Phantom of the Opera on Broadway

Okay...needless to say, I've given up on documenting every day of my time here. Now I'm just going to write about experiences I think people will be interested in hearing about.

Last night, Tuesday 11/02/10, I went to my very first Broadway play - the Phantom of the Opera! Since I've seen the movie many, many times and hold it among one of my very favorites, I couldn't pass up seeing it live in NYC. Would it be as good? Better? I would find out.

I bought the tickets online a week in advance, and I knew exactly where to go since the theater was not very far from where I work. After nearly an hour in the subway, I arrived half an hour early and was directed to my seat, which was on the balcony, center and third from the front. It provided a great view.

The play began exactly like the movie, with each line the same. I didn't get really excited until the minor-key organ theme began and the chandalier started rising - that was when I started to get shivers. Grey curtains drew back to reveal ornate gold statuing around the stage - of course, this wasn't quite as cool as the movie when the operahouse undergoes a full transformation from old, grey, and tattered to shining and new. But still pretty cool.

The best parts of the play:
+ The rooftop scene where Christine and Raoul sing together. The set had a fantastic 3d look to it, with a faint cityscape in the background and a starry sky above, with statues all about. And of course the cool part where the Phantom emerges from on top of one of them and sings with his hands stretched out even as it rises way above the stage.
+ When the Phantom first takes Christine to his underground layer, leading her down stairs, across ledges, and then rowing in the "boat" through the mists as candles rise around them.
+ Near the end when the Phantom watches Christine and Raoul row away from beyond the caged door of his lair. He holds out a hand sadly, ignored as they sing to each other. Then he retreats into a mirror, leaving his mask behind.
+ And of course the very last part, right after that. Meg climbs into the lair and finds the mask ...all lights go out except a spotlight on the mask as she holds it up.

Differences between the play and the movie:
+ Lots of lines that were spoken in the movie were sang in the play.
+ There were a few extra scenes & songs, such as a reprise of the "notes" song after the masquerade ball.
+ When Christine snatches the Phantom's mask for the first time, he writhes on the floor hiding his face even as he yells at her. (This version of Phantom seemed a bit more "pathetic"...)
+ During the masquerade ball, the Phantom appears wearing an actual giant skull on its head - complete with a jawbone that moved when he talked - rather than just a mask designed to look like a skull.
+ There is no swordfight scene at the graveyard. Instead, the Phantom just stands on top of the crypt and shoots flares at Raoul.
+ The scene which explains the Phantom's backstory is not there. Madame Giry just utters a line about how he was once part of a circus that featured disfigured humans, but that he escaped. (In the movie, she helped him do it.)
+ The Phantom was not Gerard Butler. :(

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. Did it rock my socks as much as the movie? No. I didn't feel so closely connected to the characters of the play as I do in the movie - of course, camera angles and close-ups might have something to do with that. But I don't regret buying the ticket - and I might consider going to another one before my internship here is over.

If I do go to another one, I might go to Wicked. I am reading the book right now and find it pretty intriguing - though admittedly I can't imagine how they could make a musical out of it. I imagine it is probably very, very different. Have any of you seen it? Thoughts? :)