Phantom of the Opera

So there was a church Christmas party planned for December 8th that I was SO stoked about. I was going bring food, hang out with awesome people,and eat! Everyone has been thrilled about this party since it was announced a month in advance. Whenever I mentioned it to Hunny, he would always say that we had something going on that day and that we wouldn't be able to go but that he could never remember what it was. I ignored him and continued to plan on going, until I opened my birthday present from him. Tickets to see PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!! But they were the same time as the party. :( Bummer. But he had bought them back in September when they first went on sale, before the Christmas party was announced  Good thing too, we looked later and tickets are pretty much sold out to mid February.

So the night of the Opera came and we had been running around before and I had an assignment for school I needed to turn in before going. So of course we ended up rushing around to get ready, get our tickets, find dinner and be back in time for the show. We were close the the same seats we had for Wicked which was great because they are great seats for the price. When we sat down we looked around and were both thinking that it wasn't set up as fancy and intricate as Wicked. But after the auction scene when the theater comes to life, dusty drapes uncovered the decor underneath and the chandelier floated off the stage up to it's proper spot high above the audience.

I was surprised with how close the movie followed the play. It was pretty much spot on. But instead of being impressed with how well the movie mirrored the play and being disappointed at the lack of effects plays aren't able to do like movies, I was astounded at what they were able to do. Flipping the scene to appear behind the curtain, going down into the dungeon, the Phantom hiding in the lowered stage centerpiece for the roof scene, and the best of all was the lake scene. The boat 'floating' through misty water and, oh, the candles coming out of the floor and floating in through the side and extending to appear coming out of the water. The effects were phenomenal! And of course you cannot forget the costumes! Masquerade had colorful ones and Hannibal's were so intricate.

The singing was pretty but unfortunately there were many scenes where there would be multiple people singing different words at the same time and you couldn't understand what any one of them was saying. I was just glad to have seen the movie so many times I could follow better. It was hard to not compare Phantom to Wicked. Wicked was our first play and when it was so perfect, it kind of set the standard. Phantom was very dark and creepy, more in the sense of creepy stalker. I feel like the Phantom was less harsh in the movie making him more lovable. And also with Wicked, the depth and layers of not just entertainment but morals and character development and plot, I feel, puts any play to shame. (But I haven't seen Les Mis. yet so we will talk more after that.) Overall Phantom was a wonderful performance but we enjoyed Wicked more.