Latest craze - Phantom

I was enthralled all the way through. I expect it to be a magical show, but it went beyond and exceeded my expectation, it wasnt merely magical, it was amazingly magnificent ! This is my best theatre experience and will always be, i doubt there will be a better one. Even so, Phantom of the Opera will always be the only special one. Three years ago I watch the film version of Phantom and since then i've been waiting for the theatre musical. So whats the comparison between Stage and Screen? I must say that i feel more attached to the story and the cast on stage. The stand out moment for me was the beginning, when the film changed from black and white and went back in time to tell the story along with the grand overture of the soundtrack, it sent shivers down my spine, i could feel it in my bones !!! it was so real, it was as if i was sent back to year 1870 when the story was set! yet another highlight of it was the dropping of the huge chandelier, when Phantom was to send his revenge, the chandelier was dropped all the way up to bottom and hits the stage floor with a loud bang! another moment that captured my heart was when Christine's vocal when she landed in the spooky chamber of the Phantom and start singing the main soundtrack gradually up to the climax pitch and cut ! my mouth literally dropped open during the very last 30 seconds of the music, it certainly gave me goosebumps! However, i still think the original singer, Sarah Brightman, is still the best! =) Anyway, of all the cast, Phantom stood the highest in term of vocal, he has got this strong and manly voice which perfectly fits into his role. It was rather dissapointing for Raoul, i didnt like his voice as much as i like the one in the film, but he was still gorgeous - being gorgeous is his role in the show. I would say that Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson (the cast in the film) has got better embodiment of the Phantom, Christine and Raoul. But watching it through your naked eyes on stage is still better than just watching the film. Apart from the cast, other aspects like the theatre set, costume, masquerade, everything was so colorful, rich and vibrant, CLASSIC! It certainly leveled up my interest in musical stage performance. Andrew Lloyd Webber (the original producer) is certainly a god, i wonder what's in his head. =p

p/s: listen to the grand overture music, sounds better when you increase the speaker's volume, as loud as you can.