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Baisically it's the question I'm curious about. How did you all get to be Phantom of the Opera phans? I want to read stories about how you auntie bought you you're first Micheal Crawford CD, or how you searched on the internet for endless hours for a song you got stuck in your head from a friend's house.

So Painted_Black's Story:

My parents had all ways had the CD of Phantom of the Opera, so I grew up listening to it, and trying to sing along with Sarah (you try that when your four, see how easy it is), and for years I imagined what it would be like without any pictures of the play other than my own ones in my mind. One day when I was in third grade my mother announced that she had bought tickets for the Phantom show that was travelling. You can just imagine how excited I was, looking at the chandelier high above me-- knowing that it was going to fall, but unsure if it would fall on me. I adored the show, and for a few months I listened to the soundtrack religiously. Eventually my obsession faded down until I bought the book when I was nine-tenish. Determined to read the entire thing I finished it and re-read it several times over.

For three years my obsession rested until I heard of the new movie release, and once again I was hooked. This time I watched the other Phantom movies. Phantom of the Paradise, The Robert Englund Version, and the Lon Cheney version. No merchandise was unknown to me, and now I'm an avid collector.

And so here I am. A Phantom Phan since I was little. Reading phan phics and any other media that has anything to do with the Phantom.

Y'know, there is a rule about the font size. *sigh*

Anyway, back on-topic. I first heard of it watching Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on TV once at my Aunt's. During one of the few commercials, they advertised it when it was playing at the Saenger here. They played the overture and I loved it instantly, upset that the commercial ended. I was only about 8 at the time and we didn't have a computer that was hooked to the internet. We were too poor to buy tickets, so my obsession was forgotten even though I came across it a few times over the years. I always had this picture in my mind of a young woman running from a masked man in the cellars of some place. I still have that mental image.

By the time I got in Middle School, I started reading the European literature classics for sheer fun since I LOOOVE big, thick old books. I started with Victor Hugo and eventually came across Gaston Leroux's novel. I read it within a week and instantly loved it. I re-read it and then remembered the musical and looked up the music online. I found the Steve Harley version first, then the Micheal Crawford one after that. I bought a CD of piano versions of the songs and then some various dedications to the production. I lived on that until my Mom told me about the movie and I bought the soundtrack the day it came out. Then bought the Lon Chaney movie and rented any other I could so I could know what to expect.
I got tickets to see it two days before it came out because of a special screening the local newspaper where my Mom works does. Then saw the country spoof called "The Phantom of the Op'ry" that my school drama team did.

After seeing the movie (I sobbed only that first time I saw it, too) I was in love for good and bought the OCR (I know, I know, shoulda been my first one but I hate Sarah Brightman's voice and vibratto) and so now I just collect random merchandise off of Ebay. I have a '78 LP record, but I sold my record player before then. >< Oh well.

I think there's only one movie I haven't seen and I haven't seen the stage production, but it hasn't come around for years. So I kinda-sorta grew up on it. >> I'm not an impressive person. XD

I first became introduced to it through the Broadway musical. I was a bit skeptical at first, considering all the background information I knew of the story was through cartoon spoofs. xd I enjoyed it enough while watching it, but soon forgot. (The actress playing Christine had a really annoying voice, so I couldn't get too into it, okay?)

Around a month later I was in my local library and saw the novel. I figured 'why the heck not?' and read it. Basically I sobbed for around a week afterwards and was later spurred into a frenzy of fanfiction writing. Sadly, all of it was cruddily written so I have to go back and redo it all. It's an enjoyable task though, if a bit tedious.

Okay. Let's see, um. Okay. It all started with my voice teacher. We usually sing the songs from a musical, this year it was the Phantom of the Opera. Then, Paula, my voice coach, told me there was a movie coming out. She said that I should go see it and I did. It was amazing! I absolutely loved it! I went to it a second time the next night. I went back to my lesson and told Paula I had seen it. We got talking about it and she told me all about the stage show she had seen somewhere in Europe. I now am absolutely obsessed with seeing it on stage. Then one day at school we were talking about movies in English class and I mentioned I had seen the Phantom of the Opera. My teacher said she had seen it on Broadway and she loved it. She said she sat in the very front row and she could look straight down into the orchestra pit. Now I'm begging my parents to get tickets, fly to New York with me, and spend like a week seeing any Broadway show I can. That would be awesome!!! Done now.

My boyfriend introduced me to it. On our secound date we went to see the movie. I fell in love with it from the 1st song. He keep bugging me to stop singing Christene's part. Plus I acctually can!!! heart heart

Emmy Rossum, who plays Christine reaches the highest note on the scale, and makes it sound good. If you can do that, you have amazing skills.

My friends have always said that I should watch Phantom of the opera through out ever since the beggining of it's arrival. They kepted on giving me these little parts of the play. After time, the 8th grade band (When I was in 7th grade, i'm going to 8th) played "Phantom of the Opera", and I wanted to see it more. I then saw a flash movie that had the Phantom theme in it. I finally rented the movie, and I figured out that there was much more of it than what I had already in my mind. I found it "Fantastique"(Fantastic), "Merveilleux"(Wonderful), and "triomphal"(triumphant) compaired to the other plays i've seen. This is one of the best plays I have ever seen.

On December 15, my auntie and I went to a Phantom show in Philly, I was not moved by this but I enjoyed it all the same. Then on May 4, I went with about 200 nerdy peeps from my school, to see The Phantom of the Opera on broadway staring some peeps I'd never heard of. It was an excellent show and I was hooked. Wanting to know more, I asked my aunt to buy me the book, I read it in less than a day. Enthralled by the love triangle and wonderful music score, I bought the CD with the original cast recording from London, staring Micheal Crawford, Sarah Brightman, and Steve Barton. I did a book report on the book, and have created several works of art based on, and new works of art concerning the Phantom.

And so almost every other day I'm listening to the phantom, or researching it, and other stuff that only nerd, geeks, obsessed, mentally and clinically insane, weirdos, freaky people, and all you other people do.

Clobo