Past the point of no return...

The Opera Ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the boxkeepers, the cloak room attendants, or the concierge. No, he existed in flesh and blood, though he assumed the outward characteristics of a real phantom, that is to say, of a shade.
~Gaston Leroux, author of "the Phantom of the Opera"

...No backward glances...

Welcome to my Phantom of the Opera phan page. I’ve loved the story of the Phantom since 1993 when my cousins introduced me to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical one summer while I was visiting. I was hooked to that and Les Misérables. I thought everything about the musical divine. A year or two before, our families had seen a melodrama version of Phantom. It was certainly entertaining, but outside of the tall Phantom with a small ponytail and heads popping in and out of doors, I don’t recall much. I really liked the story, but at that time was not aware of what it was based on. I lived a fairly sheltered life overseas in northern Japan, but was lucky enough to have a close friend with whom I could share the passion. I lived off the cassette (until CDs came out) along with the novel by Leroux, and several film versions. It took what seemed like forever, but I finally saw the musical on Broadway in 1997 as a birthday present from my parents. My eyes were glued to the stage as I sat entranced by the events unfolding before me. It was all very surreal after the 4 years of waiting. The story, the passion, it all touches to the depths within...

Sadly, this site is no longer where it was. I can't really bring myself to remove the 7-year old ribbon, especially with the film that was recently released. I wasn't hugely surprised at the disappointment it left behind and I'll leave it at that.