The Phantom of the Opera

Who: My MIL & I

What: Broadway's classic, long-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera | tickets

When: February 2007 & January 2016

Where: The Majestic Theatre, NYC & The Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore

Why: What better show than Phantom to be my Broadway first?

Thoughts: My first encounter with Phantom was the 2004 film (and later, the amazing anniversary performance). I knew when I got to visit NYC for the first time ever in 2007 that I had to see a Broadway show and I was hoping it would be Phantom. My MIL was able to grab a deal for "rear orchestra or front mezz" at a good price. Except, we got there to find we were in the rear mezz -major nosebleeds, the second or third to last row. I could barely see a thing but I could hear every bit of the show and I loved it! Sean, on the other hand, true to his claim that he doesn't like musicals, fell asleep quickly.

My MIL and I went back to see the show on tour when it came to Baltimore. It had just been updated (mainly a new set which was fine, but a few other changes I wasn't a fan of). I was surprised to open my Playbill to find that every principle was replaced by an understudy that performance (my MIL loves Chris Mann who was headlining at the time), but the performance was still all one would expect from Phantom: the costumes, the story, the stay-in-your-head forever tunes.

I'm sharing now because Phantom's sequel, Love Never Dies, is coming here to Baltimore as a preview of their US national tour in just two weeks! I've got my tickets for opening night, and while I've already seen recordings of the Australian production, I'm thrilled to see it live and to find if any more changes have been made. People definitely have heated opinions of the show, so I'm curious to see how audiences react.

Have you seen Phantom? Love it or leave it? Will you see Love Never Dies if it's coming to a town near you?

Want more? Listen to the original Phantom soundtrack here, or read about other shows I've seen here.