BroadwayGirlNYC: An Ode to the Closing

'Twas the month before Christmas, and all through New York,
The theatres were buzzing, the actors at work.
The playbills were stacked by the doors in high piles,
Then handed by ushers down packed, sold out aisles.
Tourists and locals, they pointed and gazed,
And all this BEFORE velvet curtains were raised.

The shows were fantastic, the fans all abuzz
Debating what this year's best musical was.
We went back to see them again and again,
Not asking "To see it?". No, asking just "When?"
But then rumors started, and our anger rose.
Next month many favorites would shutter and CLOSE!! 

Just two days past welcoming 2011,
Not one show was closing, not three shows, but SEVEN!
I tweeted "Can this be for real?" when I heard,
It was just the beginning, I then was assured.
This news was abhorrent. It filled me with dread.
But further shock followed: more closings ahead!

Another eight shows down within one more week.
(I heard this sad news and could no longer speak!)
And one, two, three, four more close right after that.
I felt like my head had been hit with a bat.
(Please don't get me started on month number two;
Too many are closing! I'm feeling quite blue!)

So I'm writing this ode to the shows I will miss.
I'm sending you off with HUGE hugs and a kiss.
Let this be a wonderful, love-filled December,
And know that all Broadway's true fans will remember
The joy that you've brought from first preview to now.
I wish I could thank you. I just don't know how.