In the winter of 1978, David joins his sisters as an usher for a month-long production of A Christmas Carol at Albany’s Empire State Performing Arts Center, known as The Egg. The experience is transformative, blending ritual, tradition, and the warmth of theater, as David finds belonging not on stage but in the constellation of cast, crew, and audience. Through nightly performances, he discovers the quiet satisfaction of service and the sacred rhythm of curtain calls, learning that sometimes the greatest roles are played faithfully in the shadows.