What a night! What a crowd! Makes you glad, Makes you proud

I last saw Phantom of the Opera back in August as I knew it had been updated, but when I saw TodayTix were having a sale I bought a cheap ticket on a random date. I didn't think much about it, I literally just bought the best ticket at the best price, so I was floored when I arrived and saw they were filming it for the 35th anniversary and it was some huge event! There were roses on every seat with a note from the Phantom, and we were each given complimentary glasses of champagne (it was handed to us in a mini bottle with a glass on top, so I put it in my bag as I don't really drink and I didn't realize it didn't have a lid. Yikes!) I think I enjoyed it all even more because it was all so unexpected!

I kept getting really overwhelmed throughout the show, and I'm gonna say it, I think Lucy St Louis is the best Christine I've ever seen? It's hard to even comment on the other actors because I can't help but just watch Lucy whenever she's on stage. Her singing is flawless, and her acting is just phenomenal. I appreciate theater actresses have a lot to deal with in every show, singing and performing the same character eight shows a week, but Lucy just seems to feel the role with every inch of her. It's incredible to watch honestly.

I was trying to figure out if I enjoy this show as much as Wicked, and decided that I can't really even compare them. Although I love Gaston Leroux's novel and the musical of Phantom, and I love theorizing about Erik/the Phantom and what drove him to become what he did, that's kind of the extent of it for me. Like it doesn't exist outside of that, and I don't find myself seeking out different versions of the story. Whereas Wicked just inspires me. It inspires my illustrations and I often come out of the theater drawing thumbnails, I love the characters individually as well as together and I enjoy building on them, I love the whole concept of Oz and all of the lore surrounding it, so it's kind of much more than just Wicked to me by now. I probably enjoy both shows about the same I guess, I just have very different relationships with each of them.