Celebrate Musicals Week - Tag

I have decided to participate in Celebrate Musicals Week, the blog party Miss Dashwood is hosting at Yet Another Period Drama Blog!  Go here if you want to participate, too, and would like to know the details.  The blog party is starting off with a tag, so here are my answers to the tag questions.

1)  What musical did you pick to "spotlight" this week and why?

I chose to spotlight The Phantom of the Opera.  I was already planning to write about it, so I thought Celebrate Musicals Week was a great opportunity to do so.

2)  How did you discover the musical you picked (hereinafter referred to as "your musical")?

I was ten years old when I was introduced to The Phantom of the Opera.  I watched the 2004 movie with my cousins during my visit with my relatives in Ireland.  My cousins loved watching movies, so we ended up watching a lot of movies together, and the 2004 adaptation of Phantom was one of them.

3)  If you had to pick three favorite songs from your musical, which ones would they be?

I love so many songs from Phantom, but I think my three favorites would be "The Phantom of the Opera", "The Music of the Night", and "Think of Me".

4)  What's your least favorite song from your musical?

Maybe "Prima Donna".  I always skip it when I'm listening to Phantom songs.  In the 2004 movie, I can't stand Andre and Firmin's singing.  They don't really sing, especially Ciarán Hinds, who plays Firmin - they kind of talk-sing.  Talk-singing grates on my nerves.  I prefer the song Prima Donna to whenever Andre and Firmin sing by far, but if I had to choose a specific song I disliked, I think it would be Prima Donna.

5)  Who are your favorite characters (choose up to three)?

Christine, the Phantom (also known as Erik), and Madame Giry are my favorite characters.  I have heard that some people dislike Christine, but I think she is a well developed character.  Erik is a very interesting and complex character, which I love.  Madame Giry is mysterious and I like her personality.  She seems like a smart person who knows what she's doing.

6)  Which versions of your musical have you seen/listened to, and which is your favorite?

The first version of this musical that I ever knew, was the 2004 movie, which I watched when I was ten years old.  When I was fourteen, I rediscovered the movie and loved it.  Then, I discovered the original broadway version with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, and fell in love with that.  I now prefer the version with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman to the 2004 movie.  I thought the movie was good, but when I discovered the original musical, it seemed faded in comparison.  Since then I have listened to other versions, with John Owen-Jones and Gina Beck, for example.  When I was fifteen, I discovered The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall, and I absolutely loved it.

7)  Is this your favorite musical of all time?  If not, what is?

Yes, even more than Les Mis, which is in second place.  I love The Phantom of the Opera for the gothic story, complex characters, dark themes, strong emotions, and the beautiful sets, costumes, and music.  It is definitely my favorite musical of all time.

8)  Which cast album/musical soundtrack in your collection do you listen to the most?

The original Broadway version of Phantom with Michael Crawford, and the 10th Anniversary Concert of Les Mis.  I don't like the 25th Anniversary (cough Nick Jonas cough cough) of Les Mis as much as the 10th Anniversary.

9)  What is your favorite costume from your musical?

That's a hard question!  There are so many amazing costumes in Phantom.  Well, I really like the dress and hooded cape Christine wears during her song, "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again".

Sierra Boggess as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera at The Royal Albert Hall.

10)  If you could change anything about your musical, what would you change?

I wouldn't want to change anything, since it's Andrew Lloyd Webber's work of art, not mine.  I want it to be exactly as Andrew Lloyd Webber intended it to be.  Then, on the other hand, I think the song "Prima Donna" could be taken out, though it isn't that bad of a song, really.  I just don't see how it's necessary.

11)  Which role(s) would you most like to play in any musical, if you had the opportunity to do so on stage?

I would like to play Fantine or Eponine in Les Mis, or Christine in Phantom...that is, if I could sing really really really well...

12)  If you could choose one performer to play any part in your musical, who would you choose and which part would you have them play?

Perhaps Sutton Foster as Christine Daaé?  I don't think the role is suited for her, but Sutton has a beautiful voice and I'm curious as to what she would do with the part.  I'm a big fan of Sutton Foster, so it would be cool to see her play a major role in my favorite musical.

13)  Do you consider yourself a musical theatre fan in general or do you just like a few musicals?

I am a musical theatre fan, without a doubt!

14)  Are you tired of the word "musical" yet?

Never!

15)  Turn your music playing device on shuffle (or utilize Pandora if you don't have one) and tell us the names of the first three show tunes that come up-- no cheating!  How do these rank on your favorites/most-listened-to list?

 - "Memory" from Cats.  I'm not a big fan of Cats, but I love this song very much.
 - "Agony" from Into the Woods.  This is a memorable song from Into the Woods, and absolutely hilarious.
 - "More to the Story" from Shrek the Musical.  "More to the Story" is one of my favorite songs from this musical, along with "I Know It's Today".

My First Tag

I was tagged by Elizabeth at The Endless Road. :) Thank you for tagging me! 
This will be my first tag.

The Rules:

1.  You must post eleven facts about yourself.

2.  You must also answer the eleven questions the awarder has given you and make up eleven questions for your awardees to answer in turn.

3.  Tag eleven fellow bloggers.

4.  Notify them that you've awarded them.

5.  No tagging back.

6.  The eleven blogs you tag must have fewer than 200 followers.

Eleven facts:

1)  I have a long attention span.  For one thing, I love long movies that take their time and are full of atmosphere.  When I was little, I could sit down and be captivated by a picture book or by what I was watching for hours.  I find scenes that are intense in an emotional and psychological way to be far more captivating than a bunch of mindless explosions and action scenes.  Well, at least to me they seem mindless.  It's ironic to me that action scenes are meant to be exciting and attention grasping, since they feel so boring to me.  There's no chance for some character development during an action scene.

2)  I am terrible at following directions.  I get easily confused when someone gives me instructions, and I think this is partly because I feel nervous about messing up or not understanding the task, which almost always ends up being the case.

3)  I am gifted with a wonderful long-term memory.  I vividly remember many moments of my life, going back to when I was two years old, or perhaps even earlier, although many people tell me that this is most likely not possible.  Once someone told me that our memory begins when we are two years old.  At times I wonder whether or not this is true.  

4)  On the other hand, my short-term memory could most definitely improve.  Have you ever gone into a room, forgotten why, left, then remembered?  That sort of thing happens to me quite a lot.  I often think to myself that when I reach old age, my short-term memory is going to be pretty awful...

5)  A member of my family on my mother's side had the sixth sense.  One night she had a dream that a relative out West was dying, and weeks later, when the mail arrived back East, she found out that person had died the same night as her dream.  Sometimes, I feel I may have been born with a small dose of the sixth sense.  There have been a lot of strange moments in my life where I felt as if I knew something was going to happen.  A lot of it has to do with intuition.  In addition to this, I frequently experience déjà vu.

6)  I prefer silver to gold.  I feel like this preference is uncommon.  I once asked why gold was placed above silver by so many, and the answer I received was that silver has to be polished.  Well I don't care if silver has to be polished every now and then;  I still think it's prettier.  This may have to do with the fact that I prefer cool colors to warm.  Cool colors are more appealing to me, and match my personality.

7)  My birthday is on the same day as Queen Victoria's.  "The twenty-fourth of May is the Queen's birthday;  if they don't give us a holiday we'll all run away!"  This is what the school children in Canada used to chant. 

8)  I dislike a lot of modern art and modern dance.  I find them to be distasteful.  From what I have observed, some (but not all) appears to be pretty mindless.  I've heard of people who have been paid millions by simply splattering paint on a canvas, and call it art.  Also, modern art in general is not very appealing, and honestly, is ugly (depending on your perspective).  This may be because art is a reflection of our society, and modern society is not gentle on the eyes.  Modern dance could be a lot of fun to do every once in a while, but I feel it slightly ruins your style if you are a classical ballet dancer.  I prefer to stick with classical ballet.

9)  I have a huge imagination, I am hopelessly sentimental, and I love Romanticism (the Romantic Era).   

10)  I love animals.  I have always been and always will be "an animal person".  I like being around them and feel that I share a connection with them and am able to communicate with them.     

11)  I am viewed as someone who is shy, never assertive, and always quiet.  However, people who know me well can tell you that in reality, when you get to know me, I am the exact opposite.  I am extremely talkative; in fact my ramblings can get annoying for some people.

Here are my answers to the eleven questions:  

1. I have heard it said that some people don't want to read classics because they are too long. Yet some of these same people read Harry Potter (and those are not short books).  Do you think is really the length of the book, or something else?

I think it is definitely something else.  In fact, I have a friend who loves the Harry Potter series, but she has never read a classic before in her life and claims she is not interested in them.  So it is obviously not an issue of length.  It seems like some people of the present day are under the impression that older novels are boring and less captivating than more "up to date" novels.  This frustrates and disturbs me greatly, because for one thing, how can we move forward with literature unless we learn to appreciate the classics?  We should learn from the experts, not be ignorant of them.  This is why I find it impossible to find nearly as many good modern books as there are classics.  In my opinion, we should all be aware of the brilliance of the classics.  We should read as many classic novels as possible!            

2. If you could pick a dead author to talk to, who would it be: Jane Austen, one of the Bronte sisters, Mark Twain, or Thomas Hardy? 

I would choose to talk to one of the Brontë sisters.  I would love to speak with all of them, but if I were to choose between them, it would be Charlotte Brontë.  I have loved the story of Jane Eyre even since my early childhood, and grew up with the book, in a way.  Her intelligence shines in the pages of her books.  It would be wonderful to talk to Jane Austen, too.   


3. Do you have a favorite board game? 

Monopoly.  I have lots of memories of playing Monopoly with my family.  My mother would also play Monopoly with her family when she was young.

4. Who is your favorite actor? And what is your favorite character they have played? 

That is such a difficult question!  I like so many actors and actresses, such as Jimmy Stewart, Colin Firth, Clark Gable, John Wayne, Richard Armitage, Angela Lansbury, Ingrid Bergman, Maggie Smith, Vivien Leigh, Gillian Anderson, Julie Andrews...it's so hard to decide!  I think I would go with Ingrid Bergman.  I especially loved her amazing performance as Paula in Gaslight, which is one of my favorite movies.  

5. Do you think being a fan of Jane Austen is becoming/is a fad? 

Jane Austen certainly is very popular now, and has been for the past decade at least.  Perhaps her writing speaks to the reality we're experiencing at this time in history.  I would say that fad might not be quite the right word to describe her popularity, because fads are generally mindless, whereas there is probably a good reason that Jane Austen is so popular.  Also - her work is timeless, and has always been very popular since her books were published.

6. We all pick out names that we like that we say we will name our children.  What are some of yours?

If I had a daughter, I would name her Edith, after my great-grandmother, who I have always looked up to.  I also like the names Dallas and Deirdre.  Deirdre is the name of a heroine from one of my favorite Irish myths, Deirdre of the Sorrows.  Owen is my favorite boy's name.  I have been told that if I had been a boy, I would have been named Owen.  I also like the name Finn.    

7. Would you call yourself a morning person?

Definitely not!  I'm a night owl, through and through.  I even stayed up late when I was a baby.  I like mornings, but I hate waking up early.  The only times I like waking up early is when I go with my family to the airport to go on vacation.

By the way, this reminds me of a certain song.... :D

...I couldn't resist.

8. Tea or Coffee? 

Herbal tea!  For one thing, having tea is a part of my family's culture, since so much of us are of Irish blood, and for another, coffee, in my opinion, is not very good for you.  It's alright to have some coffee, I guess, but not too much, and not too often.  It can be addictive.  Besides, tea is delicious.  My favorite flavors are camomile and mint.  I tasted coffee once and didn't like it.  I do like the smell of it in the mornings, though.  Sometimes, but not that often, I may drink Irish tea to wake me up a little, but Irish tea also contains some caffeine, so it also may not be good for you to drink too frequently.


9. Have you come across a book where you liked the movie version better? 

This is very rare.  I thought the BBC's North and South (2004) took some steps in improving the book.  For example, one of my favorite lines from the film, "I believe I have seen hell, and it's white, it's snow white", was not in the book.  I am not saying the book was inferior to the film, not in any way;  I admire Elizabeth Gaskell's skillful writing and intelligence.  I think the book was beautifully written and that both the book and the BBC adaptation are excellent.  Still, I was disappointed when I realized that the "snow white hell" scene was not in the book.  The film created that line on its own, which shows how well done it was.

10. What is your favorite place to read a book? 

On the couch.  I especially like to read on rainy days.  I like the idea of reading beneath a tree when it's sunny.  Someday I want to try reading while sitting on the branch of a tree, although the idea could be viewed as perhaps a little sentimental.        

11. Do you have a food that you don't like, but everyone else does?

No, but I've experienced just the opposite.  Sometimes, I feel like I'm practically the only person in the entire world who likes spinach!

Here are my eleven questions to ask others:

1)  Which era would you prefer to live in, the Enlightenment, or the Romantic Era?

2)  Who do you feel you most relate to and side with more, Marianne Dashwood or Elinor Dashwood (from Sense and Sensibility)? 

3)  Your favorite genre to read?  Why do you enjoy this genre so much?  Why does it appeal to you?

4)  What is your philosophy?  What is your perception of life?   

5)  What three famous artists would you like to meet if you could?   

6)  Do you like prequels, sequels, and/or spin-offs of classic stories, or do you feel they ruin the original story for you?

7)  Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little, and if you did (or still do), where did you get the inspiration from?

8)  Favorite film version of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion?

9)  What is your favorite fairy tale/folk tale?   

10)  What are your top five favorite Broadway musicals?

11)  Least favorite book and least favorite movie?  What do you hate most about each of them?

I may be breaking some of the rules, but I'm not going to tag anyone.  If you want to try answering the eleven questions I came up with, feel free to do so!  I'm curious to know your answers to my questions, so please leave the link to your answers in the comments, so that I may read them.  I really enjoyed writing this.  
Until next time!