Phantom of the Opera is touring the US right now. I went and saw it in South Carolina over spring break and it was awesome! The set was amazing and I'm still trying to figure out how it all worked (trust me that's a good thing). The cast was phenomenal. Last time I saw Phantom, in 2014, I felt that the Christine they had was straining too much to hit those high notes and was doing strange, strange things. The Phantom was great, but Christine wasn't. But that was 2014. For the 2016-2017 tour, the Phantom and Christine are simply amazing. They sung and I wanted to applaud them right then and there. I love most of the little tweaks they did to highlight certain details. Like the fact that everything happening is a memory and Raoul has to clear the stage for the show to truly start. However, in order to make it a bit more child friendly (come on people, don't bring your tiny children to phantom and then get upset when he kills everyone; do your research!), they adjusted one of my favorite parts. The Phantom kills the keeper of the flies (scene changer, set person) towards the end of the first act. When I first saw it, I wasn't expecting him to kill the guy. We got flashed of shadows in the background and then all of a sudden a dummy fell from the rafters and looked like a body was hung. Yes, that's one of my favorite parts. Not because I like seeing people be killed, but because it really drives home the point that the Phantom is real and dangerous, that the Phantom will kill if he has to. But this time, and last time in 2014, they changed it to where they turned the set diagonally so you could see what was happening backstage. You see the guy messing with some ropes and another guy comes up behind him and puts a noose around his neck. The noose lifts up and so does the fuy. He struggles a little then goes limp and two seconds later everyone screams and freaks out. While this makes it better for families with young children (again, it's Phantom; do your research!), to me it takes the drama out of a key point in the show. Of course to make up for it, there's emphasis in other parts of the show to grab your attention, I noticed things I've never noticed before. The Phantom's love for Christine is played up more in this show, which is something I love. It shows that he's human, he's capable of feeling and loving. Does he know how to properly show these feelings? No. But does he still have them? Yes.
Overall, the show is great and I hope to see it again when it comes to Atlanta, but that won't be until February 2017 (that's why we went to South Carolina). I hoghly recommend seeing Phantom if you've never seen a Broadway show before. It's dark, it's got some humor, it's amazing when done right, which it is at the moment. That's it for my review. Not doing star things because I think they're annoying to mess with. Sanders out. (Cue Phantom of the Opera overture)
I had Chik-Fil-A today. It was nice. I like Chik-Fil-A.
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