The red carpets were rolled out in front of the beautiful and historic Orpheum Theatre and the people came in droves filling the building to maximum capacity on Wednesday night for the much anticipated opening night of the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's legendary "The Phantom Of The Opera."

When entering you receive a playbill that has lots of useful information about the cast, understudies, orchestra and the scenes/musical numbers.

From my observation the majority of the audience was very polite to one another and mostly made up of well dressed, seasoned theater goers, and the other half were likely there to cross off a trip to the theater from their bucket lists.

For those who don't know much about The Phantom Of The Opera it is a classic tale of seduction, romance, revenge and unrequited love. It serves as a good reminder of the golden rule. (treat others the way you want to be treated) and an opportunity to teach those with children to not judge others by their appearance, but to simply accept them for who they are.

From the opening Overture in Act 1 I knew that we were all in for a real treat. Some of the moments that really stood out for me from Act 1 were...

SCENE 2. After The Gala: Angel Of Music was performed and that is

when Christine first found her voice.

SCENE 4. The Labyrinth Underground: when The Phantom and Christine sing the Phantom Of The Opera together while exiting the top of the tower, stairs magically appear from the side of the building as they make their way to the boat.

SCENE 10. All I Ask Of You: Was the most dramatic and heart felt scene from Act 1 as I could hear some of the women seated next to me softly crying and sniffling. There were also many of laughs throughout with the right amount of comedy added to the show. It left me wanting more and it was only just the beginning of better things to come.

Act 2- Twelve months later

SCENE 1. The Grand Ballroom at the Opera House, New Year's Eve: Masquerade/Why So Silent?: Was the most enjoyable scene of the night. The stage was set in a ballroom with a giant antique oval mirror above the performers as they sang and danced. The women wore beautifully lush and colorful gowns while the men wore suits and at times wore silly masks throughout the number. The cast was saluted with thundering applause as they took the stage for the final strains of their performance.

That's as far as I'm going to go without giving away too much. I made sure to leave plenty of unmentioned surprises along the way in both acts. I went thinking that I was going to be antsy, and struggle through to the intermission between both acts but the truth is it was absolutely outstanding! The beautiful Orpheum Theatre was the perfect place to unleash your emotions and had me and the other audience members breathless on the edge of our seats wanting more, exhausted with drama as well as enthused and inspired.

The orchestra blew me away with their performance the entire show. The cast was top notch and hit every possible range with their voices spot on and it almost seemed effortless for them to hit such striking notes throughout. The visual effects and pyrotechnics were impeccable. The Phantom Of The Opera is a must see for every adult looking for something amazing to do in the Twin Cities. I met a few couples who came from Iowa, the Dakota's even greater Minnesota (Duluth) to see the show announcing that it was well worth the drive.

The show runs from December 18th through January 5th 2014. For tickets, times and complete show details click here.

Contributed by Tommy Williams Photography

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