Welcome to Phantom of the Opera

Don't cry for The Phantom, Broadway. The truth is he'll never leave you. He'll hide in the sewers with the subway rats and sneak through the rafters of the next show to find its home at the Majestic Theater. 

That's right - The Phantom of the Opera is leaving Broadway.

1988 may not have had social media like we do today, but Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous (or infamous) show proudly welcomed local and (mostly) tourist alike to through its doors for an amazing performance. 

Sadly, all things come to an end...and the show fell victim to the pandemic. It will become a memory alone in the moonlight after February 23rd, 2023 - a few weeks after it's 35th anniversary. 

The musical is an amazing production. The movie that came out in 2004 and it does not do justice its source material (neither the show nor the book). There's something magical about seeing the candles rise out of the stage's fog while the orchestra swells. It's heart pounding watching The Phantom throw fireballs at Raoul and Christine - it's replaced by a silly sword fight in the movie. And the Chandelier falling at the end of the first act is incredible.

I'm glad I got to see it on stage at least once.

Though I will admit, this isn't my favorite adaptation of the story. That honor goes to The Phantom of the Opera Wishbone episode "Pantin at the Opera". A close second is the original Lon Chaney 1925 silent movie, followed by Phantom of the Megaplex and Phantom of the Paradise tied for third.

However, Lord Webber's rock opera entered pop culture, found a foothold in little theater kids' hearts and midwestern moms' souls, to explode into ubiquitous culture. Something Cats will never be able to do (please let the movie be a fever dream).

A YouTuber who did a lot of video essays on The Phantom of the Opera book and its many adaptations (including the musical, it's sequel, it's many knock offs) once said that "civilization will fall and Phantom of the Opera will still be playing on Broadway". They were kind of right. COVID-19 struck and the show managed to last a few years after its peak. 

Yet, the lack of tourism to New York and the very high budget needed to maintain the ability for a guy to throw a legit fireball at two other people was the death knell for the show.

The final performance will be held on Saturday, February 18th, 2023.

It was magical. It was fun. It had a great theater run. Such dazzling performances. How the tourists loved the performances. 

It was Broadway's Phantom of the Opera.

Let me know of any fond memories or your favorite adaptations of the story. I remember first seeing the movie with my cousin at my grandmother's house and then (reluctantly) seeing the stage production with an aunt and cousin after getting (severely) discounted tickets - I'm glad I did. 

I know the story has its problems and certain parts of social media are having fun with all of their "hot takes" (seriesouly don't look at the theater side of Twitter right now), but there's a reason this musical stuck around for so long and nearly everyone in the United States is familiar with this serialized French story. 

I think it has something to do with the amazing 80s guitar riff.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. 

Until next week. 

By the way, I've made several references through out this post to other Webber musicals. Cats is directly called out, but I also referenced Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Evita, and Jesus Christ Superstar. Feel free to let me know if you spot them. 

Welcome to an Artist’s Hope

Story time guys:

For the better part of a year (possibly longer), I’ve started doing a poetry and art form known as Blackout Poetry. What this is involves taking text from a book, newspaper, or other source and selecting works to turn it into a poem. The other way to look at this is that I’m taking away the words that I don’t want to make a poem. Traditionally, you remove or “blackout” the words you don’t want and that’s it. However, some people take it to a higher level and add in designs and inked art to the poem.

Here is your first example of blackout poetry

I first came across this where I get a lot of my art ideas: Pinterest.

And I’ve been posting my blackout poems on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

My personal rule of thumb with this particular poetry and art form, is to only use text that is in the public domain or that I have permission from the author (which are mostly my friends). The two books I’m currently working in are Frankenstein (which is harder than I expected for multiple reasons) and Phantom of the Opera. I might add to this collection at some point, but these are the two books I’m working in right now.

Plus these books help me write some darker poems

I find doing these poems both challenging and relaxing. I have so many words I can work with and sometimes I can’t form the sentences or ideas that I want to. It can be frustrating when I want to use the word “was” and there isn’t a “was” to be found on the page. However there is something very cathartic in taking a Sharpie or felt pen and drawing all over a page.

If you are interested in trying blackout poetry, just make sure it’s in a book you won’t be upset drawing in.

I get a lot of these books for free or doubles if I enjoy the book

Now, here’s the reason I’m sharing this information and story with you guys today.

One of my friends has been following me on social media and has a daughter who is teaching in inner city schools. He shared my blackout poems with his daughter who in turn shared the idea with her class for their poetry unit. She took different pages from one of the books her students had to read, photo copied them, and explained the idea of blackout poetry for the unit.

The students loved it.

My friend shared a few pictures of the poems with me (sorry won’t show them since I don’t know the students) and the work was amazing. They were personal, raw, haunting, somber, and beautiful. Most of the students loved the ability to make their own transformation work that represented them.

I honestly hope that the students keep creating.

And I helped inspire someone to introduce this creative idea to these students. I feel humbled and happy that I was able to do that. As a small time artist and writer, I often feel that my work doesn’t matter. I write and create art to entertain my friends and to help me deal with my emotions. I like to hope that others are inspired by me.

And now that I know they are, it feels wonderful.

I can also work on my romance writing and self expression.

Maybe in the future, one of these students will publish a book of poems. Maybe one day, one of these students will become a famous artist or writer or both.

I’ll probably never know if I inspire someone like this, but part of me genuinely hopes that I do.

I wanted to share this story with you today because I think there are times when we don’t feel like our lives mean anything or that we haven’t done anything spectacular. Knowing that my blackout poetry was used to inspired students to express themselves in a new way has reminded me that, even in the small corner of the universe I wander through, I can still make a difference.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to Watching the Stage

One of my goals for the start of this year, was to take advantage of the fact that I live within spitting distance of New York City. I am happy to say that I have been keeping to that goal.

And my favorite reason to go into New York is to see a stage show.

It doesn't matter if it's on or off Broadway, I've been having a lot of fun going to different plays and performances around the city, though I haven't gotten tickets to see Hamilton yet.

There are all types of stage performances. Musicals, dramas, comedies, classics like Shakespeare and the Greek tragedies, operas, and ballets. Each is unique in how they tell stories and convey emotions.

My current favorite play is Come From Away which is about how a small town in Canada took in about 3,000 people during 9/11 when all airplanes were grounded. The music is amazing and the stories are inspiring as well as heart breaking. What's really cool is that all the characters portrayed are based on the actual people who experienced the event.

What's really cool is how the set is designed. There's a rotating stage with fake trees, chairs, a "bar", and beautifully painted backdrop that reminded me of painted drift wood art. The band plays on stage, instead of in a pit and adds to the atmosphere. I hear there's a movie in the works, but no matter how well done the movie is, I don't feel it will have the same feeling as the play.

I'm not sure how to explain this feeling, but there is a big difference seeing a stage play and watching a movie based on that play. Plays rely on suggestion and imagination. When the lights go down and a single spotlight illuminates a solitary character on stage to give a soliloquy, it doesn't have the same effect as a character looking into a camera or giving a voice over to tell the audience what they're thinking.

Don't get me wrong, there are some plays that made the jump onto the big screen with success. West Side Story, Sound of Music, Hairspray, and especially The Rocky Horror Picture Show are all awesome movies (though I admit that I haven't seen them on stage). I even enjoy the 2004 Phantom of the Opera.

However, movies are a different medium from plays. Often scenes are squashed together or cut to make room for run time. Depending on the writers and directors, things can change drastically between stage to screen. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does change the experience.

To see "Phantom of the Opera" on stage is an entirely different experience. There's a reason it's one of the longest running shows on Broadway. The sets are a amazing, the effects are stunning, and to see the actors on stage is magic. I like the "Phantom of the Opera" movie. I love the Broadway show.

And there are a lot of plays in New York. New ones open every year, and there are even a few shorter runs with famous actors and actresses.

This is from the movie.

A few years ago, I saw The Front Page starring Nathan Lane and John Goodman. Yesterday, I saw Hillary and Clinton with Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow. Both Adam Driver and Danieli Radcliff have recently been in shows that I nearly brought tickets for, while my mom was disappointing that we weren't able to see Jeff Daniels in To Kill a Mockingbird (tickets were about the same price as Hamilton when I finally started looking).

It's cool to see these actors in movies and TV shows. It's stunning to watch them preform live and on stage. Nathan Lane in particular is one of my favorite actors to watch on stage. His stage presence is captivating.

I do wish it wasn't super expensive to see plays though, especially in New York. There are ways to find cheaper tickets, but it's tough and the timing doesn't always work out. There are raffles and buy-same-day tickets, but they are hard to get.

If going to New York is a tough option, then check out what the local high schools or college are putting on. When I was still in high school and college, I'd go to the plays my school put on. I loved seeing Little Shop of Horrors and Thoroughly Modern Millie with my friends.

Some schools even put their performances on YouTube, which is how I saw the "Very Potter Musicals" (not "Cursed Child") and "Once Upon a Mattress".

And don't discount the film adaptations. I know I earlier said that the experiences are different (and they are), but that doesn't mean that that's a bad thing. The Harry Potter movies are very different from the books, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying them. There are tons of movies from the 30s and 40s which were originally plays (see my post on The Front Page for a great adaptation example).`

One of my favorite play adaptations is Angels in America. You can find the whole mini-series on Amazon Prime right now (and possibly HBO GO). It's about the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s. HBO put together a 6 part miniseries back in the early 2000s and if you haven't seen it, I totally recommend it. It is a play (both parts) that I hope to eventually see on stage, but for now, I'm happy re-watching the miniseries when I have the time.

Do you guys have any favorite plays or stage performances?

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from