As the ushers opened the brass-handled doors, the scent of expensive perfume and old-theatre velvet washed over them. They climbed the spiral staircase, the anticipation thick enough to taste. When they finally took their seats, the Great Hall of Oz loomed before them, the massive mechanical Dragon Clock suspended above the stage, its red eyes glowing with silent promise.

The lights dimmed. A hush fell over the three thousand people. Then, the first orchestral blast of the overture hit—a jagged, thrilling chord that made the floorboards vibrate.

His daughter, Maya, stood beside him, her face illuminated by the massive emerald posters of Elphaba and Glinda. She’d been singing "Defying Gravity" into her hairbrush since she was six. Tonight, for her sixteenth birthday, the hairbrush was being traded for the real thing.

In that moment, the months of overtime and the stress of clicking "purchase" just before the tickets sold out vanished. The magic wasn't just on the stage; it was in the shared breath between the "Popular" girl and the girl who finally felt like she could fly.

Maya reached out and gripped Leo’s hand. As the Citizens of Oz rushed the stage in their fantastical, asymmetrical costumes, Leo didn't look at the actors. He looked at his daughter. Her eyes were wide, reflecting the shimmering stage lights, a tear already tracing a path down her cheek.

The flickering neon of Times Square always felt like a heartbeat, but tonight, it pulsed with a specific, electric green.