“Hey Kid”

Do First Things readers care that the American Theatre Wing’s 2014 Tony Awards are happening this weekend? Most probably don’t, and that’s probably okay. 

But still, we shouldn’t be too quick to write off Broadway musicals altogether. There are days when someone belts out a ballad from one of those hallowed stages on the Great White Way that’s worth our paying attention to. Today is one of those days.

Idina Menzel—of Frozen “Let It Go” fame, but better known to theater-goers from her work in the original casts of Rent and Wicked—is finally back on Broadway this season after a decade away. The cast album for her new musical If/Then was released this morning, and it included a stellar song about first-time fatherhood. “Hey Kid” is sung by the husband of Menzel’s character, narrating the birth of their son. 

I could say more, but I think this can speak for itself. Enjoy.