Ahhh so today is FINALLY the day! So as I told you guys I am seeing Phantom of Broadway today and I can't even express how excited I am. This is literally the most important day of my life thus far haha. I've been waiting for this for so long and I cannot believe it's actually happening!!!!!!! But anyway, I'll be updating this chapter as much as I can throughout the day but most of my updates will probably be tomorrow! So yeah, I just wanted to let you guys know so you can keep your eyes peeled for that!!!!!!

Also I'm so sorry I haven't been all that active as of late, I've been busy and preoccupied. I'll try to be more active in May as it's not as busy for me as the last few months have been, but I do have a lot of tests and such coming up but I'll try really hard I promise! 

But yeah! So I hope I don't seem too annoying the next few days about Phantom! I'm not trying to brag at all! I just want to share this with you all! :)

(But if it becomes annoying just tell me)

Omg guys!!! So I'm currently eating at a restaurant across from the theatre and I didn't realize that the theatre Anastasia is playing in is right next to the Majestic! Which means RAMIN KARIMLOO IS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited haha

OMG ITS INTERMISSION NOW AND I APOLOGIZE FOR TYPING IN ALL CAPS BUT I CANNOT EVEN EXPLAIN MY EXCITEMENT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE CAST AND EVERYTHING IS AMAZING AND ITS SUCH AN HONOR TO EVEN BE SITTING IN THIS THEATRE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!! SORRY FOR FANGIRLING SO MUCH!!!!!!!

Hi guys! So I just got home from NY and omg I can't even express everything right now!!!!!!!!! Today was the most perfect day EVER! I cannot wait to tell you all about it tomorrow!!!!! The show was soooooo amazing it's hard to put into words!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow I'll post an actual synopsis with conjoined thoughts instead of just mindless fangirling but to finish off I MET JAMES BARBOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to tell you guys everything tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!

Okay so this is now my official update. I'll try to write conjointly as much as possible without letting my excitement get the better of me.

So first, I went to lunch at John's Pizzeria which is right across the street from the Majestic. The restaurant is really pretty and the pizza is amazing! So then we had time before the show so we kind of just walked around. I was able to go see a ton of other Broadway theatres, specifically the Richard Rodgers which was really cool! There's also a Hamilton merchandise store which was amazing to go into as well, although everything is insanely expensive. Then we went to these little outdoor shops just to look around and have fun before heading to the theatre.

Now let me tell you, the theatre is GORGEOUS! On the inside and he outside, even the doors are spectacularly gilded and it was so amazing. So we went in and took our seats and whatever, but I had no idea that I was sitting so close!!!!!!!! I was third row, which I knew, but I didn't think it was a close as it was! I could see everything! Facial expressions and even their eye colors! I could hear Ali's costumes jingle or swish which was so amazing! There were times when I could hardly believe they were so close to me!

So the show: The beginning was fantastic! I love the auction scene and it was very chilling. The auctioneer was insanely creepy and spoke so slowly, but it was amazing. And first hearing the music box play excited me so much. And then of course when they revealed the chandelier it was just insane! And the overture, oh my gosh! There is nothing more amazing than watching the chandelier rise with that gorgeous gorgeous overture playing. So then Hannibal starts and oh my gosh I can't even tell you how amazing Carlotta was! Her voice was absolutely gorgeous!!!!! She was played by Janinah Burnett and she was really just fantastic. The managers were also really good! They were really funny and had wonderful facial expressions! So all in all the beginning was great. However, Christine wasn't really in the dance sequence that much but she showed up late and didn't really know what she was doing so that they could talk about her having her head in the clouds all the time so I thought that was really interesting. 'Think of Me' was amazing! Ali was phenomenal her voice is gorgeous! And Rodney Ingram as Raoul during this scene was so cute! He was one of the best Raouls I've ever heard and his acting was just outstanding. But anyway, 'Angel of Music' was also phenomenal. I really liked the girl who played Meg, she seems very young and innocent and I enjoyed it a lot. But then of course you get to the parts with the Phantom and from the very first moments of 'The Mirror' James Barbour blew me away! His voice is just something else (in a good way). Throughout the entirety of 'The Mirror' and 'The Phantom of the Opera' and 'Music of the Night' I'm pretty sure I couldn't breathe. I was actually at a loss of words! His Music of the Night had me in tears because of just how beautiful it was. Notes and Primma Donna and Poor Fool were also quite enjoyable and had everything I really loved in it! Also after Christine is announced to be the Countess, there's this really sweet part when she looks up at Raoul's box and he comforts her from there.  And! When the Phantom is killing Joseph Bouquet there are shadows projected behind the ballerinas that actually show it and then he falls from the ceiling which I thought added another level of fear which was cool! 'All I Ask of You' was simply wonderful and romantic! Although right before hand there's this wonderful add in of Raoul nearly storming off of the roof because he is upset with Christine. I loved that bit because I enjoy the humanizing of Raoul! And Christine and Raoul's kiss at the end was so romantic! It was so sweet. 'All I Ask of You Reprise ' was heartbreaking as usual, but it was really cool to see the Phantom rise up to nearly the ceiling, especially when he got angry at the end and the chandelier fell. It was really cool. The chandelier falling was amazing! I'm so happy I finally got to see it!!!!! So then of course it's intermission, and I love intermission because I love the entr'acte music.

So, after the curtain opened after intermissions and the stage was all set up for masquerade me and pretty much the rest of theatre actually  gasped out loud. It's gorgeous! The stairs and the mismosh of colorful costumes was really quite a sight! And when all the dancing started and everything it was even more magnificent! And don't even get me started on Red Death! That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!!!! When he said 'your chains are still mine you will sing for me' he rips the engagement ring necklace off of her and it's so cool and kind of scary because if the skeleton mask haha. 'Twisted Every Way' was also really amazing because to me that's a primal moment for Christine and Ali sang it really well, she actually at one point made it sound like she was angry at the Phantom when she sang 'so I become his prey do I have any choice,' which was really cool because that sets everything up for the final lair! And in the Don Juan rehearsal scene, I loved when the piano played itself because from where I was sitting I could actually see the keys and everyone stopped what they were doing and sang perfectly staring strait at the audience! It was absolutely chilling! Ali's 'Wishing you Were Somehow Here Again' also brought me to tears, it was so good and her voice was gorgeous! She performed it really really well. Wandering Child was also unbelievable! Especially the part where he says 'and now let it be war upon you both' and then the pyrotechnics come on. The Phantom being illuminated by the fire was the most powerful image I could ever fathom and I could actually feel the heat of the fire I was so close! 'Past the Point of No Return' was gorgeous as usual as well! I loved especially that James didn't touch Ali at all, he just wavered his hands over her, which I really liked. And when he sung 'All I Ask of You' to her, it broke my heart it was so sad. And then of course is the final lair. Okay first off Raoul had to jump from like the 'catwalk' into a hole in the floor and that was pretty scary. But the final lair was everything I hoped it would be and more! James brought so many elements to his Phantom, it was heartbreaking, terrifying, and simply insane. He did this wonderful thing where he would mouth words without actually saying them and his hand would shake violently to bring out the insanity of the Phantom. I loved loved loved those little details that he used! And Ali was amazing! She really brought out the strong side of Christine, but realistically! When she places herself in between the Phantom and Raoul, she's strong but she was shaking which I loved! Also James' 'you try try my patience make your choice' part sent shivers up my spine! I actually gasped out loud because he actually frightened me, which was a good thing. And then at the end, his 'Christine I love you' absolutely broke my heart. It was gorgeous! But after Christine had left he said it to himself a few more times with his voice breaking and everything and it was simply simply gorgeous! I cried so much! And 'it's over now the Music of the Night' was also heartbreaking! It was for sure one of the best final lairs I've ever seen! The whole production was just flawless. And o don't say flawless often. There was not a single thing that I did it like. I don't have a single complaint! It was truly everything I ever hoped and more and I'm still just over the moon about it!

The cast was phenomenal! James was just outstanding in every way an actor could be, and Rodney made me fall even deeper in love with Raoul! He was quite possibly the best Raoul I've ever seen or heard. Ali Ewoldt was everything I ever pictured Christine to be actually. Meg, Madame Giry, Richard, Firman, Piangi, Carlotta, Passarino, everyone was just amazing! I can't even express how wonderful the cast was!

And now as a total band kid I'm going to take this time to give a shoutout to the pit orchestra and Michael Lai who directed it, they sounded gorgeous! They were incredible and don't get enough credit!

Okay so now I'm just going to annoy you guys with pictures! I hope I'm not being too annoying haha.

So this is the ceiling of John's Pizzeria isn't it just gorgeous!?

That's obviously the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Theatre. It's really cool! There are like buttons that you can push outside and such! I'm not sure why Christian Borle is deformed though....

So that's obviously the Richard Rodgers which was really exiting to see! I think it's really one of the most gorgeous theatres.

This is a picture from the Hamilton mercy store which was really cool! The decorations are all really nice!

There's the Broadhurst! Anastasia looks so gorgeous!

The Majestic! I cannot get over it's beauty!

There's another view of the Majestic

That's my view from the stage....! How crazy is that??? I was sooo close! The stage is shockingly small which made it better haha.

This is a really terrible picture of the top of the stage and the curtain. That while piece surrounding the stage is really amazing and gorgeous!

Thats a horrible picture of the chandelier..... I apologize!

Central Park!

The city against the trees!

They have these adorable carriages with horses that you can ride in!

More Central Park

Sorry for the Central Park spam it's just so beautiful

Seriously guys, if you ever have a chance to go to Central Park in the spring

Central Park

Like how pretty is this!?

I'm a horrible person and I took a picture of a really cute couple without their knowledge.... but it's just so cute.

I love the this city.

Okay I'm going to have make a second part for pictures because I've apparently 'reached my image limit'.

Also sorry I posted this all so late as I've said before I have lots of tests which means lots of homework that I had to do today.