And now for something completely different - the Phantom of the Opera! Last year we had family over for a few weeks, it was lots of fun and it ended with a few days in New York City. We took them to a lot of the great tourist attractions and I realized our hotel was right next to the Majestic theatre where the Phantom of the Opera was showing. I studied this as a child in school, but our trip to go and see it was canceled.
I thought it might never happen, but on a whim decided to see if we might be able to get some last minute tickets as we also had a niece with us willing to watch over our kids! We checked she was really OK to do it as we haven’t gotten to see family as much as we would like, she agreed and we found a couple of tickets for my wife and I on our final night in the city. This was before they had announced the show was ending, but I had said to my wife I was worried it would get canceled as it has just been showing for so long.
It was one of those great evenings with minimal planning, originally it was all about showing family the city but we were able to take a moment for ourselves. I finally got to see the show, I am not a big theatre person but I have an appreciation for it. Having studied this show, and looked forward to it I really enjoyed actually seeing it decades later. The news this morning mentioned that today would be the very last showing in what has been a 35 year run.
I am really glad we got to see it, we were there for a fairly quiet Thursday evening but the other people in line were all really excited too. It was great to be a part of the evening, I had my most expensive “glass” of wine ever during the intermission. The atmosphere was amazing, and I felt so privileged to be able to take in such an iconic show in New York City. That little kid from a council estate in Sheffield didn’t do bad, and his old music teacher instilled an appreciation for the show even if he couldn’t pluck out any musical talent!
Thanks to my niece and family for indulging me too. Now the show is closing I would have been so disappointed to have missed out. Seize the day.