(Originally posted on my Tumblr on January 26, 2013.)

A week before it’s set to close, I finally got a chance to see bare the musical.

Why did I wait this long?

I get how and why people are obsessed with this show. There’s more angst than fan fiction and the characters are the outcasts we thought we were (but probably really weren’t). In bare, high school drama is turned up to 11 as these Catholic School kids deal with love, drugs, homosexuality, bigotry and judgement within a religious setting.

Religion itself, though, was just a MacGuffin.

The students were not fearful of punishment from God… they were more afraid of their parents, society and their peers. Especially Jason.

See… Jason is a jock who happens to be with Peter. Jason and Peter are adorable together but inly when their alone. Jason is not out to himself, let alone the rest of his world. Peter wants to celebrate their relationship and be honest about it, but Jason thinks their relationship is best kept secret.

Though Peter is the protagonist of the show, I was drawn to Jason’s character because he had the most “drama” going on in his life (and I thought the actor playing him – Jason Hite – looked like a poor man’s version of Matt Damon).

Watching Jason’s internal struggle get the best of him was heart-wrenching (to say the least). I don’t emote much when watching movies/television/theater, but tears welled up and then spilled slowly down my cheeks during “Cross” – Jason’s confession scene/song to the priest. The lyrics alone were a sucker punch to the heart, but watching Jason go there was intense and moving. The boy was on his knees, trying to understand how to feel what he was feeling while still trying to adhere to what he’s been told by parents, religion and society. I wept silently for this boy as he tore at his hair and begged for answers that would never come.

Jason and Peter’s story was not the only plot line of the show (obviously), but it was the one I cared most about. However, my favorite vocals from the talented ensemble came from the girl who played Jason’s sister, Nadia (Barrett Wilbert Weed). That girl can siiiiiing.

Another highlight of the show, for me, was seeing Missi Pyle play Sister Joan. I’ve been a fan of Pyle for well over a decade and it was a real treat to see her on stage 🙂

This show was an epic combination of Peter Pan, Romeo and Juliet and most high school-based after school specials. (Teen pregnancy, jealousy, sexuality, repression, drug use, etc…) It was one of those “anything that can go wrong, does” scenarios where you know that a happy ending is not a likely outcome.

Once you embrace the angst, it’s easy to get sucked into the heightened drama and great songs bare the musical has to offer.