Way back when in 1987 I first heard The Phantom of the Opera by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. I fell in love with the music, the lyrics, and the characters, the whole story. In 1988 I received the double CD soundtrack as a graduation gift and listened to it constantly. I had watched the Tony’s just to see a bit of it, since this was before the days of YouTube. I couldn’t even imagine being lucky enough to see it on Broadway.
Welp, fast forward to 2000. I finally saw it with my then boyfriend, now husband. Playing Raoul was Hugh Panaro. He portrayed Marius when I saw Les Miserables so it was neat to see him again, and he has such a gorgeous voice.
Fast forward to 2019. I see Phantom again with my younger son on his school band trip.
Then my older son became obsessed with Phantom in 2020. He fell in love with the story just as I did. He felt a connection to Erik. He watched many Phantom videos on YouTube. At one point, I asked if he had a favorite Phantom, and lo and behold his favorite is Hugh Panaro, who had eventually gone on to play Phantom.
So the whole family has a connection to the Phantom, but the one most obsessed was the only one to never have seen it live on Broadway.
Until this week. On September 5, Older Son and I saw The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. We had fabulous seats. Front row, center, second balcony. You can see the whole stage, and when the chandelier goes up at the beginning and falls at the end of act one, you see the whole picture. Plus, Phantom is directly across from you as he lurks above the opera house.
The smiles on my son’s face. The joy emanating from his body. The feeling of fulfillment over seeing something that he feels so passionately about was wonderful to experience. Creating and sharing the experience with him riding the train in, walking briskly on the sidewalks of Manhattan, and escaping into the story of Erik and the Paris Opera House is one of my best days.
He’s here…The Phantom of the Opera…
ohbloodyhell8 