the phantom of the opera is where
in which we briefly recap a weekend at the opera and our heroine commits to her first public piano performance (12/22 be there)
Hey Hartlist,
Here’s the scariest thing that happened this weekend:
I saw this in the subway on Sunday, just after my friend Mr. Musical Theatre Collaborator and I had seen ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ for the first time. A little on the nose, I thought. It was like the time I (actually) went to see “It” in the movie theatre and on the way home some joker had tied a red balloon to a subway grate.
Hold on. You had just seen WHAT for the first time?
Here’s our review:
The second scariest thing was this announcement:
“Masks must be worn at all times in the theatre, except when you are eating or drinking in your seat.”
Wait what? are people “eating and drinking” IN THEIR SEATS now? Are we fine with this? Is that why the 5pM start? What is this, Medieval Times?
Come to think of it, I can’t believe they did NOTHING with the ‘masks must be worn’ thing. It’s “Phantom”! It’s a show ABOUT A MASK.
I’m just kidding. It’s actually, as far as I can tell, about how if you’re just really, really, nice to your rapist, he’ll let you go.
…yeah I said it.
This show came out the same year as the film ‘Labyrinth’ and Ok I’ll stop there, it was just going to be a rehash of my Twilight Post anyway.
Anyhoo… this was an unplanned Theme Weekend, since the night before that, I attended ‘Eurydice’ at The Met with my friend Ms. Opera Collaborator (I forget how names are supposed to work in blogs)
and we sat WAY UP HIGH and you could see the whole orchestra including TWO HARPS and it was an opera of one of my favorite plays ever, ‘Eurydice’ by Sarah Ruhl, and when I applied to musical theatre writing grad school I wrote a song for Eurydice when she arrives in the underworld to show what I would do if I made it into a musical and then when that moment happened the composer had picked KIND OF THE SAME PERCUSSION I had in my head and anyway the whole thing was so exciting and what if operas had gorgeous compelling insightful important text and story you guys??
Also, the fact that the audience always, ALWAYS gasps when Orpheus turns around thrills me to my core. In every version of this. I mean, we know it’s going to happen. And yet.
So there you have it. Two theatrical experiences featuring opera, enormous chandeliers, and trips to the underworld… in very different ways.
And maybe after all it’s the Phantom who inspired me to commit to actually playing the piano in public for the first time since probably my 3rd grade recital, at the Rockwood Music Hall on December 22 at 7PM for the Winter Solstice Show. It’s possible I’ve gotten a little ambitious with the number of songs and special guests but what else is this time of year for, if not excess and fantasy? I’m off to practice. If you need me, I’ll be hunched over the keyboard in the dark, surrounded by candles and wearing a really questionable hat.
Happy winter. Oh my tree is up! This is my favorite ornament, feel free to send yours:
see you soon
Rebecca