I had my very own Guy Patterson moment tonight. Me (in one breath): “Mr. Hanks, That Thing You Do is my favorite movie of all time and you shot it in my hometown of Orange and I have to tell you, YOU. ARE. MY. BIGGEST. FAN.“ T.Hanks (as he bear hugs me): "Oh, well now I gotta do this, because I wrote that line!” I can’t fully express what it means to meet this hero of mine. Mr. Hanks has been at the tip top of the list of people I want to work with since I was a child. I watched TTYD and You’ve Got Mail every day after school growing up. I know these entire movies (and their soundtracks) by heart. I’ve always dreamt of meeting him and tonight he saw me in my Broadway debut. And he was so very kind and so very generous. I have 2 major Tom Hanks-related experiences in my career: 1) hearing The Cyclos on the radio and having my own Spartacus moment (“We’re on the radio! We’re on the radio!”) and now: 2) getting sick with COVID and returning to the show just in time to meet Mr. Hanks, and feeling a kind of quiet peace, knowing that I’m exactly where I should be in this moment. And that every failure and rejection and recasting and heartbreak led me to this exact place. Thank you for re-instilling my sense of hope, Mr. Hanks. Lenny: “Skitch, how did we get here?” Guy: “I led you here, sir, for I am Spartacus.” 🕶🥁🎸