Phantom of the Opera.

I had the luxury of watching Phantom of the Opera two rows from the front and let me just say it makes a whole lot of difference. The one and only other time I saw Phantom was at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis almost nine years ago. That in and of itself was a good experience considering I was still a student and could not afford good seats. This time, by subscribing to the Broadway series, I got first dibs when it came to Phantom tickets. That's pretty much how I ended up with an excellent seat.

Unbeknownst to me, the person who played the role of Phantom was here in DM for the New Year's Eve concert featuring the "Three Phantoms". At that concert, I was impressed with all three men, and it was nice to see this guy in his Phantom role. I only found it out when I read the program. The role of Christine was played as well as anyone could play the role. I've not heard of her before, but she did a fine job. The music of Phantom of the Opera is very familiar to me, but to sit upfront, you really feel like you're part of the musical. At the end of the performance, I left a happy man.

I got a backstage tour once the musical was done. One of the RCIA candidates had asked me if I wanted a tour because her dad is on the production crew and I said certainly. For as long as I've been going to the DM Civic Center, I've never been backstage or onstage. So, to walk around backstage and onstage was neat to say the very least. I got to see where the costumes were, and this is something you probably did not know, but some of the costumes cost roughly $60,000 - $80,000 each! Yeah, that right! To look at the props and all the different lighting and staging were an eye opener indeed. Needless to say, I've come to a much deeper appreciation for musicals more than ever before. Now I can understand why it would take the musical "Lion King" weeks to get everything ready before opening night. It's a huge production to get everything up and running.

What a neat way to end a Thursday evening. I still had a smile on my face on Friday morning at work and was very free in sharing my Phantom experience with whoever wanted to hear!