

I'm so lucky that several times in my life, I have had the miraculous pleasure of sitting in the audience for some performance that so overwhelms me it leaves me with just one spine-tingling thought: "Oh, this is it." Or (in other words): "This is what it was like to witness the 'first' anything. This is what it's like to see the next award-winner. This is what it's like to create the memory that years from now will become an 'I was there' remembrance. This is what it's like to see magic and creativity and passion and storytelling and performance and artistry. This the moment that leaves me speechless and takes my breath away." And it doesn't matter if the show is sold out or has great popularity or if the critics love it or hate it. Its' a purely subjective personal reaction to art, and that's that.

The most recent addition to the list: "American Idiot" (world premiere musical at Berkeley Rep - who knew from punk rock?).

The others off the top of my head (and in no particular order):

"Spring Awakening" - I called its awards (even lighting design) before most people knew to get a ticket, because the force of its energy was undeniable
"Ragtime" - still one of the most amazing opening numbers of all time
"The Lion King" - the opening number that stole the crown from "Ragtime"
"Les Miserables" - made me realize what a musical theater experience could be like
"Rent" - redefined musical theater and rock opera and defined a generation all at once
"Angels In America" - made thinking deeply in the theater a pleasurable mental exercise
"Wicked" - the best Act One finale that took my breath away, and the show that still makes it OK for me to cry at all the right parts
"Avenue Q" - the puppet show that made me realize many things can become real characters
"Side Show" - redefined the (singular) female lead and "musical harmony"
"Forbidden Broadway" - will never tire of brilliant (and loving) satire
"Billy Elliot" - a musical that highlighted dance as much as song
"Proof" - uncovered human emotions more plainly than 1 + 1
"Doubt" - a non-stop tour de force with one of the most striking ending moment of any play
"BKLYN" - voices that blew the roof off the house every single time
"Copenhagen" and "Art" - cerebral dramas told in circles and triangles
"Mary Poppins" - worth it for the closing number special effect of all special effects
"Hedwig And The Angry Inch" - probably my generation's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and stretched "Off-Broadway" all the way to Los Angeles (or anywhere)
"The Laramie Project" - so many monologues revealing so many truths
"Annie" - I knew she was a 'child star' before I ever knew that term
"Titanic" (the musical, although as sappy as the movie was, the feeling might have been there too) - cemented an appreciation for the narrative construction of a musical, and the technical wizardry of staging
"Grey Gardens" and "The Boy From Oz" - knowing that a show would never be the same without that original star (or cast)
"Xanadu" - proved that a smart book can save trashy source material
"In The Heights" - made me give a hometown cheer silently in my heart all the way through the show
"Little Shop of Horrors" and "Godspell" and "A Chorus Line" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" - because you know it's going to be a perennial favorite, before any time passes at all
"The 39 Steps" - sketch comedy as homage, as re-interpretation, as re-enactment
"Spamalot" and "The Drowsy Chaperone" - each features an unforgettable quick-costume change that will convince you once and for all that "Costume Design" is never a minor award category

I'm sure I'm missing more...I'll get back to this many more times (I hope)...