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scooby-review · 6 months ago

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Scooby Doo Where are You? S1 E9-E12

9. The Backstage Rage

The Backstage Rage is an episode I don’t see talked about all too much! There’s not really any representation through merchandise, he doesn’t have any reappearances like many of the villains in Where are You? merely receiving a comic adaptation, which as far as I can tell, every episode did. Yet, this is one of my favourites for sure.

This episode follows the gang heading to an abandoned theatre after a case of counterfeit money is stolen from them by a puppet. It’s a simple concept, yet they push the villain and theming perfectly, the episode focusing more on its atmosphere and scares rather than jokes, it’s something we rarely see, yet when we do it works so much better. Similarly to how Zombie Island managed to terrify so many people, because when you know one thing for so long and suddenly it’s all wrong, the tone darker and more serious, you suddenly feel a whole lot less safe. Of course, this episode doesn’t fully commit to a darker tone, but it does feel creepier in many places!

I think this episode's strongest quality is the Puppet Master, through the strong themes he draws in, his great design and general creepiness spread throughout the episode. To start with his design, he feels somewhat evocative of the titular Phantom of the Opera, specifically through the masks of the 1943 movie and the cloak, it’s not all too overt, yet the characters definitely feel connected. Curiously, this is one of three links to the Universal Monster movies within the four batches of episodes here, a strange coincidence! It’s also the least obvious of them. Beyond this however, I just find the colours to be so strong, he feels so ominous with his darkened cloak, the only streak of colour within his cape, a flowing river of crimson.

The villain’s plot here is counterfeiting money, which ties perfectly into the theme of the puppets, these wooden inventions created for the sole purpose of tricking those who see them into believing them to be human, but they’re not. They’re fakes, cheap imitations that keep people long enough to realise they’ve been tricked, by which time it’s too late. We see this in the opening as Scooby is tricked by a girl dog (you can tell because she’s a white poodle with a pink bow), focusing on her while his money is stolen. This all links perfectly with the counterfeit money, it looks real and by the time you realise it’s not, it’s too late. Thematically, this episode is likely the strongest.

Also the puppets just rule. Specifically a scene where the gang talk to a doorman, Pietro, returning later after a chase where they talk to him, his head slipping down his body. He was a puppet. It’s such an eerie scene, and sure, he’s the villain in reality, the first time we meet him it’s actually him, I think, but it’s such a great way of switching the way the audience is thinking, it’s unsettling and perfect.

There’s so many new puppets, we see a show later on, watching as they’re animated seemingly without any control. The trope of haunted dolls can be seen throughout time, in media ranging from Goosebumps to The Conjuring. They aren’t haunted come the end, but the presence of the Puppet Master gives this idea of him controlling them without being there, the ruler of the puppets. It’s great and I love it so much.

All this ties in perfectly with the setting of the abandoned theatre, the backgrounds filled with costumes and generating a generally creepy tone. Within the theatre there’s a door hidden within a harp case! It’s such a cool and weird little idea I love it! The theatre comes to life with its patented Scooby-Doo secret passageways! One of which comes to life through the use of musical notes, which is reminiscent of the film The Ghost Breakers, which Ruby-Spears cited as a huge inspiration during the creation of the show.

I also made a few notes on the animation in this episode! One moment depicts Scooby shaking his head, but his face is animated so fluidly, it’s slow and janky sure, but parts of his face move that previously have always been static, giving a really long and jarring sequence that I really don’t love! However, Pietro and his puppet Johnny are animated so well here, for sure it looked the best the show ever has to me, so that’s worth pointing out! All the puppetry here is animated so well! Just a really great one! Not sure why it isn’t more popular! Looking on IMDB it’s like the middle of the rankings, but I’m not sure how representative it is of peoples thoughts overall, most websites ranking things tend to be kind of a bubble, it depends on the users there. But regardless, I love this, one of my favourites ever!

10. Bedlam in the Big Top

This episode sees the gang stumbling across a circus, learning that it’s haunted by a ghost clown. It’s such an iconic episode based on this alone, the character and the setting are instantly recognisable! I think with this being the show's first iteration, other than the repeated haunted houses or castles, we don’t see much repetition in where the gang go, or what kind of villain they face, other than most of them being ghosts. Because of that it makes Where are You?’s villains the most memorable, but of course, time is also a factor. Plus, I think the villains stand out so much because they do a lot of the heavy lifting in these more formulaic episodes. Whereas looking at something like Mystery Incorporated, most probably think of Mr. E rather than a specific monster. This version of the show is defined by aesthetics, which the monster’s seep into heavily.

As a child, I was terrified of clowns, I think for most this is a result of their looks and the inability to communicate, although I personally was afraid after going to the circus and having a fear of participating. However in pop-culture, a fear of clowns can be derived usually from the evil clown trope. Now people likely think of Pennywise as the definitive scary clown, he’s the mascot for it now. Simply however, the trope comes from a subversion, clowns throughout history are intended to be funny, their origins dating back to classical Greek plays. Although the creepy clown trope can be dated back at least to Edgar Allan Poe’s “Hop-Frog”, the creepy clown trope of the late 60s likely comes from The Joker, who, outside of the horror genre, is the most popular creepy clown. Yet, the trope was young at the time of this episode’s release, often cited as a pretty early example of the trope; every few decades there’s a resurgence in what ignites the trope, such as serial killers, books and movies and the 2016 internet fuelled craze. The entire concept is loaded and there’s a plethora of reasons why we find clowns scary, but a lot of the modern scary clown comes from depictions we see, such as the ghost clown within this episode.

I think the ghost clown carries a lot of this pretty solid episode, it’s a long spiel of his antics, they’re pretty fun playing on the circus setting, and while scary for sure, the episode is very gag driven rather than clue driven. Usually these are the two directions a Where are You? episode will go in, following clues that lead to the capturing of the villain, or the villain taunts them in a series of gags. Both work, and this one definitely takes the right option for its subject.

Most of the horror of this one comes from the clown’s hypnotism abilities, where he will hypnotise a member of the gang to do something like Daphne on the unicycle or Scooby on the tightrope. Ultimately, these play out the same, it gives a sort of repetition to the episode that harms it, but it’s still an enjoyable time using its setting to great effect.

Plus the clown has such a striking design, the bright flashy red costume and bulbous nose contrasting with the white makeup, it’s perfect! His design is just off putting, but again, I think that maybe comes from growing up in a society afraid of clowns, likely more so than the 1969 audience!

Despite mentioning a redundancy, I will say I love the rubber ladder and balloon popping sequences. The first is merely a silly gag, it works well in the context of the episode placing a new roadblock in the gang's way, but the balloon popping is tense, it shows how the clown is ready to place the gang in actual harm's way. This all links into the villain being the most evil we have seen so far, his motive being that he was fired from the circus and sent to prison, therefore he wanted revenge, this revenge either being closing the circus down for good, murder, or both! Who knows, but the episode is unique in how willing they are to place the gang in danger, although the only one that really works for me is the Scooby one. The previous episode did this better I feel, putting the gang in more physical danger, yet not over doing it.

I also love Shaggy’s characterisation here! Again, we see a sporty side to him, I think he’s maybe the best written character of the gang, with Daphne and Fred being the weakest despite having some merit. But having him do track at school not only makes the world feel more alive, but the character feels deeper!

Pretty fun one! Love the gorgeous backgrounds here and the villain a whole bunch, plus the gags are mostly good too! I completely get why the clown is so merchandised and popular.

11. A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts

What a fun little title!

A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts follows the gang entering Franken Castle, despite warnings from a nearby fortune teller of an unfavourable fate if they do.

I’m not going to discuss the fortune teller in a similar depth to most the other characters here, mostly because the character is pretty infamously a racist caricature of a Romani fortune teller, who ultimately is a white man in a costume, which around this time was likely how many people saw these types of people, their culture reduced to a single image slathered across pop-culture and halloween costumes. Consistently the character is described with a slur. The entire character here sucks, and it’s a trope within this season, at least, that if a non-white character appears, they’re the villain, which we can see in the following episode, and I believe is only broken in the finale. Still, this character is marketed and popular, despite more awareness about this depiction being harmful, this character lives on.

Other than this aspect, I enjoy how the episode is a fun tribute to classic monster movies, it feels like House of Dracula or House of Frankenstein, in the way it includes three classical characters, all running around a castle. It’s so much fun seeing the three of them running around here! I’ll move through them all before getting any deeper into the episode.

Firstly, we have Dracula, who is by far my favourite of the three. Created by Bram Stoker, the character’s design echoes the Universal Monster’s design for him, with a black cloak and red lining and a more human appearance rather than being ghoulish. Being the only one of the three who talks, Dracula stands out amongst the rest, and sure, all of them are distinctive, I think he carries the episode where the others are unable to, he offers something completely different, being mostly human. Cognitively, he can think better than the other two creatures, therefore, delivering some humanity. Also I love his ability to turn into a bat, so fun, and I’m also a big fan of the white, chalky skin he has.

Next we meet Frankenstein’s Monster, this look again is directly inspired by the Universal Monster’s character. Of the three here, I’ve only seen these first two, but I prefer Frankenstein! As for the books, I don’t think I have a preference, I think I preferred reading Dracula, but overall enjoy Frankenstein more. Regardless, this design is a hulking character, stalking the characters endlessly through the castle. It gives this impossible feeling to him, as if you’ll never be able to shake him off.

Finally, there’s, who I deem to be, the weakest of the three, the Wolfman. Only meeting the gang once, the character is also inspired by the Universal Monster, a completely original character there, which is why he’s so different in contrast to the other two. I don’t love this design, he looks so ghoulish, his werewolf side feels lost. I enjoy the stockier design, but the lack of fur makes it difficult to know what he is just by looking, although I guess this closer links him as a human and wolf, a literal wolfman, sure, but the movie it’s taking inspiration from also does this, I just find the purpley skin to be a mit much in this design. Also, he does the least, I find his antics the least interesting.

Although we never see the three together in the same scene, all of them played by the same villain, I do enjoy this set up, the castle feels truly haunted and inescapable!

Speaking of the castle, the Frankenstein name added to it is certainly earnt, containing a lab among other gothic elements that places it closest to that character rather than the other two. It’s a great place to be in, and I don’t find myself tired of the castles because of how they vary them when we’re here! Plus, these characters were made for gothic castles!

I enjoy some of the character stuff here too, even if most of it is very silly. The Velma and Fred pairing is a nice change of pace, I enjoy their dynamic! Although, this does only come as a result of Daphne’s capture. Ultimately, this series is thin on its depiction of Fred and Daphne, they’re mostly one note and will get to shine way more in later versions of the series! I still like them enough, but I can’t help but feel like this comes from their designs and how they act in the future. I think Daphne is the weakest, she’s simply prone to danger, presented as a klutz and usually not all that intelligent, it can be done well, there are places in the franchise where it is, but not here! Fred similarly lacks much character, but small details and focus on him give him the upper hand, such as in Foul Play in Funland where I felt he stood out, and his place as the leader of the group which gives him more to do. Velma, Shaggy and Scooby are far stronger characters, even if they are pretty surface level in how they’re written.

Another moment I really enjoy is when, for some reason, Shaggy and Scooby decide they want to prank the ghost. For some reason? It’s not too clear why they would jump from being terrified of the monster to pouring water on him, but hey, it’s really funny, mostly because of how abruptly they decide this, finding a body under a sheet, assuming it’s the monster, and then finding a hose. Of course, this backfires, the two of them getting wet, and the body not being the monster’s, it’s great stuff!

And after all this, we learn that the monster is none other than Big Bob Oakley. No way.

I always find it funny when they kind of ditch the mystery angle - like there’s no suspects here except the fortune teller I guess, but then we see she’s not real. I don’t mind it at all though, the reveal is a lot less impactful in this series purposefully.

Overall, this one’s fun! Filled with classic horror settings and characters that made me smile.

12. Scooby-Doo and a Mummy Too

When I saw the list of four episodes I had lined up to watch, I was dreading this one. Truthfully, I hate sandy locations, and Mummy’s are also pretty boring to me! So after the three before that looked so fun, I wasn’t too thrilled to end on this!

But, I liked it way more than I expected to.

First of all, the episode isn’t set in a desert, instead in the department of archeology, where after seeing an ancient mummy, Shaggy accidentally pockets a coin, the mummy following them afterwards.

Honestly, I was on the side of the mummy for most of this. As soon as they see the mummy come to life, they just refuse to give him his coin back, but like, he just wants his coin. To begin with, there’s no crime here, he’s just a mummy returning to life who would like his coin back. If I was robbed, I’d also want my stuff returned.

The Mummy here is based on the mummy from the Universal Monster movie, The Mummy. I haven’t seen it yet, but I do like how they reference the character, his name being the Mummy of Ankha, a play on the princess name in the movie who the mummy was supposed to protect. Although, as stated in the episode, Ankha was a real person, believed to be the richest ruler in Egypt around 1030 BCE. Also, this name in hieroglyphics roughly translates to life, which makes sense for the character, given he has “returned from the dead”.

Also I just really liked the mummy here, I don’t know why! He’s just a silly man who would like his money back, which I think is fair enough! In fact, reading back through my notes I made while watching the episode, I was taking the mummy’s side a lot, like sure, he turns people to stone, but so what! I like him. My favourite mummy for sure.

On the topic of turning people to stone, I think it’s done better here than in What the Hex Going on?, maybe? I’m not too sure, both feel like they use it as a way to escalate things without ever using the concept to its full potential - here Scooby is stolen, then they find a stone statue of him, cry, until they see Scooby is alive a moment after. Although I do love the gag of Scooby crying over being turned to stone, it’s the perfect amount of silly.

The rest of the episode plays out like your typical Where are You? story, but that isn’t to discredit it. It’s lots of fun, I enjoyed myself far more than I expected to! But sometimes it can make an episode less interesting to talk about. Most of the series is of a consistently good quality, but some episodes are great, such as The Backstage Rage, while some are just very whatever, such as Decoy for a Dognapper. This one sits around the middle, but still manages to be fun to watch!

Episode Ranking:

The Backstage Rage

A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts

Scooby-Doo and a Mummy Too

Bedlam in the Big Top

Villain Ranking:

Puppet Master

Mummy of Ankha

Clown Ghost

Dracula

Frankenstein’s Monster

Wolfman

Previous Review: SDWaY S1 E5-8

Next Review: SDWaY S1 E13-17

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enpleurait · 2 months ago

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Musicals in Korea: Take One

The highlight (or embarrassment) of my video call with VIXX was Lee Jaehwan looking at all four musicals I went to in Korea and saying "Wow! Musical maniac!" I didn't even show him my drawer of Broadway Playbills. Actually I'm pretty sure Taekwoon imitating my dolphin squeak is peak embarrassment.

I do not have much experience with Korean musicals. I was, however, (un)fortunate enough to live by Broadway for two years and within two hours for several more. I've so far checked off 15 out of 41 Broadway theatres, and a handful of Off-Broadway theatres. I'm not a "theatre kid", so am coming at theatre as a casual enjoyer. I'd like to think I have some grasp on the pinnacle(?) of the american theatre scene, from smaller black box productions to Majestic classics and hyped up Best New Musical Tony winners.

I was blown away in Korea.

Since finding info was a pain in the rear, I'm doing a quick write-up of my experience as a non-Korean speaker before I embark on Korean Musicals: Part Two. The four musicals I saw were: 22 Years and 2 Months, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Ben-Hur.

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Some general notes on ticketing:

There are two HUGE differences from purchasing theatre tickets on Broadway (or Toronto, or West End). The first is that the cast schedule is posted ahead of time. The second is that tickets are released in batches, known as 'Ticket Open', separated several weeks apart. A third, less major, difference is that there are often several purchase sites per show, and each purchase site will have a different "block" of seats. The full-price tickets are also much cheaper than Broadway… (although I got a little spoiled and this time looked at my fifth row off-to-the-side Jesus Christ Superstar seats of ~130 CAD and went 'this is kind of expensive'.) For the most part, I bought my tickets for these shows directly from the global interpark website. The other two common sites are Melon and Yes24. Some shows that are on Interpark (korea) will not be on Interpark Global, but may be on Melon. Last year the fee was 3,000KRW but this year it seems to have become 8,000KRW on Interpark Global. This is still much more reasonable than western ticketing sites.

Example cast schedule (may only appear on Korean version of Interpark). This one is for Tebas Land which only has two characters. Unless you're really interested in seeing a particular actor, probably any cast choice is a good one.

Example seating charts for Great Comet, R&J, and Hedwig. Each site takes a 'vertical' chunk, and has all tiers available. Some seats are reserved for box office.

Example of a Ticket Open announcement with the casting schedule announced at the same time. The tickets will go on sale at 2PM on November 6, for shows between the dates of December 17th to January 5th.

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22 Years and 2 Months - Link Arts Center, Bugs Hall, 401 seats

This was a smaller, local production, and I was lucky enough to attend Jaehwan's last performance. I failed at ticketing, but another fan helped me get a ticket! Ticketing is serious business in Korea and seats for shows for well known actors or idols can go in seconds, especially for first and last performances. Imagine trying to get tickets for, say, Aaron Tevit or Daniel Radcliffe--instead of the barrier to entry being ticket prices of 300$-700$, it's down to internet speed and fast fingers.

In some ways, it's more fair! At least scalped tickets are still much less than for English shows…

Tickets were will-call. I lined up at the box office, showed them my order number, and they gave me my ticket. I was there pretty early so went to take pictures with the cast board and look at the merchandise. Since it was the last show, several things were out of stock, but I bought a really pretty key-chain, a handkerchief(?), and a program book. The photobook and OST were only available to people who'd seen the show X number of times (five? I forget) which was kind of a bummer. Unlike many Broadway theatres, there's no bar to get an overpriced cocktail in a souvenir cup to sip on through the show.

I again have to stress that I speak zero Korean. The language barrier doesn't bother me, possibly because I was raised on a steady diet of Italian and German opera. I knew the rough gist of the story since it was based on a historical event, and had no trouble following along. The acting was phenomenal--not just the leads, but also the ensemble. No one was ever 'off'. The vocals were… everything. The set was simple, but the use of lighting and projections and sound design brought it to life.

And the sound design. Imagine not getting your ears blown out! Imagine actors enunciating! Imagine mics not cutting off, or speakers turned up to max! I didn't even need my auditory sensitivity aids! Twenty minutes in and I needed all my self-restraint not to message my friend to wax poetic on the sound design and the enunciation. I will give it to Korea that the theatres are all much, much newer, which definitely helps.

Plenty of washrooms, so no need to book it out the door to the washrooms during intermission. Merchandise booth was open during intermission as well.

Stage door seems to vary from actor to actor and show to show, especially when it comes to idols. This is the only show I 'stage door'ed for. Fans lined up behind barricades and waited for Jaehwan to come out, fansite cameras at the ready, he waved and greeted us and then got into the van and left. He seemed very tired :( Probably because he had a concert in a few days to rehearse for.

The (packaged) MD from 22 years and 2 months.

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Theatres in Korea (or at least in Seoul) are completely dark on Mondays. Some shows are dark on Tuesday as well, but nothing plays on Monday. In other words, I was forced to do non-theatre things, like go to Namsan tower… What a shame.

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Les Miserables - Dream Theatre, Busan, 1700 seats

I'm basic. Les Miserables is one of my favourite musicals. (In no particular order, my top three were Camelot, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables). Circumstances and sheer bad luck meant I'd completely missed its Broadway run and I'd resigned myself to hopefully seeing it one day on West End.

I was initially bummed out because Les Mis closed in Seoul just before I arrived. But! Thanks to the power of public transportation! It takes less than three hours to get to Busan! Where Les Mis was playing! And so, on Wednesday, I hopped on a 7am train to Busan, ate delicious seafood, and went to the matinee performance. The ticket for a 5th row seat was 180,000 KRW with a 3,000 KRW fee.

Instead of there being one concentrated theatre district, several of the big theatres (arts centers) tend to be further out of the city center. Again, good public transit makes this a non-issue, but it is something to note.

Other than 22 years and 2 months, the other three musicals were "big" productions. While I'd never seen Les Miserables before, I had the 10th Anniversary Cast recording playing on repeat, and was probably one of the few that actually enjoyed the movie???? Either way, I had high expectations.

Tickets again were will-call, the theatre was pretty big and connected to some other things and up an elevator, but again, showed them the order confirmation, and they gave me the ticket, and off I went to wait.

Unfortunately, I met my absolute nemesis--school groups. Downside of matinee performances :( I've encountered school groups or summer camps at matinee performances on Broadway, but there were so many of them, they took up almost the entire balcony level, and, I am afraid to say, had all the decorum one might expect of a hundred or so middle/high schoolers. They laughed during 'On my own'!!!! (They weren't that bad. I just don't get along with school groups.)

Merchandise at Korean shows go HARD. None of that basic t-shirt or tote bag or magnets. Although I only ended up picking up a pin badge and a program book, mostly because I got choice paralysis and also had to schlep whatever I got back to Seoul. Playbills aren't a thing, similar to West End, but the program books are basically the most beautiful photobooks for a musical you want. They also have synopsis and cast introductions and all that standard stuff.

The tiny amount of Les Mis MD (because I was already hauling a bunch of stuff around.)

I unfortunately forgot to take pictures with the cast board for Les Mis because I was too busy avoiding the Hordes Of Children.

Honestly, I don't know what else to say about Les Mis because it surpassed my wildest imaginations, Grantaire had the best delivery of his lines in Drink With Me possible, the stability of all the actors even while moving or while lying down was incredible, and Gavroche was so hecking cute. I cried so many tears. So. So. So. Many. Tears.

I was very excited and impressed and was relaying my appreciation of technology to my friend.

And then I had just enough time to go to Spa Land and still make the last train, and that was what I did in Busan.

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Ben Hur - LG Arts Centre, 1335 seats

So. Recall how my top three musicals were Les Mis, Camelot, and Phantom? I now have a new one.

Ben Hur.

Ben Hur is an original Korean musical based on a well known book with a well known movie that I did watch when young but mostly slept through. Mostly I remembered: chariots, and Jesus. Wikipedia here was a godsend.

Ben Hur, by nature, is a big production. They had real horses in the play on Broadway! (They did not have real horses here, but the horses might've been more impressive.) If I ever wanted to see any sort of stage production of Ben Hur, it was not going to be in North America. Also, my little dumpling goober was playing the titular role so an otherwise very painful decision of which cast to watch was made for me. I could not imagine this loser gamer dweeb as Judah Ben-Hur but also, he's my soft loser dumpling gamer dweeb so. Yeah. (Kyuhyun. It's Kyuhyun.)

This one I was waiting on Interpark and refreshing desperately for ticket open, and managed to get a seat in the 10th row. The ticket was 170,000 KRW with a 3,000 KRW fee. After absolutely botching two ticketing attempt, I was very thankful I got a good ticket!

Again, tickets were "will-call". IIRC, instead of a box office, they had little machines where you put in your ticket reservation number and the ticket was printed from there. There was a lot of merch, and one thing I wish I got but did not get was a pair of Ben-Hur 'opera glasses'. Yup. In Korea they still use opera glasses, and people in the same row as me were using them too. Honestly, given how emotive the actors are, I can see why you'd want a good look at their faces. In addition to the program book and some keychains, I also got postcards of the dumpling and of another actor who I really want to see some day but didn't have time to.

Anyway.

LG Arts centre is quite new and is also very big. I'm looking through old convos with a friend and I sent her this image with the caption "Broadway could never".

Look. I'm used to scouting out the bathrooms in any unfamiliar theatre so I know exactly where to bee-line to during intermission. Of course this is incredible to me.

There was no line for the bathroom during intermission.

Out of all of the musicals I saw, this one was the 'loudest'. Mostly because Ben-Hur is about the Roman occupation and there is a lot of whipping and fighting and in other words, there are many things that should be loud. But because sound design in Korea is great, there was a good volume range they could use, so even though it was 'loud' I didn't need to pull out my auditory aids at any point. Also: "if you've ever wondered what it's like to mic up opera singers, I think I'm experiencing that right now."

I mentioned this in the Les Mis section, but the stability of the actors is incredible. I expect it of the idols, who've trained extensively to sing and be stable while dancing, but wouldn't expect it of a general theatre actor. There were several sword fights and other physical altercations that the actors sang through. I've noticed on Broadway and other English productions, more physical fights tend to be split into 'action' and 'singing'-- sing the lines, do some fighting, stand and sing lines, do more fighting, etc. It's incredibly impressive to watch Valjean choking Javert with a chain, or Messala and Judah having a sword fight and singing through it all.

I did not even attempt to stage door for this. I was actually so tired that I just walked some distance away, stared at the huge crowd waiting at the door, and called a cab.

I really, really, really wished I'd bought an OST for this. It's an incredible show, and I have an ideal casting in my head that if it ever occurs, I will fly to Korea for. And I will watch it so many times. From so many seats. For as many cast rotations as I can afford.

- - -

Phantom of the Opera - Charlotte Theatre, 1200 seats

Oh man. Phantom. This was my fourth time seeing Phantom. I'd seen it three times on Broadway, with three different Phantoms, three different Christines, and three different Raouls. This was the best Christine I've ever seen. Imagine my surprise when I open the program book and all I see for her credits is one ensemble performance from the 2018 production of Elizabeth. This is the difference that classical vocal training can make. Best Raoul, best Meg, probably the best Phantom also. Absolutely best in class.

The Charlotte is gorgeous. It's new, and big, and has the loveliest staircases. There were several photo spots, including the cast board, a backdrop of petals, and a… chibi Phantom statue? It actually has fewer seats than the Majestic (1200 vs 1600) but there is actual leg room. I am so spoiled now.

Once again, the tickets were will-call. Went to the box office on the first floor, gave them my order number, got my tickets, and went to go look at the merch. Phantom has a special place in my heart for being (one of?) the first musical I ever watched live. I'd say that it's because of Phantom I became such a theatre fiend. So in addition to the program book, I ended up with a wine glass, a tote bag, two key-chains, and a magnet. (One of the keychains was for a friend!) Because of how big the Charlotte is, there were a few merchandise booths, with one on the first floor and one on an upper floor.

My ticket was in the 16th row, and was 160,000 KRW with a 3,000 KRW fee. I didn't get ticket open, and actually got it for the wrong day at first (accidentally double booked with another one) but THANKFULLY noticed fairly quickly. Korea has no cancellation fee for the first few days, and then has increasing cancellation fees to a maximum of 40%.

I learned that the trick to not crying during Phantom, is apparently to cry your eyes out at three musicals during the same week first. Which is good, because it was so emotionally impactful I would have bawled if I'd seen it first.

Set design was incredible. There are/were rumours that Phantom might return to Broadway stripped down, similar to how Chicago got stripped down--Phantom in Seoul was the opposite of that. It didn't have anything 'extra', but the set was meticulous and breathtaking, and again, I've seen this show three times already. This isn't because it's the first time I've seen the chandelier crash down from the second floor. I also appreciate Asia's dedication to pyrotechnics. Incredibly fun to see the Phantom shoot fireballs at Raul. I imagine that this would've been a pretty big fire hazard at the Majestic though, especially with how packed the seats are.

I'm not sure if there was stage door for this one, but again, even if there was, I was way too tired. Apparently I swore off three evening shows in a row after this, but looking at my calendar for the coming week, I've definitely got three days in a row of evening+matinee shows…

Phantom was the last show I saw in Korea. In the space of a week I'd been to a fanmeet and four musicals, and stayed out past 11 for 3 days in a row. I was wiped.

Not pictured: a wine glass.

Anyway. I'm about to do this again in a few weeks. The line up this time: Jesus Christ Superstar (twice), Tick Tick Boom, Lizzie, Eternity, and Tebas Land (twice). I can't wait.

#korean musicals #musicals #ben-hur #phantom of the opera #22 years and 2 months #les miserables #write-up

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