The Phantom of the Opera is one of my wife's favorite musicals.  I think that by association is has become one of mine too.  So when we found out that Hamburg High School was going to do it as this year's student musical we both decided that we had to go and see it.  Last night was opening night.

We both admitted to each other that we didn't have very big expectations from the show.  It is, after all, a very hard play to pull off and the music is not easy to sing.  But it was a play that we both know and love and we hadn't really had an adult-only night out in a long time.  So we got a pair of tickets and decided to give it a try.

We were BLOWN AWAY!

This was without a doubt the best high school musical I have ever been to.  I cannot give enough praise to the entire music staff.  First of all the lead of Christine was played by Heidi Schneider and as soon as she began to sing my jaw dropped.  I had to pick it up off the floor before we left.  The range of that part is incredibly wide and she showed that she easily had the talent to pull it off.  I was waiting for her voice to crack or for her to miss a note and it never happened.  She nailed it!  The acting was just as good.  In one scene she had actually gotten into the part so much that she had to dry her eyes because she was actually crying.

That was the case for every single part in the play.  I was equally as drawn in to their characters.  Again, the talent was evident in the part of Carlotta that was played by Robin Senser.  Her character is an opera singer and she certainly played the part.  The quality of her voice was as rich as any of the voices I've heard on soundtracks for the play.  Just incredible.

The rest of the cast was just as good from the guys who played Phantom (Tuan Malinowski) and Raoul (Dan Meissner) to the rest of the cast, the ballet, the chorus and the orchestra.

I was honestly blown away by the talent in the school and the entire musical department deserves major kudos.  If you know me, I'm not one to normally brag about how good a musical is.  That's normally my wife's thing.  But this one deserves some bragging.  Great job Hamburg!  You were incredible.

If you'd like to see the show, there are two more performances this weekend.  There is one tonight (2/1) and another tomorrow (2/2).  Both shows are at 7:30pm.  If you don't have plans I strongly encourage you to go.  You too will be amazed.

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