Phantastic!

It was supposed to be an ordinary Monday night at the mall. I decided to get my haircut so I took a jeepney ride to SM North EDSA. I usually get off in front of the Main Building and head straight to Fix. But tonight, partly because I was sleepy, I absent-mindedly got off in front of SM The Block. On the way to Fix, I passed by SM Cinemas, and saw The Phantom of the Opera on schedule. I asked the cashier until when it will be shown, and she said tomorrow would be its last day. Thinking that I could try to watch later, I still went to Fix to try to get my haircut as a walk-in client. Unfortunately, my stylist would be available at 8:30pm, so I decided against waiting for my turn and told myself I am watching The Phantom of the Opera tonight.

At the ticket booth, I was surprised to find out that it only has one screening time for the night. I bought my ticket and still had time to take dinner. After dinner and buying a few more stuff, I went to the theater.

I was not expecting that the first part would contain interviews here and there about the show. To some extent, I was getting impatient and I wanted the show to start immediately. But what can I do? It's The Phantom of the Opera's 25th Anniversary Performance, and this should be expected. So I watched, I waited, and updated my Facebook status.

And then the show started. I was in London. Nah, but it felt like it. The Royal Albert Hall had so much people, and I was excited to see how the stage would transform from scene to scene. Sure, I watched the movie version of the musical years back (only to be horribly disappointed with the execution of the musical numbers) and the producers can do almost anything to make scenes believable. But production on stage is more challenging. And I must say, the scene transitions and stage design are simply breathtaking.

Can I just say I fell in love with Sierra Boggess? I first heard her in the cast recording of Love Never Dies, together with Ramin Karimloo. And it was such a treat to watch them play their roles in the original Phantom musical. Sierra gave life to Christine, and it was refreshing to see Christine in a different light, as compared to Emmy Rossum's movie portrayal. Ramin had quite a few misses here and there, but his portrayal of the role was powerful, convincing, and moving, nonetheless.

The way Christine and The Phantom parted ways towards the end somehow made the story of Love Never Dies plausible, as it sent me the message that Christine was at this point in love with The Phantom but just had to go with Raoul.

There were still quite a few surprises after curtain call, and to say that I loved them is an understatement. Haha I won't spill the beans since my very few readers might still catch the show and I do not want to spoil the surprise.

Watching the 25th Anniversary Performance of The Phantom of the Opera made me want more for it to be staged here in the Philippines. I hope someday they would bring it here. But for now, I will just wait for its DVD release.

Have a phantastic night! :)

Awkward Moment at SM

Last Saturday I bought a DVD of the movie Ang Lihim ni Antonio (Antonio's Secret) at the Record Bar of SM Department Store. I watched it at home, but realized that the disc is damaged because there was a particular frame where the movie pauses for a few seconds and could not be controlled by either the forward or rewind buttons. I was able to finish the movie, but I thought I had to have it replaced to get my money's worth. So last night I went to the record bar to have it replaced.

When I arrived there, the saleslady asked me what the matter was. So I told her what was wrong with the disc. To my surprise she said, "Let's play the movie, and show me where it pauses." What?! I asked her where she plans to play the movie, and she told me she would play it right there, at the TV/DVD Player in the Record Bar in full view of other shoppers. At that moment, the disc being played was still in full volume, so I told her never mind. But she insisted. All this time the disc was with her, and she was about to put it inside the player. I was hesitant. I really wanted to have the disc replaced, and thought maybe it would be alright if she would just mute the volume. But I also didn't want to get embarrassed, so I changed my mind. But she was insisting that we play the movie. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Miss, kailangan pa ba talaga i-play?

SL: Yes, Sir, kasi kailangan naming i-note kung saang particular part yung sinasabi n'yong sira, kasi tatanungin din kami.

Me: Ganun ba? 'Wag na lang.

SL: Hindi, Sir, okay lang. I-play na natin para maituro mo kung nasaan yung sira.

Me: 'Wag na lang kasi nakakahiya. Kitang-kita ng mga dumadaan.

SL: Okay lang yan, Sir, pinanood na rin namin 'yan.

Me: 'Wag na nga, kasi not for the general public yung movie, restricted kaya yan, tsaka diyahe talagang makita yung exact frame kung saan nagha-hang yung movie. Tapos ang lakas lakas pa ng volume n'yo.

SL: Napanood na nga namin yan Sir. Kung gusto nyo, i-play n'yo na lang ulit sa bahay then i-note n'yo yung time code kung saan tumitigil. Tapos ibalik n'yo dito.

Me: Ah, so pwedeng ganun na lang?

SL: Opo, tapos i-play pa rin natin dito.

Me: Ha?! Ipe-play pa rin talaga dito? 'Wag na lang, Miss. Akin na, hindi ko na lang papapalitan. Diyahe talaga eh.

SL: Okay sige po.

And then I left. I was laughing at myself, thinking of what just happened. Oh well, I'd rather keep this disc even with a little damage, than risk being humiliated in front of other shoppers who would have seen the movie playing. Now, for those of you who are curious regarding the exact frame I was talking about, watch the original DVD release and set this time code: 00:22:11. You would know why I didn't agree to play it at the record bar. Hint: the scene involves Antonio (played by Kenjie Garcia) and Nathan (played by Niño Fernandez).

I should have asked them if they have a private viewing room or something. Haha.