To say that I had mixed feelings about seeing The Phantom of the Opera again last Wednesday night would be an understatement. When I received the invite, I RSVP’ed only because I wanted to see Norm Lewis and Sierra Boggess together.

Our seats were lovely, Row N in the orchestra. I could see the Phantom wherever he happened to pop up without craning my neck.

And do you know what else was lovely? The show. I really enjoyed it. Having not seen it in a good 8 years combined with having been in the middle of reading 50 Shades of Grey made it a whole new experience for me. When I was younger I never quite caught on to the explosive sexuality if the show, but since I was expecting to be bored, this was a refreshing surprise.

Lewis and Boggess were jaw-droppingly amazing. Their chemistry was fantastic and their voices were flawless. My two reasons to revisit the show after so many years were well worth the trip. The rest of the cast was great too, but Boggess and Lewis stole the show (as they should).

If you’re thinking that you want to see these two in their roles but are dreading sitting through this tourist favorite again, fear not! Just go. It’ll be worth it.

Tickets were provided by the production.

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I’m late the game, extremely. Considering that Porgy and Bess opened in December at the Richard Rodgers Theatre and it’s now April (well, March when I saw it). I bought a ticket from TDF and finally sat down last week, ready to take it in. I had no idea what Porgy was about, I only knew that it was an operetta and that it was long. Honestly, I had mixed feelings about seeing it. I wanted to see Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis onstage together, but I wasn’t sure this was the show for me. 

Porgy is about a small town in South Carolina in the 1930’s, and two people who meet (Porgy and Bess). Bess is a harlot of sorts and has been with the same abusive boyfriend for a while, so we’re lead to believe. While Porgy is a crippled man who’s a recluse most of the time, though he has a friend here and there. They meet, fall for each other, and the rest is the story.

The score is absolutely gorgeous, especially when sung by McDonald and Lewis, but the script itself left a lot to be desired. It felt slow (although I have to say the show in it’s entirety didn’t actually feel that long – it went by pretty quickly) and I think the topic matter was just a tad boring, maybe dated is the word.

And the ending? Well, that was a let down. It was depressing (but operas are usually depressing, right?).  I’m glad I saw Porgy and Bess, and I think that if you’re a theatre person, you should definitely see it too.