Day 22... Phantom of the Polka?

Ok. I was really excited all day because I went to see Phantom of the Opera today. I got ready and dressed all nice. Kami and Chris wanted to come along. We got on the bus and went to the Audimax and bought tickets. the tickets were 50 euros which is more than we expected. We expected around 30 euros. I bought a program and we went in to find our seats. When we sat down we could only see about half the stage. These were terrible seats. Luckily or unluckily we got way better seats. 8 rows from the front! The lady told us to move down there and fill in the seats. This was looking much brighter by this time. We noticed when we walked in that there was no chandelier. This was a little upsetting to us. Then I look on stage and there was a huge screen. GREAT.... I thought they are going to film it falling down. This was not looking brighter anymore.

So the lights dim and we get ready. This is one of my favorite shows so I was really excited. I turned to Kami and said "Wouldn't it be funny if they just played the movie and we paid 50 euros. Thankfully this did not happen. (Although it might have been better) So the show starts. The Phantom is the first one out. "Ok," I think "It's just going to be a little different." Then, I kid you not the phantom brings out a balloon and starts dancing with the balloon and pulls out a pin "POP!" goes the balloon. My Thought process was "Ok, so this is weird..." then the phantom brings out a banana. He puts the banana down on the floor, then THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS! some one trips over the banana. Christine comes out sings a little Opera, no words just "ah." Ok, so the show goes on for a while and there are no songs that sound anything like the Phantom I know. OH, And by the way I should say there was no song that sounded anything like the Phantom I know. BECAUSE THEY SANG THE SAME SONG OVER AND OVER AGAIN. NO CHANGING MELODIES! over and over and over and over... GRRRRR.

Well, you all remember that part where I thought "Oh they probably filmed the chandelier falling." ha ha. not funny. The chandelier was about the size of my head. It wiggled and fell, not very climatically, onthe screen. Then a strobe light went off and Kami and I just look at each other like "Really? That's it? I'm glad I paid money to see this."

I forgot to mention that the Phantom was a real Creeper. He had that part down flat! i wish I had got a picture of him. But oh well. So the phantom sings a song (The same one we have been hearing for the past 8 times...) before intermission, but it was so weird because he ended and some one started clapping but then stopped. The phantom exits the stage. Then we all just sit there for a minute wondering whats going on. Well, then some one starting clapping again and we all joined in. It was one of the most awkward intermissions I have ever encountered. Kami and I were so lost because it was nothing like the real phantom story but Chris speaks German so at least he knew what was going on. He filled us in on parts we didn't get. Apparently what confused the audience according to Chris was that the phantom said "I'm coming back." Well, we all thought he meant right then but apparently he meant after intermission. oh......

BUT Let me tell you the second act really started to pick up... (this is me being sarcastic). By this time everything that was happening on stage was funny. I couldn't take this show seriously (probably for sanity reasons.) Well Raoul, who was dressed in a stripped suit for no reason, and Christine were on the roof. Raoul gets out a gun and shoots towards the curtain. It scared everyone in the theater. Then they sing the same song all over again.

OK! My favorite part! So, I'm assuming the girl that is playing meg, walks down the dungeon (which is just a screen that has a tunnel on it) and whispers to something off stage. She walks off stage and a police man tells her and who ever she is with to come out. She walks out holding a fake Cat. WHAT? She says to the police man "Oh, I was just talking to my cat." Then (this is the best part) process to CHUCK the cat off stage. From backstage comes this "MMMEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" which sounds like a cat is being run over by a car. I LOSE IT! So does Kami. We cannot stop laughing. I'm shaking in my chair because I can't be to loud. I didn't want to upset the people who actually thought this was a good show. So then as I'm trying to calm myself down the phantom jumps on stage and falls to the ground and starts singing. We both lose it again. I couldn't see Chris so I don't know if he was laughing as well. THEN, as if it was hard enough already the phantom (while an opera is going on) is hiding behind a plant and then decides to kill a guy on stage with a knife. The ballerinas find him and scream and run off stage. Christine and Raoul see him and do nothing. The stage managers walk by and do nothing. The SECURITY guard looks at the guy and does nothing. Then Finally the inspector sees him and is like "I'll take care of this," then proceeded to DRAG the man off the stage. I let out a really loud "ha." And some people looked at me. I didn't mean to, it was just way to funny.

The show ended and the actors came out to bow. Well, they all came out one by one then took a bow with everyone. Then they did that same thing again. And then they did it once more. This is the longest time I have spent clapping for a show. My arms were tired so I just stopped. It was an interesting night and defiantly a story to tell.

We then headed back to the Hostel by bus. While we were riding we realized somehting about the show that we didn't catch on. So when Raoul and Christine were on the roof, Raoul shot offstage. After he shot, Christine asked "what was it?" he said "oh, just a cat." AH HA! I turned to Kami and Chris and said "I GET IT! The phantom is the cat!" We all realized that. Finally the show made a little bit more sense. And then I giggled even more because Andrew Lloyd webber wrote Phantom of the Opera and he also wrote Cats. Wow. So much connection.

Anyways that was a very different night.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:
-Leave for Vienna!

Liebe,
Courtney