Second bow is for every human who worked on our musicals over the past fifteen years. The actors, directors, choreographers, composers, musical directors, musicians, stage managers, set designers, lighting designers, costume designers, sound designers (all the designers!), the crew, marketing and press agents, anyone I forgot, and the producers. I’m proud of what we created. You are all McSmiths. We are always family. I’ll never forget our time together creating something special. They were truly the best times of my life.

I was writing chapter two of this book when the world went into lockdown and theaters went dark. This book was my escape to a world where the show went on and the audience was full. The next bows go to the people who helped me survive the pandemic. Thank you to Ka-va Bar for keeping me connected (but still six feet away) to amazing people. Thanks to Rich, Michelle, Lee, Jennifer, David, Brian, Baily, Adie (my favorite!), Shane, Sam, Warren, Nazar, Taniyah, Jesse, Michael, Matt, Ming, Nikhil, Oleg, Anna, Ryan, Scott, Al, Emily, Glenn, Emma, and especially Alberto. Thanks to Vanessa and Misfits Ka-va Bar for inspiring me and raising a bunch of money for the Stay Gold Fund. I’m grateful to have a community of creative misfits and inspiring individuals.

Mom and Glenn, I love you. As you walk out on-stage, I hand you a freaking huge bouquet of flowers and give you a big hug. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. You are exceptional parents. And I will never be cooler than y’all!

Big bows for the people who helped educate and inform me about acting, directing, growing up trans, and performing arts schools. Thank you for your time, Donald Garverick and Caleb Cummings. Rachel Evans, thank you for sharing your knowledge and acting class at LaGuardia High School. Thank you to the trans community for your stories and experiences.

Two kitty bows for Bam-Bam and Bananas. You are very special cats who can’t read this and will never truly know how much I love you.

To my agents at ICM Partners, I am clapping and whistling and yelling for you. Enormous thanks to the best book agent in town, Tina Dubois. Your support and encouragement and honesty has made me a better writer and person. I’m forever indebted to Nichole Borrelli Hearn, thank you for always seeing my potential. And Alicia Gordon, wow, it’s been an honor to have you in my corner. You have all moved mountains so I could see my dreams come true and I am forever grateful.