Phantom

Last Sunday was one of the most exciting days I have had in a long time.

I finally got the chance to see “Phantom of the Opera” at the Dallas Summer Musicals in Fair Park. I am a huge Broadway buff and I have been dying to see this show for a long time. It was perfect timing this year, because there are rumors that Phantom is going to be packed away for a while and taken off of tour.

I have seen the movie version with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum approximately 12 times, and can recite and sing every word with few errors. It was about time I finally got to see Phantom in the way it was intended.

While nothing quite compares to a Broadway musical on Broadway, the touring versions tend to be extremely well made. We were lucky to get to see Tim Gleason as the Phantom and Kim Stengel as the hilarious Carlotta. Both of them have made history by playing their respective parts a record-breaking number of times. All of the cast was wonderful and captured the essences of Weber’s masterpiece (though, I would have liked the Phantom to be a little more vicious).

Tim Gleason as Phantom

Kim Stengel as Carlotta

Besides the amazing soundtrack that most people have heard many times, the musical was incredibly creative when it came to set design and costuming. The scene where the Phantom first takes Christine down to his dungeon, the stage turns into a lake covered in blue fog, while the two sit in a boat that glides across the stage. The whole time they are taking their voyage, the background is slowly changing and smoothly transitions to another setting entirely. It is no wonder the people who made the movie changed very few scenes. It was almost like watching a movie on stage.

With the exception of “Wicked” (which I have seen three separate times), there are few musicals that have impressed me with their production quite like Phantom. It was such a treat to see the origin of one of my favorite movies.

The only problem I have with seeing musicals is that I have to constantly resist the urge to sing along. When it came to my favorite song, I couldn’t help it and I sang under my breath along with Christine as she sang “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.”

Here are a few lines from this amazing song:

"Too many years, fighting back tears, Why can’t the past just die?

Wishing you were somehow here again, Knowing we must say goodbye. Try to forgive, teach me to live, Give me the strength to try.

No more memories, no more silent tears. No more gazing across the wasted years. Help me say goodbye."

For now, I am off to Hawaii for Spring Break, so look forward to hearing about my adventures there!

Adventure On,

Katie