Wait!  Wait!  Put down your pitchforks.  I am not lauding the last movie incarnation of The Phantom of the Opera.  You hire Joel Schumacher to direct your film, you get what you deserve.  What I wanted to do with this week’s My Favorite Scene is illustrate how a film can take a play or a musical and do something with it you could never do in the theater.

I thought we were off to the races with this opening scene as a grainy, gritty present is whipped back in time as the camera pans the theater; lanterns alighting, cobwebs disappearing, upholstery plush and the full magnificence of the opera house is brought to life in a way you just couldn’t on-stage.  And then King Leonidas began to sing…..

Phantom is my favorite musical, though I’ve never seen it performed live.  I was supposed to today actually with my wife, Janice.  With her passing I couldn’t go.  Her joy for the venture was what made it come to life for me.  So hum a couple bars for me today; this one’s for Jan.