The side of the Pantages

I was sooooo excited to see the show this day, for several reasons. First of all, it had been over two years since I had last seen it, and I was going through severe withdrawal. :-) Plus, I was finally getting a chance to see it at the Pantages theatre in Toronto, which is just a beautiful theatre. And, I was getting to see a new Phantom, a guy with the strange name of Ciaran Sheehan. :-)

So, we arrived at the Pantages early, and had really great seats. And the show was wonderful!! Ciaran was a great Phantom, it was Glenda Balkan again as Christine, who I'd seen 2 years before. Laird Mackintosh as Raoul...well, I don't know what to say without sounding really mean. :-) He *does* have a nice voice, but he overdid the vibrato, and his interpretation of Raoul annoyed me to no end. But, I know plenty of people that do like him!! Anyway, the rest of the cast was great, and the show is much more impressive in Toronto than on the tour...as amazing as the tour is, when you've got a permanent production like the one in Toronto, you can really alter the theatre to meet your needs. So the lair was just that much more impressive, plus Raoul actually jumped into the stage at the end, rather than a box! :-)

Me and Alice with Laird Mackintosh

A *terrible* picture of me, along with Glenda Balkan and Alice

This day was special for another reason...it was my first stage door experience ever!! Shortly before I went, I had discovered the Internet, and through talking with some fellow theatre fans, I learned that you could go speak with the performers at the stage door! Well!! :-) Needless to say, I haven't missed a stage door since. This particular day, we talked with Laird (we had to ask him for a pen though, since we weren't prepared! LOL! :-) and Glenda, though we missed Ciaran somehow...he probably looks a little different out of all that makeup. :-) However, I did have the pleasure of speaking with him on the phone a few months later, and he's a very nice, sweet man!!