The Phantom Returns

We just finished a very successful Halloween season. Sam was a dementor (from Harry Potter) and Lucy was a flamenco dancer. J went as Bob Ross and I went as a witch. But a day or two before Halloween, Sam started talking about the costume that he wants to wear for Halloween next year. He said that he wanted to be the Phantom of the Opera, which surprised me because I didn't know that he was really familiar with that character. Anyhow, he started peppering me with questions about the Phantom and his costume, and finally two nights ago I pulled out my soundtrack of the original London cast so that he could hear. Since then, he's listened to the soundtrack several times, and he sings along with the help of either the lyrics book or sheet music. He's listening to it now while I type. He has also started to figure out how to play the songs on the piano, and last night he watched the 2004 film on Netflix. Lucy is getting into the spirit of Phantom too, and she tries to squeakily sing the high notes that Christine Daae hits.

It's really fun for me to see this sudden and intense interest in The Phantom of the Opera, because it reminds me of how I became obsessed with that show when I was just a year older than Sam is now. My dad took our family to see the show when we lived in Denver, since one of his patients was the understudy for the Phantom. I remember we had really good seats too, in the front and only about six rows from the stage. I was blown away by the set, music, and costumes, and then after the show we got a backstage tour from this patient, which made the whole event utterly unforgettable. I became obsessed with the show. I even remember finding a book at the library with the contact addresses of famous people, and I wrote a letter to Michael Crawford to let him know how much I loved his voice.

At this time, I had converted the closet of my bedroom into a reading room. I had pulled in some pillows and a lamp so I could comfortably read while sitting on the floor. I remember reading Gaston Leroux's book and comparing how the phantom Erik was different from the one in the musical. I thought the phantom was the epitome of masculinity back then, which is funny now.

Sam isn't interested in the phantom for his "masculinity," but he likes how the phantom is spooky and plays the organ. He's impressed with how he knows his way around the opera house and can pull off creepy pranks. And he likes the idea of wearing a fancy mask, hat and suit for Halloween. We'll see if he ends up wearing this costume next year. Regardless, I think this interest in the musical is going to last for a while. And this is fun for me, since I get to relive my own past a little bit and think about what it was like when I was about Sam's age. So far Lucy has been the one who is keenly interested in musicals, but it is apparent that Sam has a little bit of my genes too.