The Phantom of the Opera.

The first time I heard about the story of the Phantom of the Opera was probably when I was in the first year of secondary school. My brother, who is a year older than me, received his English textbooks from school. One of them was the short novel of the Phantom of the Opera, originally written by Gaston Leroux.

I usually don't check my brother's books because why would I want to stress myself over education a year beyond me? But I was fine with English books because English was one of my favourite subjects. So, I read the novel.

Out of all the English literature books I read in secondary school including QWERTYUIOP, The Fruitcake Special and the Pencil, the Phantom of the Opera was my favourite of them all. The drama and the mystery surrounding the opera ghost was just more interesting than a haunted typewriter.

The second time I got to experience the story was with the movie released in 2004. With the movie version, I got to see the characters come to life, the grand opera house setting and most importantly, listen to the music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the musical play in 1986.

I think I watched the movie at least twice. I thought the phantom (played by Gerard Butler) was very attractive.

I thought I would never hear about the Phantom of the Opera in my life ever again. But a few months ago, my mother asked me if I was interested to watch the theatre play. I remember seeing the posters of the world tour around KL, so I asked her for more information.

So, it was actually my aunt and uncle who were thinking about catching the world tour. My uncle, who is a fan of classical music and plays, asked us if we wanted to join them. However, due to their schedule, there's no guarantee that they'll go (since the play is held in KL, and they're all the way in Penang).

Jonathan Roxmouth, Meghan Picerno, Matt Leisy

I thought it was a rare opportunity for the world tour to come by Malaysia, and it's even rare for me to actually know a plot of a play, so said yes, I would go. Even if my uncle and aunt can't make it, I would go. I eventually convinced my mom to join me too.

My aunt and uncle couldn't join in the end, but we still decided to buy our tickets.

The world tour in KL started in 15th of June, but our ticket was for show on the 27th of June. Leading up to our day of the show, my aunt told me her friend thought the play was quite boring. My online friend, who watched the show in Las Vegas, also told me she fell asleep watching the play (although she said she was tired from the travelling).

Despite the not-so-nice comments, I wanted to be positive about the show. I was still very excited. I even took a half day leave off my job, so that particular day was exceptionally exciting.

By 6:45PM on the 27th of June, me and my mom headed towards Istana Budaya. My mother forgot her phone, but I didn't turn back. We were glad we didn't turn back because there was heavy traffic all the way there, and we barely made it to the venue. We were so nervous in the car as there was also not enough parking in the area, but eventually the guards let us park at the side of a road.

The show started at 8:30PM, and I was starting to feel nervous. I didn't know what to expect because I never been to a theatre play. I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy the show. I was also worried that my mom would fall asleep because she always fall asleep when she's watching her dramas.

But the moment the sound of the pipe organ started playing the main theme, the feeling of excitement came over me. All my worries didn't immediately go away, but somehow I knew I could at least appreciate the music.

As the show went on, I was surprised that I could remember all the songs from the movie. I also recognised all the characters from the short novel I read when I was 13. I was so glad that I could enjoy every second of the play.

However, what impressed me most from the play was the stage setting, the props and backdrops and the wonderful costumes everyone wore.

I never knew you could create beautiful scenes with only so much space on a stage. I realised it must be very a complicated process to get everything and everyone to be in their place, for the stage to look like it was on top of a roof, or a lake under an opera house. I was in awe of the overall work that was put behind this play.

Me and my mom enjoyed the play very much. I'm also proud to say my mom didn't fall asleep.

I can understand why people would think the play was boring, or how it made people feel sleepy. First of all. the cast of the play were foreigners so maybe not everyone could understand their accent. Then, the characters were communicating through singing for most of the time, so it was even harder to hear their speech. I'll admit that I couldn't hear every word they sung, but at least I knew what was going on.

The bottom line is, if you didn't know the story or even the songs, you're gonna have a bad time. The group of people sitting beside my mom left during intermission, possibly because they didn't enjoy it. And the two aunties beside me were Googling for the plot because they didn't know what was going on. I was so glad I educated my mom about the basic plot before going there.

After the show ended, I was so glad that I went to watch the show. Even though the ticket was a little pricey, or the fact me and my mom had to sit through more than an hour of traffic, I thought it was very worth it. My only regret was that my aunt and uncle couldn't join us to watch this magnificent play.

I'm rather frustrated I couldn't express my excitement about the play to anyone except my mom, but I'm also happy that I can finally blog about something that isn't my feelings or something I'm gonna rant about. Finally, Joon went out and do something!

If you love drama, mystery and outstanding music, I recommend you to check out the Phantom of the Opera. I don't expect you catch the theatre play, but even the short novel or the movie would do. Definitely don't miss out on the music.