Phantom Of The Opera is the first actual Broadway production that I’ve seen in my life. I never knew the story behind this play since I wasn’t really into theater, although the title sounded very familiar which gave me an idea that the play might be a scary production since the title had the word “Phantom”. On that note, let me tell you about my experience watching the “Phantom Of The Opera” at the Marquee Theater in New York City.

As soon as I entered the auditorium, my eyes directly noticed the large stage in which there was a large dark grey cloak over shadowing the whole entire stage. Along with the large cloak, there were props on stage which also were covered with grey cloaks giving me vibes in which I felt the play would outline the genre of horror. As the play started, I took my seat and admired the beauty of the theater in which the stage and auditorium reminded me of an older form of entertainment in which also made me feel kinda fancy and bousie. The introduction of the chandler was very nice, the lighting and the way it raised to the ceiling with that phantom theme song really set the stage of to a good start. On another note as the play was going on I kept my focus on the lighting, stage, costumes, sounds, and acting.

Right off that bat, I noticed the costumes of the actors and actresses on stage. I noticed that they were dressed in traditional English outer wear, which included black suits and black top hats. Shortly after I got thrown off when the second stage gets introduced in which the cast was wearing Egyptian or middle eastern clothing, only later to find out that it was a part of the play in which a play was being rehearsed. Throughout the play the costumes of the cast seemed to be constant in which the men wore tuxedos or suits with hats representing traditional English outerwear, and the women would wear long dresses in which I’d say looked like cast of Cinderella. It outlined the rich with fancy expensive clothing, and the less fortunate like the workers with more peasant clothing for example the Ladie who was in charge of the ballet dancers and the man who looked all crazy kinda like the dungeon keeper in Harry Potter. I really liked the the costume of the Phantom because I felt that it was a clean cut suit, kind of more of a modern touch than most other cast members.

Along with costumes, I noticed that the sounds of the play really impacted the way the director wanted the audience to feel. For example, whenever the Phantom would be introduced, I noticed that the sound of the play would get more suspenseful, and the theme song which I really liked and hope to make my ringtone would start to play. The orchestra and band would set the pace of the play in which when actors or actresses sing they would play to accommodate the scene being played may it be a fast pace scary scene, or a slow love scene. Correlated to sound, I found the acting of this play to be really amazing. I admired the way the cast members sang because I don’t think it is easy to sing and act and dance at the same time. Also the way they used the opera style to sing was very new to me but also very cool. Watching the play I felt like I was watching a movie because the actors/actresses worked so smoothly. Two characters that I felt did a great job of engulfing the role of the part were the Phantom and the girl named Christine who the Phantom admired. The reason I say this is because I felt that the phantom did a great job in acting powerful and dominant and his voice while singing had that Frankenstein touch to it. On the other hand, Christine’s acting was great because she did a great job in outlining her character and did a good job acting submissive to the Phantom. All of the other cast members also did a great job in acting as a whole to get the message to the audience.

Last but surely not least, the stage and lighting were absolutely superb ! I have never seen which great transitioning from one stage setting to another in just seconds without any obvious upfront changes. I really liked the way the stage would have a background making the setting look more broader than it really is. Along with that I liked a couple stage set ups. The first was when Christine is in her bedroom after her show. I liked the open concept to her room that allowed the audience to see both in the inside and outside of what was happening. Along with that I liked the stage set up of the Phantoms layer, because of the way the green smoke through lighting effects made it seem like there was actually water on which the boat was floating. I also liked that stage set up because there was a large cage or guard rail in the back symbolizing captivity or isolation from the normal realm of reality. Last I like the stage with the large stair case setup which you’d usually see in a mansion. I really like it because I has no idea how in the world they got that huge staircase there in just seconds. Hats of the the stage directors or whoever does that part of the show because every stage transition was so smooth. When it came to lighting I noticed that whenever the Phantom would be around that the light would go dim and the stage would become scary looking. On the other when there was no Phantom the lighting would be bright. I also noticed the spotlight and its importance in outlining the role of a character in a certain scene by emphasizing their part but putting them in the spotlight.

As a result I would recommend this play to anyone who is interested in a horror kind of play along with anyone who enjoys the art of theater and it’s great transformations throughout the years of its growth. A person like me who hasn’t gone to see one play, enjoyed the show and would definitely be looking forward to watching another play in the near future.