Despite my griping and complaining that this musical even existed, I really love this one song. Someone in my vocal studio sang it during our recital, and I fell in love with it.
Which makes it really irritating that I don't have the vocal type or range to sing this song, ha ha.
The Title Song from Love Never Dies
Next, another piece that was performed at my vocal recital, though again not by me. This song is from the musical Side Show, which is about a set of conjoined twins. In my recital, it was performed by non-identical twin sisters, so it was very appropriate for them.
I actually liked our vocal recital staging better, but this video works. Just skip the jabbering at the beginning.
EJC's most ambitious project to date is finally complete!!! What starts off to be a serious filming of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again soon turns into a fiasco in this two-part piece featuring the return of the Famous Producer, Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, and lots of humor!
Enjoy!!
EDIT: My films are filmed in widescreen, so they may show up squashed on the blog. Clicking again on the video to view it directly on youtube is recommended.
In other news, whilst accomplishing the above project, we finally had the Official EJC convention, which was the first time that all of the current members had ever gotten all together. We also got a cool picture....
Well, recently I had the amazing privilege of seeing The Phantom of the Opera live on stage, and there are many words that come to mind to describe it: amazing, fantastic, gripping, tragic, beautiful. But a review that just describes something in such pithy undescriptive tones would be boring, so I'll try to think better ways to relay my awesome experience. As always, spoilers are a constant presence, so beware. Also seeing the musical makes me even more suspicious of the sequel, as I posted about earlier.
Times I cried in the whole show: four.
Three times in Act 1 and once in Act 2, though that time was rather...extensive, we'll say.
Favorite scenes:
Chandelier going up:
We were in the mezzanine, so we had a spectacular view of the chandelier and how it ascended from the stage, over the heads of the orchestra pit and people in the first few rows, then all the way up the theater.
When Christine and Meg were singing Angel of Music:
The ballet chorus girls kept making hilarious mistakes. There is always the constant question of whether art imitates life or life imitates art: I think in this case, art imitates life because I've made many of the same silly mistakes those girls have made when dancing.
Title song:
Ohhh......my.........gosh...... There are no words sufficient enough to describe this scene. This one in my mind was the thing I had anticipated the most, and it did not disappoint. Think of how the movie version had an elaborate set, then stuff it down to moving platforms, fog, candles that come out of the stage, moving boat, and the Phantom himself. With a hat! I'm so used to the movie, I always forget that he has an awesome hat in the musical. Add to that the music itself and the actors singing it, and... ugh! I'm flabbergasted trying to explain, so I'll just move on... Well wait, before I go on I have to say something: I was obsessed with Spamalot before I was obsessed with many other Broadway musicals, Phantom being one of them. But seeing "Phantom of the Opera" (individual song) on stage made me completely get how brilliant "The Song that Goes Like This" was in parodying it in its staging. I don't think I'll ever be able to choose my favorite musical.... It's either Spamalot, Phantom of the Opera, or Les Miserables...such a decision...but moving on.
Music of the Night:
Rocked. His high light note literally made me and a friend I was seeing it with gasp in amazement.
All I Ask of You and its Reprise:
This Raoul actually wasn't annoying! It's amazing how this has happened two times in a row... the Lovesick Tenor in love with the Main Soprano usually never fails to annoy in movie versions or soundtracks. In both Les Mis and Phantom, their Marius/Raoul and Cosette/Christine were not completely annoying!
Phantom lowered down on the statue: completely amazing.
And of course, the Chandelier Crash.
Really, it crashes. Right back onto the stage. And it rocked.
Past the Point of No Return to the end:
I'm really coming up with nothing descriptive that wouldn't completely ruin the musical for someone who hasn't seen it, so I'll just say this: it made me cry pathetically.
Overall, I had an incredible time, and I was so blessed in that I got to see it with some of my dearest friends and family, which made the time even more amazing.
To leave y'all, here is the condensed title song and Music of the Night as performed in the Tony Awards in 1988, by Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, the original Phantom and Christine. This'll give you a tiny taste of the awesomeness of the set, especially the title song.
Ok, a mini-speech... I always find it interesting how as an actor, I've always been taught never, Never, NEVER to turn my back on the audience, yet in shows like Les Mis and Phantom, there are times when a performer has his back on the audience for long stretches of time... I just find that amusing...
I LOVE Christina Rossetti's poetry...... Anyway..... As most of you have probably noticed by now, I broke down and got myself a new layout, header, etcetera. You may ask, why a black rose? Well, (A I love roses. Especially dark ones. I used to not think roses are that great, but especially since becoming a (happy!) goth and seeing Phantom of the Opera I've started to love them. (B I wanted to see if I could photo manipulate a red rose into a black rose, and I did. Yay!!
The book was fantastic. Yes, I was biased in favor of it before I read it because I'm a huge fan of the movie. (still haven't seen the musical yet!)
Gaston LeRoux begins by saying, "The Opera ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is to say, of a spectral shade."
The story that follows is LeRoux's investigation as a journalist that proves the Phantom (Erik) really existed. As in the movie, the story really kicks off with the arrival of two new managers who must abide by Erik's "house rules" which include Box 5 reserved for him and a salary of 20,000 francs. The managers staunchly believe that it is a joke by the previous managers and refuse to pay Erik or reserve the box.
Many tragedies and incidents take place over the course of the book, roughly matching the movie. Madame Giry plays the same part, but there are other characters such as the Count Chagny himself (not Raoul, his elder brother) and the mysterious Persian who play no part in the movie.
Another thing that was interesting to me was the higher stakes at the end. If Christine didn't choose Erik, not only would Raoul and the Persian die in his torture chamber, but the whole opera house would get destroyed in a rigged explosion.
Alas, I will not give away the end, though some of you can guess it if you've seen the movie.
If y'all hadn't already noticed, I changed my header to a graphic I made of my recently realized obsession: Phantom of the Opera. The first time I watched this movie (2004 version), my mind kind of went into culture shock A. because it was stunningly beautiful visually and B. because I loved it so much!
The movie takes place at the Opera Polulaire in Paris in the late eighteen hundreds. The opera house has been sold to two new managers who find that there resides the Opera Ghost, who makes certain demands such as permanent use of Box 5 and a salary. When a set piece "somehow" falls and almost hits the opera house's diva singer Carlotta, she storms out and refuses to sing for the performance. Christine Daae is volunteered for the role, and she impresses the managers with her singing. The story that ensues is dark, but incredibly good.
Of course, it being an Andrew Lloyd Webber (otherwise known as Alfred Floyd Webster around here) the music is FANTASTIC. At first I only bought the title song off of iTunes, but then I completed the album because it's just that good. Even if one doesn't see the movie, they would probably love the soundtrack by itself. (must buy favorites include Overture, Think of Me, Phantom of the Opera, and All I Ask of You) The singing is phenomenal. Simply phenomenal. Emmy Rossum has the clear voice perfect for Christine, Patrick Wilson perfectly soothing for Raoul, and Gerard Butler deep and mesmerizing for the Phantom.
Minnie Driver is of course hilarious as Carlotta the diva, lending facial expressions and attitude one would normally expect from Minnie Driver. However, Minnie Driver is not a soprano opera singer, so her part was voiced by a professional singer whose name I cannot recall.
Another thing I loved was the Phantom's style. He has the coolest sense of style EVER. He's got the underground kingdom, the candles that light when they rise from being underwater, the white mask, the black cape, everything! Plus, he has awesome habits such as sending a red rose with a black ribbon to people he is pleased with.
To close, I say this: see the movie or see the musical!!!
I conform to non-conformity. I am myself because everyone else is taken. I am a paradox wrapped in an oxymoron smothered in contradictions in terms. I am who I am and say what I feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
