It feels as though it has been quite a while since I last wrote a blog post, so It feels great to be back writing. Anyway, this week for my passion blog I’m choosing to talk about my favorite broadway musical “The Phantom of the Opera”. When I look back at my childhood, I generally give this play credit for being the catalyst that sparked my interest in the arts.
At the age of 12, I had the lucky opportunity to visit New York City with my family. There I followed my family, particularly uninterested in the various broadway musicals we were visiting. One of the plays I remember seeing was Disney’s “The Lion King”. While the music was very well done, but I truly had very little interest in music until I saw “The Phantom of Opera”. As I sat down in the seats of the Majestic Theater, the show soon began to start and not before long I was pulled into a fantastic world, filled with enchantment and 
mystery. At the time, I didn’t have the full capacity to understand what was going on, but what caught my attention was the music. Sitting there, the music told an intricate story beyond the comprehension of words. Feelings, concepts, and ideas displayed through the use of fanatically composed music. Leaving the theatre that day, I left with an unprecedented appreciation for artistic expression. When I got home I purchased the CD of the play’s fantastic score. For months I found myself as a tween obsessed with this musical masterpiece and from there, as the music started to get old, I began a journey looking for new music.
When I was older, I returned to the haunting musical that inspired me many years through the course of my Middle School Career. I chose to return to my roots when I was given Andrew Lloyd Weber Medley to learn for band in the 10th grade. When I rediscovered “The Phantom”, I viewed a taping of it that I found on the internet. With a better understanding of drama and art I paid closer attention to not only the music, but the story as well. In watching it again, I was baffled. The story of “The Phantom” defies the common rules of drama. At the end, little is resolved, yet the viewer comes away feeling satisfied 
from the performance. Furthermore, In watching it again I noticed deep undertones in the play that I hadn’t come to notice the first time I viewed it. Never before have I ever seen a better interpretation of the struggle between Love and Lust. Raul represents good, pure, loving nature which down sides are nature whereas the phantom represents the tenants of power, attraction, and confidence. How is an evil antagonist the great sympathizer of the play. Whatever of the case maybe, Christine (the protagonist) is compelled by the darkness, yet the audience can understand and relate to her in a way no other story can. Not only is the story terrific, but the sentiment is amplified by the music and the way in which it is strategically used in the performance. When Webber wants to display a specific tone to the audience, he briefly reprises a song from earlier on so the viewer feels exactly the way in which he planned them to feel.
Over the years I have seen the “Phantom of the Opera” three times on Broadway and I’ve watched it on DVD more times then I can remember. That being said, I feel this play is the perfect example of Art and all that it is capable of. The creators of this play took advantage of everything art had to offer and in return were given the most viewed Broadway show of all time.
