28

Scrolling through my Facebook news feed one night somewhere late last year, I stumbled upon a promotional material in the form of a teaser that had just the right number of details (to create enough suspense and curiosity) on the enthralling masterpiece ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber. In the beginning, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me as years ago when there was news about it (via a different medium), I was disappointed to find out that the cast and crew made a stop at a neighbouring country instead. In fact, just days before I spotted the teaser, I actually thought to myself that someone somewhere would one day bring my favourite musical to Malaysia. After having waited many years, and having missed the chance to watch it at London’s West End (when I was there for a holiday), whoever in charge must have read my mind because these people finally decided to stage the musical in Malaysia, as part of a world tour. As someone who has strong interests in the performing arts and literature, it’s no surprise why I feel ecstatic and can hardly wait to watch it. Hey, after all, I was one of the Malaysian schoolkids who did the abridged version of the novel in secondary school. Good timing to refresh my memory, you think?

The musical, based on the novel by the French author Gaston Leroux, is expected to run from 15 June 2019 to 7 July 2019 at Malaysia’s Istana Budaya, which has a capacity of about 1400 seats. Initially, it was announced that shows will run for a shorter period of two weeks. Hurray for more dates/shows! It is hoped that the musical will cleverly deliver the story of the young and gifted Christine and her mentor, the ‘Phantom’ who terrifies almost everyone in the Opera House.

Hailed as one of the longest-running West End productions, you can expect international cast members accompanied by a full 12-piece live orchestra that will perform against breath-taking backgrounds and special effects. There will be two timeslots/shows on Saturday and Sunday, and one timeslot/show on most weekdays.

Ticket prices, which don’t include both processing and handling fees, would vary according to the location of your seats. I’ve already collected my ticket(s) in advance, as I’m anticipating long queues at the ticket collection area/booth at the event venue – on the same day I’m planning to watch it. Who else is eagerly waiting for The Music of the Night?

In the meantime, I’m going to look for the unabridged version of the novel, which I bought separately to read for pleasure. I’m pretty sure it’s lying somewhere in one of my ‘library’ shelves at home. Wish me luck!