I watched The Phantom of the Opera in Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. last night. It was amazing. Although I knew every bit of the story and know many of the songs by heart, still I was thrilled. The performance was great, vocals were heavenly, and the stage design was magnificent. I liked the performance more than the 2004 movie (I’ve seen the older movie too, but I was a child and don’t remember it very well.) The phantom was humanized, his flaws of character were shown more vividly, and his make up was more monstrous. In the movie, the phantom’s make-up was just a joke and he was so good looking that his bitterness could not be justified. But I could feel the phantom’s agony in last night’s performance. I hated him, I loved him, and more than anything, I associated with him. I could feel how it is to be lonesome, to be excluded, to be forced to hide, while the result of your work will be out there praised, with no credit to you. Hell I can even feel how it is to be deprived of love because of a superficial “flaw.” I’ve been a phantom myself for a long time, so I know how it feels. I just never had the courage to become a villain.
Read the Washington Post’s review of the performance here.
Lady Sun 
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
Saturday, August 4, 2007 at 11:40 am
hamjenseman
من مطلب شما را که 2 سال پیش نوشته بودید در مورد کنفراسی که همه زنان همجنسگرا بودن را خواندم .اگر شما مشکلی ندارید از شما اجازه می خواهیم که مطلب شما را در نشریه خود به بگذاریم.خوشحال می شوم بتوانم بعد از 2 سال نطر شما را اکنون دوباره بدانم.
http://www.gfiran.bravehost.com/
قابل توجه تمام زنان همجنسگرای ایران زمین از 27 مرداد سال 86 نشریه ی الکترونیکی “همجنس من” فعالیت خود را رسما اعلام می نماید. این نشریه هر ماه از طریق E-mail و Website قابل دسترسی برای شما عزیزان می باشد. مطالب این نشریه تنها در مورد زنان همجنسگرا است که خود شامل بخشهای ادبی (شعر)، هنری (فیلم، موسیقی، شخصیت های هنری) پزشکی (سکس)، مشاوره ی لزبین (خانواده، دوست دختر) و دوست یابی می باشد. از عزیزانی که تمایل به همکاری دارند خواهشمندیم با hamjenseman@gmail.com تماس گرفته و مطالب خود را برای ما ارسال نمایند.
هدف نشریه ی “هم جنس من” ترغیب کردن، شجاعت دادن، آموزش دادن و کمک کردن به کسانیست که قلبا زندگی همجنسگرایی را انتخاب کرده اند. به امید آزادی و آزادانه نفس کشیدن.
—
خورشید: خوشحالم که مجله اتون شروع به کار می کنه. مبارکه! ولی اگه می شه اون مطلب رو منتشر نکنین. اون حس شخصی من در اون زمان بود. از اون موقع دو سال گذشته و مسلما نظرم عوض شده و دیگه تب نمی کنم وقتی زن همجنسگرا می بینم!
Friday, August 17, 2007 at 1:05 am
David
I saw one of the phantom movies a long time ago, but I don’t remember the story very well. Strange, I don’t remember him being a villain.
Did you ever watch the TV show Beauty and the Beast starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman as the man/lion? I really enjoyed that show! I think there are some similarities between that story and Phantom of the Opera.
—
Lady Sun: There’s certainly a villain element in his character, at least the way I read it. But what I like is that his character is very complicated and nuanced. I’ve watched Beauty and the Beast Disney cartoon, not the TV show. Well, they can be similar a little bit. But the phantom is not a beast. He’s a human being with all the emotions and qualities of a person. The only problem is that he has a facial defect that has ended into his loneliness. The main element of the opera in my idea is his loneliness and the fact that he should hide because of his face, while he has a big talent in opera singing. Loneliness is the key word in this play in my idea!