The Phantom of the Opera

The other night I decided to watch the free stream of the 25th Anniversary performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera." I had never seen it before, but had heard some of the songs. I knew, however, that the show had a morbid/gothic vibe, which is totally me. 
Quick summary, in 1870's Paris, a "phantom," a man with a horribly disfigured face, lives underneath a grand opera house. He becomes infatuated with Christine, a singer, and does everything in his power to sabotage the performances-going to extremely drastic measures-to run the lead soprano out and raise the other girl to the lead. (How the lead singer became the lead, I don't know...she is incredibly screechy and whiny, and actually provides comic relief in a very annoying way. As for  Christine...well, let's just say that *my new Gargoyle familiar who watched it with me* says that he can see why the Phantom fell in love with her.)
To be honest, I was totally hooked on this performance right away. And it wasn't just the morbid/goth vibes...but basically what the entire play is about is society's attitude towards those with differences. The "Phantom" was a musical genius shunned by the world around him because of his grossly disfigured face. Society looked at him and didn't see a musical genius. They saw someone who didn't conform to society's norms. They couldn't see his musical talent, they only saw someone who looked different, and therefore couldn't contribute to society. This was 1870 in Paris...and sadly, our world today is pretty much the same sad joke. 
Again, seeing this was a terrific experience, but really can't help but put in mind the attitude of the world toward those with the slightest differences. It's a heartbreaking tale, really.
On an interesting note, this did bring back a flashback from my childhood...the only "Goosebumps" book that truly scared me, "The Phantom of the Auditorium" was based off of this play!