How I spent my Friday evening.

The picture is pretty self-explanatory isn't it. Haha. I was sooo excited to go watch it. The Phantom of the Opera came to Singapore once before, and I recall seeing the commercials for it as a kid. Now, I'm much older and have the means to watch it for myself! =D

Met Cel, Cla and Fui at City Hall mrt, and as usual I was the earliest. =X After a delicious dinner at the Soup Spoon at Raffles City, we trundled down to the Esplanade to catch the 8pm performance. Apart from the pic above, we took a few more in some odd places, such as the toilet. This was before the show started, since we were early and had nothing to do.

Finally, about 10 mins before the show was due to begin, we stepped inside. A couple of people in Phantom shirts (black with the signature white mask design) were calling out "Programmes, get your programmes!" What they didn't add was it costs 25 dollars...

Anyway, we got wonderful seats, just to the right of the stage! We could see everything clearly. The props on stage were covered with sheets, and we had no idea what the props looked like underneath.

After we were seated for a few minutes, the show started with a short announcement for the audience to switch off their handphones, while the lights gradually dimmed. In an instant, the stage went black, and when it lighted up once more, we were thrust into the whole spectacle.

The actors appeared on stage, in what appeared to be a scene from an auction house. As the plot progressed, the props were revealed with great pomp and splendour. I won't give away too much, except that the show had beautiful props and settings, magnificent costumes, great songs. and even special effects!

The cast was excellent. Christine was a sparking clear sopranco, Raoul a throaty alto and the Phantom himself I suspect, a powerful tenor. Of course, the supporting cast was not to be outdone as well, especially a middle-aged lady who acted as the lead sporano of the opera theatre that the phantom haunted. She had a powerhouse voice and portrayed her character exceedingly well. In fact, it hardly felt like a play at all. It all felt real, as if we really were the audience in the theatre where the whole drama took place.

Listening to the songs and watching the action was vastly different from watching a movie. The impact was greater, since I knew clearly that these people were here in the flesh, acting out scenes from one of Broadway's most successful productions.

Of course all good things come to an end. The show ended, and the curtains lifted to show the actors presenting themselves on stage. The applause was thunderous, though the Phantom himself recieved the loudest applause and whistles. Some people even stood up to show their appreciation.

After the show, we went to take more photos outside the theatre. We even sneaked behind a cordoned-off area and discovered what appeared to be a venue for a function. It was decorated with the Phantom theme, with large candle-holders similar to the ones used on stage. The area was accentuated with red draperies, as well as huge pictures of scenes from the play.

Of course it was completely off-limits, and we came out to face a rather curious-looking usher who offered to help us take photos in front of a huge screen instead. Behind this screen was the function area which we had sneaked into.

Following this round of photo-taking, we proceeded as planned to DXO to chill out.

The place was dark, smoky and noisy. Had a glass of the house pour and chatted for a while. We even did some dancing before we left to go outside. We sat at the food centre next to DXO, got some drinks and talked some more. I kinda preferred this part. The night was cool, it was quiet, and we could at least hear each other across the table.

Finally, we called it a day and I went home in a cab.

Totally fun. My first musical ever! Really hope that there's more to come! =)