In the months after her defeat by Donald Trump in the race for President, Hillary Clinton was so devastated, she writes in her new memoir, "What Happened," that she had trouble finding relief. Good friends suggested Xanax and recommended their therapists. Instead, she writes:

"I went to Broadway shows. There's nothing like a play to make you forget your troubles for a few hours. In my experience, even a mediocre play can transport you. And show tunes are the best soundtrack for tough times. You think you're sad? Let's hear what Fantine from Les Misérables has to say about that! By far my favorite New York City performance was way off Broadway: Charlotte's dance recital." Charlotte is her two-year-old granddaughter.

Among the shows she attended (unmentioned in her memoir but receiving much press and social media attention at the time): The Color Purple, The Humans, In Transit and Sunset Boulevard [ photo with star Glenn Close above. ]I happened to attend that last musical on the same night in February as she did, and, as I've observed, I was struck by how much was packed into the thunderous greeting she received by her fellow theatergoers — admiration, defiance, a shared history, shared emotion, a shared loss.

This appeared on New York Theater on Word Press. September 13, 2017.

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September 14, 2017