Softly, Deftly, Music Shall Caress You

Today's blog is an honest assessment of a very recent outing.

Hear it, Feel it Secretly Possess You

I am sure that most people will agree; the best dates, the ones you really enjoy, are usually those for which you have no preconceived expectations, you just sit back close your eyes and let “the music of the night” take you …  Yes that is right, we went to see the Phantom of the Opera and without doubt it was the best date my wife and I have been on for a long, long time.  

 What made the show that much more special, that much more enjoyable was the entire ensemble was, without doubt worth their weight in gold. High School students usually are.  It was just last summer that the announcement was made: Andrew Lloyd Weber released the rights to perform “Phantom of the Opera”.   My son’s high school (North Hunterdon) was one of the first in a long, long line of colleges and other high schools that had been waiting…, dreaming…, for a chance to

Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar

And you live as you’ve never lived before

Only in this case they sang as I’ve never heard before in a High School performance.  I would not be surprised if each and every lead awoke on Broadway tomorrow, to standing ovations because the ovations they received when I saw the show were true, after each and every song.

My hat is off to the North Hunterdon High School Theater Organization and to Mrs. Meo for any arm twisting she had to do to get the school behind her and go after the license.  And that of course was only the beginning of her efforts as director.  Luckily help was there from all angles, too numerous to remember if I didn’t have a copy of the program sitting nearby.  Kudos to all of the school and support staff and parents, and the student interns as well as the cast and stage crew.  Getting the singing, dancing, acting, stage props and of course the chandelier in place and on time was…, well it was a work of art.  I have heard many different voices performing these songs in the past but never will I forget the cast on opening night, Taylor, Nicole, Stephen, Michelle, Andrew and all the rest.  Congratulations.

All I had to do was sit back, close my eyes and listen as …

Softly, deftly, music shall caress you

Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you

Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind

In this darkness that you know you cannot fight

The darkness of the music of the night

Musical theater can make for a very memorable date, especially when you are sitting next to your wife, holding hands wiping tears away from each other’s eyes as each emotional song was executed to perfection, and of course thinking of our son Paul who, as assistant director, helped put this work of art in front of our eyes.