Phantom of the Opera

Why do the really good things in life pass too quickly and the really hard things seem to grab us in a choke hold and hang on forever?



Thursday night ended way too soon. My wonderful father-in-law sent all of us Abbott women (and two oldest granddaughters) on a girls night out to see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Venetian. I highly recommend it. It was the best show that I've ever seen. My favorite show is Les Miserable, but this production of Phantom is unparalleled to anything I've ever experienced. I'm sure that sitting in the fifth row, with the best company, and the backstage tour afterward contributed to the magic of the night!

This is us before the show(from left to right): Mandy, Susanna, Diana, Andrew (I know-not a girl, but he was our backstage pass connection) Amanda, me and in front it is Josie and Katie.

This is us after the show and after our backstage tour given by Marc Cedric Smith (center back) He was so kind to come out before the show greet us, give us programs, a brief overview, and show us what parts he was playing during the play. It was an unbelievable show and then seeing the behind the scenes made it truly that much more wonderful!

It was fun to share this experience with my daughter. We were a little concernced about how she would handle the show. She is more sensitive to things than the average nine year old girl. We did our best to prepare her for it. Jon told her the story line and played the music from it. Just as the show started I leaned over and reminded her, "If you get scared, just remember it isn't real." Periodically during intense parts I would hear her mumbling to herself, "This isn't real. This isn't real." (She is great at self talk. . . sometimes I think she talks out loud to herself more than me). At the end of the show when the phantom tells Christine that she must stay with him forever or watch Raoul be killed, I watched Josie's horified face. I saw a little relief on her face when the Phantom finally releases Christine and Raoul and thought that we were out of the woods. I thought that we had truly made it through the show with Josie intact (only a few gasps and head burried in the program on two or three occassions). I was wrong. When the Phantom watches them leave and starts to cry, it took a minute to realize why the crying seemed to be in surround sound. My poor Josie was just sobbing in almost the same rythm and tone as the Phantom. Then I heard a low broken sob, "I know exactly how he feels". Oh my arm went around her and I tried to comfort her telling her, "he'll be o.k." and she says, "mom he just wants to be loved!" She is such a tender sweet child. She loved the experience and has been singing the songs ever since.

Now what girls night out would be complete without food? We went to the Grand Lux Cafe inside the Venetian and enjoyed seven (yes seven) of the most delicious desserts--Thanks Amanda! My mouth is salivating as I type and look at this picture. I had the apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. Susy had the carrot cake. Katie had an enormous piece of chocolate cake, Diana had raspberry cheesecake, Josie had oreo cheesecake (she is such a mix of her grandma Abbott and me- I love the oreos and Diana love the cheesecake), Mandy had strawberry shortcake, and Amanda had creme brulee (chocolate and vanilla). This was the before shot. I guess I could have taken an after picture, but there wasn't anything left but a few crumbs! We passed our plates and sampled them all and talked and laughed and solved all of the world's problems and enjoyed every minute of our time away.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then here are a few thousand to express the joy of the night!

I'm so grateful for the men in our lives who made this wonderful night happen. They were left at home without us and in charge of 14 kids (each in their own hell I mean home)

The night has ended and now it is back to the choke hold!