The Lee Family: Phantom of the Opera!

Last night we went to see Phantom of the Opera at Music Hall in Fair Park. I'd bought four tickets months ago and planned for us to go as a family. CK saw the Phantom of the Opera at the Kennedy Center in DC years before we met and loved it. Otherwise, I knew the music but didn't really know the storyline well. Once the night became closer, I started wondering if Phantom would be something Olivia would actually enjoy or would be a complete bore to her. Then, Olivia was invited to a sleepover birthday party at Hannah's house. It was actually scheduled for before Christmas, but Hannah got sick and Casey rescheduled. Hannah and Olivia are best friends and I'd hate for her to miss out on celebrating with her, but I also know we may not get an opportunity to see the Phantom of the Opera again or for a long time at least. So, we decided asking Olivia what she preferred to do for that night. She decided to go to Hannah's party, so Sofia asked her friend Alexa to go with us. Alexa was beyond excited and she'd seen the Phantom of the Opera movie, and knew the story well.

We picked Alexa up and headed downtown to eat at the Park City Club. We'd decided that would be the best decision for a nice dinner before the performance. Traffic was terrible and we arrived at Park City Club later than expected. The club was nearly empty other than a few older couples who obviously ate there for dinner regularly. The club is so nice and classy. We were sat along the window and Alexa took a bunch of photos of the cityscape. The Park City Club has such a beautiful view! We sat down and they brought us water and drinks and then rolled out a cart that had shrimp, and oysters and all the fixings. The girls picked a few shrimp and Sofia actually chose one oyster - her very first. She said she wanted it so she could keep the shell. She did eat it and wasn't totally in love with it. It was "a little salty" according to Sofia. I love that she tried it! We ordered our meal and felt a bit rushed because the club is obviously used to a very relaxed and slow three course meal. Our first course was salad, which was delicious! CK told our waiter that we had to get moving, and our food came with ten minutes before we needed to leave. The food was awesome and so delicious! We ate very quickly, unfortunately, and headed out! It was disappointing that we couldn't really enjoy our excellent dinner. We did talk about how much fun it would be to enjoy a couples night out sometime at the club. It is so comfortable and classy and I love the slow and relaxed dinner!

We hurried down to the truck and drove like crazy people to Fair Park. Thankfully I'd paid for the valet parking already, so we literally drove up with two minutes before the show started and dropped our car off! It was so easy! We rushed inside and unfortunately they closed the doors just as we got inside. So we had to wait for maybe ten minutes before we could go inside and get our seats. We were led to our seats, which were occupied by two different couples. Ha! They were asked to move and we sat in our seats up on the balcony. They were sort of far away, but we were the front row of the balcony so we had a very clear view of the stage.

We missed the first few minutes, which includes when the chandelier drops from the ceiling! The musical was so magical and the music was amazing! It was a huge hit when it first was produced in the 1980s and the music was very popular. So, I knew the music well and it was fantastic to hear it live. The main cast had incredible and strong voices and it was just fantastic. Intermission arrived and I really had to go to the bathroom. Sofia went out with me and decided she wanted to get snacks and drinks for her and Alexa so I gave her money and stood in line for the bathroom. It soon became obvious that I'd never make it to the bathroom in time for intermission to end, so I headed back to our seats and Sofia was next in line to get her snacks. I bought a water for myself and we returned to our seats. Alexa was super excited for her candy and the girls enjoyed sharing and watching the musical as it started back up. Sofia really was enjoying it. The musical ended and we actually sort of didn't understand the ending. Thankfully Alexa explained it to us! Ha! We got our car delivered pretty quickly and headed home. We talked about the musical and the girls really loved it and enjoyed it a lot! It was such a fun night and it was so great to have Alexa with us! The girls had a great time and the musical was just spectacular! What a fun night!

Enjoying our first course - a salad! So delicious!