It was a dark and stormy night. There was a chill in the air that made you want to scurry inside. I hid from this weather and stood happily in the rehearsal room with my a cappella group, listening to their giggles and playful banter.

All was peaceful, when suddenly, and without warning, I overheard the most horrifying words I have yet to suffer through:

“All musicals sound the same.”

Jaw. Drop.

Okay, I’m staying calm. I'm an understanding person. There is always room in my heart for every kind of person there is. Closed or open minded, I welcome you into my life with open arms.

But this is where I draw the line.

(In my mind, this is probably just as or more offensive than Trump calling my people drug dealers and rapists. Whatever, my priorities are straight for the most part.)

This idea that musicals like The Light in the Piazza and In the Heights sound the same is truly laughable. Let’s imagine a world where Lin-Manuel Miranda and Adam Guettel are the same person and wrote all of the same music. It makes you want to giggle, doesn’t it?

Even if they were to all sound exactly the same—that is, all be to the same music and have the same performers singing them—there are still so many gems to find in the lyrics.

In the world of musical theatre, anything is possible. Man-eating plants, transvestites from Transylvania, tap dancing Mormons--I can keep going. The moment you put on a cast album, your world is transformed for an hour or two. There’s golden age, jukebox, rock, pop, hip hop/rap. There is a genre for any flavor you might enjoy.

There are musicals that beautifully execute themes like racism, sexuality, gender, substance abuse; the list goes on. Broadway has become this medium to discuss the issues of now and of the past. I never understood the significance of coming out to your family until I watched Fun Home. The concept of dealing with a mental disorder was foreign to me until I listened to Next to Normal.

Musicals bring communities together. I am able to feel pride in my Latin roots when I listen to Rita Moreno in West Side Story and later can become a part of another culture when I put on Fiddler on the Roof in the same evening.

My perspective on the world around me has been shaped by musical theatre and I say that with so much pride.

Now here are some quotes from lyrics I have enjoyed throughout the years. There are so many others that I’m missing, but this is what has stood out the most recently. Notice, no two are the same. Gasp!

Here’s to hoping the person who said that might reconsider and listen to some of these:

“And the world opened wide and the world was inside of me.”

Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

“Make me alive, make me confused. Mock me with praise, let me be used. Vary my days, but alone is alone, not alive.”

Company

“This ass of mine is asinine.”

Shrek the Musical

“Death doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints; it takes and it takes and it takes.”

Hamilton

“Now I believe in looking like my time on earth is cooking.”

Aida

“One: Pursue the truth. Two: Learn something new. Three: Accept yourself and you'll accept others too! Four: Let love shine. Five: Let pride be your guide. Six: Change the world when you change your mind!”

Kinky Boots

“I used to think we lived at the top of the world, when the world was just a subway map.”

In the Heights