Phantom of the Opera

Here it is around noon on Monday, already.  It was a fantastic weekend, commencing with the best date of my life on Friday night;  We took a limo into the city (while drinking toasts of Asti Spumanti) to see 'Phantom of the Opera' at the Majestic Theatre, and then to dinner at an absolutely marvelous Venetian restaurant called 'Osteria Al Doge'.

The performance was magnificent (Elysia cried throughout the whole thing! She loved it!).  The sets, the costumes, the voices!!  It was just unbelievable.

There was a woman in line when we were out front who was wearing a service star pin on her dress.  This originated during World War II when parents would display a small white flag with a star for each son or daughter who was serving in the military.  Gold stars indicated how many had died in service to their country.  I spoke to her, and asked her what branch of service her son or daughter was serving in, and where he or she was.  She told me that her son was in the army, and that he was in Felujah, Iraq.  She herself had served in the Air Force.  She pointed to the pins on my lapel (Special Forces Distinctive Unit Insignia and a Ranger Tab) and asked when I had been in the service.  I told her that I had also served a tour in the air force prior to joining the army, we had served at approximately the same time.  I told her that her son would be fine, and wished her well.  I used the tone of voice of an experienced Sergeant First Class who would naturally know these things.  I could tell that she needed to hear this and that she was happy to hear it.  I only hope that I predicted correctly.  I feel compelled to reach out to other service members and also to their families.  We share a common bond, and it means a lot to me when others reach out to me... I expect it may be the same for others.  The line started to move inside, and we parted ways.

The 'Majestic Theatre' really lives up to its name... it is truly 'majestic'!!  Its an old building, built in the 1920s, and you really feel as though you are someplace special when you are in that place.  

I was an actor for many years, from when I was about 8 years old, until I was 17.  Walking in to the theatre brought back nostalgic feelings of many summer stocks, off-Broadway productions, and other theatre companies that I had worked with...  I could see in my mind's eye all of the commotion that was taking place back stage.  Although I never think of those times on a conscious level, it must still rattle around in there, because I find (somewhat surprisingly, as it turns out..) that I miss that feeling that is unique to the theatre...  being part of a company, the frenetic activity as everything is made ready for the upcoming performance... the sound of the audience as they get seated and converse excitedly amongst themselves... the smell of greasepaint, the jokes and grabass humor that is so much a part of every acting company...  I had forgotten, on some level at least, what those feelings were like..  and I was caught somewhat off-guard by the nostalgia that washed over me.  It was good to be in a theatre, again... on either side of the curtain.

(TIME SHIFT:  It suddenly got incredibly busy, and stayed that way... Believe it or not, it is now Wednesday night, 12:00AM)

When we left the theatre, we had the limo driver drop us off right in front of  ‘Osteria Del Dogé’.  It was really great not having to walk for blocks, or fight to find a parking spot, or worry about catching the next train so that we don’t have to wait for hours for the next one…

The restaurant was perfect!  The food was out of this world, and we were the only native English speakers in the whole place!  The quiet murmur of conversation all around us was in Italian… if we avoided looking out through the window, it felt as though we were in a quiet restaurant in Venice!!

The night couldn’t have been any better.  We had the greatest time together, and what’s more, we will share this memory for the rest of our lives!!