--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was struck by how life moved so fast…" description: "\"“I was struck by how life moved so fast, almost cruelly, on Broadway. Fiorello! had fled the Broadhurst to make way for Sail Away , as if it had never ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/frank-rich-14674_broadway_i-was-struck-by-how-life-moved-so-fast-a_2091532.png" --- # I was struck by how life moved so fast, almost cruelly, on… ![“I was struck by how life moved so fast, almost cruelly, on Broadway. Fiorello! had fled the Broadhurst to make way for Sail Away , as if it had never existed. I studied each such metamorphosis with contradictory emotions of excitement and loss. With their new marquees and posters and glass-encased…” quote by Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/frank-rich-14674_broadway_i-was-struck-by-how-life-moved-so-fast-a_2091532.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/frank-rich-14674_broadway_i-was-struck-by-how-life-moved-so-fast-a_2091532.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/752/frank-rich-14674_broadway_i-was-struck-by-how-life-moved-so-fast-a_2091532.png) > ““I was struck by how life moved so fast, almost cruelly, on Broadway. Fiorello! had fled the Broadhurst to make way for Sail Away , as if it had never existed. I studied each such metamorphosis with contradictory emotions of excitement and loss. With their new marquees and posters and glass-encased displays of fresh photos, the theaters promised a teeming bounty of surprises. But there remained not a shred of their previous tenants, who were gone forever and mourned by no one, perhaps, except me. When shows left the National, I knew they were going on to Broadway or at least to another town on the road. Where did the plays that left New York go?”” [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on the rapid, relentless change of Broadway theaters, feeling both excitement for new productions and sorrow for the loss of past shows and their histories. **In simple terms:** Broadway changes quickly, bringing new shows while old ones disappear, evoking mixed emotions. Key Takeaway Embrace change but honor what’s lost. Themes change nostalgia art urban life Mood melancholic reflective Type observational critical When to use this quote - theater criticism - urban development - personal reflection Key Concepts cultural flux impermanence memory Questions to Reflect On - How do you preserve the past amid constant change? - What value does nostalgia hold in progress? A Different Perspective Loss of history can diminish cultural continuity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway/) [Broadway Fiorello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway-fiorello-4137084/) [Fled Broadhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fled-broadhurst-4137085/) [Going Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-broadway-345331/) [Gone forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-forever/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-moved-726649/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [After that, I started going downtown and doing a lot of theater shows in Chicago. 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I feel like I've been playing off-Broadway, not to say that Boston doesn't have a great theatre district or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-english/i-m-definitely-nervous-and-excited-i-feel-like-i-ve-been-playing-off/) [Todd English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-english/) > [I never thought I'd be doing TV. I've always loved it, but I felt like I was just going to do Broadway because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanice-williams/i-never-thought-i-d-be-doing-tv-i-ve-always-loved-it-but-i-felt-like/) [Shanice Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanice-williams/) > [When you're a kid, you think 'Oh, it's so great. I'm going to go to Hollywood. I'm going to go to Broadway.' For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-lee/when-you-re-a-kid-you-think-oh-it-s-so-great-i-m-going-to-go-to/) [Reggie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-lee/) > [I loved being a film executive. But something was always missing for me. 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I'm like such a dork; I wake up, get my cup of coffee, and am like, 'Let's see what's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-michele/i-love-broadway-world-i-m-like-such-a-dork-i-wake-up-get-my-cup-of/) [Lea Michele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-michele/) > [I love going to Broadway shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaitlyn-bristowe/i-love-going-to-broadway-shows/) [Kaitlyn Bristowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaitlyn-bristowe/) > [Going to Broadway - then to be invited to the Tonys - I really tap into what that feels like now to fulfill lifetime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-cusack/going-to-broadway-then-to-be-invited-to-the-tonys-i-really-tap-into/) [Carmen Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-cusack/) > [“Life moved in circles. Such was the path. What came would come again, breath to breath, until each riddled out the truth within. War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-galford/life-moved-in-circles-such-was-the-path-what-came-would-come-again/) [Chris Galford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-galford/) > [“Because while you wait for somebody to come around to make things right, life has already moved on without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augesten-burroughs/because-while-you-wait-for-somebody-to-come-around-to-make-things/) [Augesten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augesten-burroughs/) > [I always dreamed of making it in baseball, but life has moved pretty quickly for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-trout/i-always-dreamed-of-making-it-in-baseball-but-life-has-moved-pretty/) [Mike Trout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-trout/) ## More by Frank Rich > ['Up in the Air' is not a political movie. It won't be mistaken for either a Michael Moore or Any Rand polemic on capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/up-in-the-air-is-not-a-political-movie-it-won-t-be-mistaken-for/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Unless and until Barack Obama addresses the full depth of Americans' anger with his full arsenal of policy smarts and political gifts, his presidency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/unless-and-until-barack-obama-addresses-the-full-depth-of-americans/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Looking back at my high school years, I'm struck by how slowly history can move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/looking-back-at-my-high-school-years-i-m-struck-by-how-slowly-history/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Feckless as it was for Bush to ask Americans to go shopping after 9/11, we all too enthusiastically followed his lead, whether we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/feckless-as-it-was-for-bush-to-ask-americans-to-go-shopping-after-9/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [My particular historical vantage point is a product of my upbringing as that odd duck, a native Washingtonian whose parents were not in government.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/my-particular-historical-vantage-point-is-a-product-of-my-upbringing/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [The only truly shocking thing about last Tuesday's election is that the Democrats didn't do far worse, or as badly as they deserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-only-truly-shocking-thing-about-last-tuesday-s-election-is-that/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [I'm always struck by the kids who turn up in New York and LA, and places in between. Chicago. Wanting to do theater, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/i-m-always-struck-by-the-kids-who-turn-up-in-new-york-and-la-and/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [“In Shubert Alley that night, I had unwittingly reached the threshold of an entire landscape of alleys that would lead to a world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/in-shubert-alley-that-night-i-had-unwittingly-reached-the-threshold/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Yul Brynner's performance in "The King and I," . . . can no longer be regarded as a feat of acting or even endurance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/yul-brynner-s-performance-in-the-king-and-i-can-no-longer-be-regarded/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [There’s nothing entertaining about watching goons hurl venomous slurs at congressmen like the civil rights hero John Lewis and the openly gay Barney Frank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/there-s-nothing-entertaining-about-watching-goons-hurl-venomous-slurs/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [The most wonderful street in the universe is Broadway. It is a world within itself. High and low, rich and poor, pass along at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-most-wonderful-street-in-the-universe-is-broadway-it-is-a-world/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [In that sense, when a Bush or a Gore, or whomever, goes on David Letterman, that's the news, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/in-that-sense-when-a-bush-or-a-gore-or-whomever-goes-on-david/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [The truth is that a lot of plays aren't political at all. In American theater history, political theater has tended to crop up when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/the-truth-is-that-a-lot-of-plays-aren-t-political-at-all-in-american/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [Hollywood no longer depicts reporters in ruthless pursuit of criminals, high and low. Now they are the criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/hollywood-no-longer-depicts-reporters-in-ruthless-pursuit-of/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) > [I grew up in Washington, D.C. But also loving the theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-rich/i-grew-up-in-washington-d-c-but-also-loving-the-theater/) [Frank Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) [Explore all 45 Frank Rich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-rich/) ## More Broadway quotes > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. 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