Last week I ventured out to Los Angeles with my mom and sister to check out Phantom of the Opera, which has replaced Wicked at the Pantages Theater. I've seen Phantom before and liked it, so I was excited to go and see it again. It was a little bittersweet, however, because Wicked is by far my favorite play and I was sad to walk into the theater and not see it.

Phantom was good. Not as spectacular as the last time I saw it, but enjoyable nonetheless. The guy who played Phantom was awesome to listen to. I got goosebumps when he sang. The woman playing Christine was ok. She had an amazing voice, but her acting flipped back and forth to over the top (and not in a good way) or very stiff. She left a lot to be desired. The balance of voices in the production was also a little out of whack, it seemed. Carlotta, for example, has a loud operatic voice and it's lovely. But when the cast sings as a group, she completely drowns out the rest of them, and you can't hear anything they're saying. It would have been better for everyone involved if they'd turned down her mic so that she blended with everyone, rather than blowing them away.

I have always loved the music in Phantom, and had the soundtrack at one point (It got lost in one of my many moves, I think). My favorite song from the play, however, is on a Barbara Streisand CD. She sings "Music of the Night" with Michael Crawford, and just thinking about it gives me chills. It's such a beautiful song, and while many people don't like her, the woman has an amazing voice that blends beautifully with Crawford's. I could listen to it over and over without growing tired of it.

Phantom will be here for the next few weeks, and Donald and I will be seeing the final show on the 21st. I'm hoping that the issues they had the first time I saw it will be fixed by then. I'm also hoping that I'll be a little more accepting of it not being Wicked, and I'll be able to enjoy it more.