¡¡¡ Meeting Aaron Tveit (Again) !!!
If you’re looking at this post and saying “Gab, you already met Aaron. You stagedoored again?!” then my answer to you is “YES I DID!” Usually you have to go to New York to meet Musical Theatre faves, and I currently have the privilege of my fave™ performing in my hometown. You bet your butter I went to see Moulin Rouge twice !!
Now, to preface this post, the first time I went to see Moulin Rouge, I sent Aaron fan mail, and I’ve done this before with only one other celebrity - no result. I didn’t expect much, just wanted him to read it. Naturally though, when my parents surprised me with tickets to see Moulin Rouge again, I really wanted to ask him about it. To be quite honest, I was SUPER nervous; I didn’t want him to be like “?? I have no idea what letter you’re talking about,” so I was more than a little shaky when he got to me in line.
In the letter, I had thanked him for how his music aided me through my time in high school. I mentioned vaguely my experiences with bullying and how his music (Les Mis, Next to Normal, Catch Me If You Can, Radio In My Head) was what I listened to when I was down. I had quit Theatre in freshman year, something I had been doing my entire life, because of how miserable and low I was. Aaron’s soundtracks gave me the musical theatre fix I had been craving. In the letter, I also wrote that I now plan to participate in Theatre in college, and I owe that, at least in part, to him.
So he gets to me in line tonight, weeks after I’ve sent that letter his way, and as he’s signing my Playbill, I get the courage to actually use my voice: “Sorry, I have to ask - a few weeks ago I sent you a letter. I don’t know if you’d remember…”
Now, I have a pretty good BS meter, and the way his eyes lit up told me he 100% knew what I was talking about. He immediately said “Yeah, I got that. Thank you so much!” He signed a few of the Playbills surrounding me, still talking to me. “Yeah…” He said, sounding almost sorry. I knew right away he wanted to address the bullying aspect of the note, because he said “Yeah…” twice, like he was going to start to say something but thought twice about it while other people were around. “I hope Theatre gives you everything you’re looking for.” He told me finally, pausing what he was doing to make genuine eye contact. “Seriously, it’s great.” That’s when I knew without a doubt that he read my note, which literally almost killed me on the spot. He thanked my family and me for coming out to see the show, and then we proceeded to meet the rest of the ensemble.
All I can say is Aaron Tveit is amazing. That letter was personal and heartfelt, but he certainly wasn’t obligated to read it. Also, the fact that he remembered it meant the world, and meeting him in the summer of my graduating year was the pinnacle of my experience throughout the last four years. It was surreal and so memorable. I really hope to see him again in the future.