Last week my wife and two of my daughters bundled off for the Keller auditorium in downtown Portland to see the traveling Broadway show KIMBERLY AKIMBO!
I had seen the show last year in New York (in fact, I caught the show right as it was closing its Broadway run). It’s the story of a sweet girl (the aforementioned Kimberly) who has a disease that causes her to age four times faster than she should… she’ll be dead before she gets out of her teens.
It’s a pretty upbeat show despite this, with a lot of awkward high school humor, a terrible but well-meaning family, and lots of singing.
Just after the intermission things really start to heat up in the story, as Kimberly starts making some changes to what remains of her life. And then —
— just when it was getting good —
— they stopped the show.
We had an unplanned intermission. Something was going on in the front of the audience.
Then they whisked the actors offstage (“for their safety”!!!! oh no what is happening) and the house lights came on. We all assumed a medical emergency was taking place.
A couple of minutes later one of the ushers said, “We’re going to need everyone to clear the building.” For OUR safety.
We had no idea what was going on, and found ourselves out on the street with a crowd that could fill a theater as fire trucks showed up. It wasn’t clear if the show would be starting up again, and rumors were flying through the crowd: it was a gas leak, a fire, a medical event, all of the above.
It was clear pretty quickly that things weren’t going to resolve fast enough to get the show up and running (“the show must go on!” was not successful this night), so we headed for our car.
As we walked down the street, various people around us kept saying, “I just want to know what happened. What happened next?”
My wife volunteered, “You know, my husband already saw this show, he knows what happened.”
I did. I asked if they wanted to hear how the show ends. A small group gathered around on the corner as I walked them through an abbreviated version of what they would have seen if the show hadn’t ended. A few more people snuck in as they realized I was telling them the rest of the story.
They were so relieved and happy to hear what happened next. They smiled and said thank you and we all went our separate ways.
We all want to know what happens next. Whether it’s watching the weekly drop of our favorite TV show, waiting for next month’s comic, or watching the political situation in the United States unfold.
It’s hardwired into us, this desire to KNOW.
hardwired into us as human beings, this desire to know if everything is going to be okay. And I have to say, the one thing I’ve learned is that worrying about what’s to come isn’t anywhere near as helpful as doing something about the places where I see the story off track today… for me or the people around me.
Anyway: Kimberly Akimbo. Great show, you should go see it if you get a chance.
Oh yes, and we were so curious why the show was canceled and eventually we learned the truth: someone spilled their beer!
God With Us making a move on the sales charts
Look, the Amazon sales charts are basically just catnip for authors, BUT I am so pleased to say (like a drunken cat) that God With Us was briefly the #1 new release in Children’s History Comics.
Also it’s pretty funny to look at which books it was up against:
I’m not gonna lie, these look pretty cool.
Also, I’m gonna be talking about this graphic novel AT LEAST until April so I hope you enjoy hahahahahaaaaaaaaa!
Here’s the God With Us website and you can preorder here.
SPEAKING OF CATS, my favorite thing on the internet this week: Lonely Cat
UNICORN OVERLORD!
Earlier this year I bought a Nintendo Switch for cheap off of Craigslist, theoretically so I could play video games with my youngest daughter but it turns out actually so I can play video games by myself wherever I go.
I was looking at games I might like for Christmas. My favorite games (the only games I play actually) are Minecraft and Civilization VI. But I was reading about this game called Unicorn Overlord that looks like this:
It was one of the top rated games of 2024, and it said that it was a strategy game like Civ VI, but had more fighting and was set in a fantasy world and I thought, well, that sounds like fun.
Somehow I got it in my head that it was about breeding and selling unicorns. Like, you would run a farm, maybe selling one little unicorn at a profit, but then one day you would rise to become a unicorn tycoon or maybe even an overlord.
I don’t know how I came up with this idea, but I was surprised to discover that this is actually a videogame about fighting bad guys who have taken over your kingdom, and you are the heir to the unicorn throne or something. I don’t love cut scenes so I usually skip them, but that’s the main gist.
All of which to say: if someone makes Unicorn Tycoon, please know I’ll be waiting in line to buy (and get my royalty check!).
BRUCE!
HE’S WATCHING YOU!
Except for when he’s not.
Peace to you this week! May all things be as they should be.
Matt
Love your stories. Always uplifting.
That is insane about the show. I'd be so mad!! But great that you were able to share the resolution. I'm just glad you don't skip entire sections of musicals like you skip cut scenes. I feel like you need an intervention for that last bit.