Johnny Carson’s Birthday

Johnny Carson 1  Carson

I enjoyed watching Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show”, I thought his monologues had clever jokes about current topics, I liked when he performed the Carnac the Magnificent skits and of course I loved when his guest was Joan Embery from the San Diego Zoo and she would bring interesting animals to the show.  In my personal option Johnny Carson was a one of a kind late night talk show host and nobody on television today even comes close to his talent except maybe Jimmy Fallon.

John “Johnny” William Carson (Born: October 23, 1925 Died: January 23, 2005) was an American talk show icon who hosted “The Tonight Show” from 1962 to 1992.  His casual manner and great conversational skills made him one of the most successful television hosts for thirty years.  During his long career Carson received six Emmy Awards and he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987.  In 1985 Carson received the Peabody Award, in 1992 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 1993 he received a Kennedy Center Honor.

Carson the amateur magicianCarson was born in Corning, Iowa and his family moved to Norfolk, Nebraska when he was eight years old.  At the age of twelve years old he was inspired by a book of magic that he had read and sent away for a mail-order magician’s kit.  He practiced constantly and performed for his family and friends.  When he was fourteen years old he started performing a local events and county fairs.

In 1943, after graduating from high school, Carson joined the U.S. Navy.  World War II was still being fought and after officer training Carson was assigned as an ensign aboard the USS Pennsylvania, he served as a communications officer in charge of decoding encrypted messages.

After the war, Carson returned to Nebraska and continued his college education at the University of Nebraska.  He graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio & speech with a minor in physics.

In 1950, Carson took a job in Omaha hosting a morning program at the local radio station.  He continued to perform his magic act in the evenings at local events.  A year later, Carson decided he wanted to move to California to find work in the new entertainment field of television.  He found a job at a local Los Angeles television, it was a CBC low budget comedy show called “Carson’ Cellar which ran from 1951 to 1953.

In 1953, Red Skelton hired Carson to become a writer for his show.  A year later, just before show time Skelton had an accident and was unable to perform and Carson filled in for him and was a great success.  Then in 1955, Jack Benny invited Carson to appear on his show as a performer and was once again a huge success. Benny predicted that Carson would go on to have a great career as a comedian … I think he was right!

Carson went on to host other shows based in California and he was a regular on the original “To Tell The Trust” game show until 1962.  He then moved to New York City to take a job hosting the game show “Who Do You Trust?”  At this time Carson met Ed McMahon on this show when McMahon was hired as the show’s announcer, their friendship lasted 46 years.  Carson worked on the game show for five years and it was the first time he was able to use his clever on-camera wit to ad lib and interview guests, the show was a great daytime television hit.

In 1962, NBC invited Carson to fill in for the soon to be departing Jack Paar of “The Tonight Show”.  He originally declined the offer because he was fearful of the longer daily format.  Eventually he accepted the offer and he officially became the host on October 1, 1962.  The first year was very difficult as he tried to develop the show but the rating slowly began to improve.  Ed McMahon was brought in as the announcer and with his classic line, “Heeeer’s Johnny” he would introduce Carson who would open the show with a brief monologue filled with jokes and funny stories on the current topics of the day and he would always end the monologue with his icon golf swing as they would cut to the commercial.  After the commercial break, there would sometimes be a comedy sketch followed by guest interviews and sometimes a musical segment.

In 1972, “The Tonight Show” was moved from New York City to “beautiful downtown” Burbank, California.  Carson had stopped doing the show five days a week by this time and for the Monday night show there would a guest host.  In the 1980s the show format changed from 90 minutes to an hour program.  Although Carson work schedule was shorter his salary at NBC continued to rise and by the 1970s he had become the highest paid person on television.

“The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” launched the many careers and the list of comedian that got their start on the show is very impressive: David Letterman, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Tim Allen, Rosanne Barr, Ellen DeGenneres and Drew Carey.  It was always the highlight of a comedian’s career when Carson liked their stand-up routine and invited them over for a chat afterwards, allowing them extra time to show their stuff!

Carson officially retired from show business and his final “Tonight Show” was May 22, 1992.  Prior to that final show and in the weeks leading up to the event, Carson invited some of his favorite guests from the last thirty years.  The night before the final show, his last two guests were Robin Williams and Bette Midler.  Williams gave one of his usual zany, high energy performances and Midler sang a few of Carson’s favorite songs.  The last song she sang was “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)” and everyone was very emotional, even Johnny Carson!

The final show had no guests and it was a retrospective show with clips from some of his favorite moments over the last thirty years.  The studio audience that night was by invitation only and was “Tonight Show” family and friends.  More than fifty million people watched the finale and Johnny Carson ended the show with a heartfelt thank you to Ed McMahon, Doc Severinsen and the “Tonight Show” crew.  He also thanked the television viewers for inviting him into their homes and then he said good night.CARSON

Post retirement, Carson made occasional appearances.  Two special ones were the 1993 Bob Hope NBC Special and in 1994 he made a guest appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman”.  He also was seen at the Wimbledon Tennis Competitions, at his home in Malibu or in Marina del Ray on his 130 foot yacht, the “Serengeti”.

Throughout his life Carson was a very heavy smoker, in fact in the early days of the “Tonight Show” Carson would often smoke on camera.  In 1999, Carson suffered a severe heart attack and underwent a quadruple bypass surgery.  In 2002 it was publicly revealed that Carson had a terminal illness.  Carson died on January 23, 2005 from respiratory failure brought on from emphysema, he was 79 years old.  International tributes came from around the world but there was no public memorial service.

Interesting information and facts about Johnny Carson

  • Carson was married four times.  His first marriage was to Jody Wolcott, they married in 1948 and divorced in 1963.  In 1963, Carson married Joanne Copeland and they divorced in 1972.  In 1972, Carson married Joanna Holland and they divorced in 1983.  In 1987, Carson married Alexis Maas and they remained married until his death in 2005.  Carson always had a clever joke to say about his multiple marriages, divorces and high alimony payments.
  • Carson had three sons from his first marriage, Christopher, Cory and Richard.  Sadly Richard died in 1991 in a car accident.
  • In 1962, Carson replaced Jack Paar as the host of “The Tonight Show”.  Paar changed late night television when he always opened the show with a monologue about current events.  He hosted “The Tonight Show” from 1957 to 1962 and Hugh Downs was the show’s announcer.   Before Paar, Steve Allen hosted the show from 1954 to 1957.
  • Paul Anka wrote the theme song of “The Tonight Show”, he later called it “Johnny’s Theme”.  When he took over “The Tonight Show” in 1962 Carson wrote lyrics for the song and as a result he was able to claim 50% of the song royalties.  Interestingly, the lyrics were rarely heard during those 30 years that Carson hosted the late night show.
  • During Carson’s opening five minute monologue he made clever and funny jokes about politicians, celebrities and current events.  Occasionally, the monologue would bomb and the orchestra would start to play “Tea For Two” and Carson would do a little soft shoe dance.
  • In 1966, Carson did a segment on “The Tonight Show” with Eva Gabor and they played the Milton Bradley’s game Twister, after the show aired the sales of the game skyrocketed.
  • In 1973, Carson did a joke on “The Tonight Show” about an alleged shortage of toilet paper.  Afterwards, in a panic people began buying up large supplies of toilet paper, emptying the shelves of stores in the United States and causing a real shortage that lasted for weeks.  Stores and toilet paper manufacturers had to ration supplies until the panic ended; Carson later apologized for the incident.
  • Carson as CarnacCarson played many different characters in comedy skits on the show, but his most popular was Carnac the Magnificent.  The character of Carnac could see the future and Carson would wear a large turban and cape.  Ed McMahon would give Carnac a sealed envelope with a question written inside.  Carnac would touch the envelope to his forehead and magically reveal the answer to the unknown question.  Then he would open the envelope to reveal the question.  Answer – “To the Cleaners” Question – “Where are Johnny Carson’s ex-wives taking him?”  If the audience did not laugh, Carnac would cast a humorous curse.
  • Carson was an amateur astronomer and he owned several telescopes.  One of his close friends was famed writer and astronomer Carl Sagan, who was often a guest on “The Tonight Show”.
  • Carson hated disloyalty among friends and professional colleagues.  When former “Tonight Show” guest host Joan Rivers got her own talk show in 1986, which was in direct competition with his show, Carson was angered by her betrayal and he never spoke to her again.
  • Before Carson’s death, The New York Times published a story revealing that Carson, after his retirement from television, would occasionally send jokes to David Letterman, Carson enjoyed when Letterman used the jokes in his monologue.  Carson had always believed that Letterman, not Jay Leno, should have been the next host of “The Tonight Show”.
  • PBS American Masters series, aired a two-hour documentary about his Carson’s life, “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night”, in 2012.  It is narrated by Kevin Spacey and features interviews with many of Carson’s family, television associates and other comedians.

Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien

J.R.R. TolkienIt’s Jeff again, here to talk about the Lord of the Rings.  The final volume of the three volume set was published, surprise, surprise, on October 20, 1955.   I read these books for the first time a long, long time ago when I was about 12.  Yes, first time.  I own and have re-read them countless times, mostly in English but several times in German.  Of course I have seen the absolutely spectacular movies and really enjoy the BBC radio dramas.

The Lord of the Rings is the sequel to The Hobbit.  It was written between 1937 and 1949 in stages by J. R. R. Tolkien.  When the publishers first approached him to write a sequel he proposed the book The Silmarillion, which was an early history of Middle Earth (the land where the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are set), but it was rejected. I have never been able to get through it, so I think that was a good choice!  Tolkien was a full time professor at Oxford so his writing progressed slowly.  The Lord of the Rings was originally supposed to be a children’s story, similar to The Hobbit, but it evolved into a much more serious and darker tale before it was completed.  The original manuscript was 9,250 pages long.  It has been officially translated into 38 languages.

Tolkien’s wish was for The Lord of the Rings to be published with the Silmarillion as a two volume set.  Post war paper shortages and the high cost of printing caused the publisher to balk at this.  They chose to split the Lord of the Rings into three books and the Silmarillion wasn’t published until after Tolkien’s death in 1973.  Each book is divided into two parts.  My favorite books are the Fellowship of the Ring (part 1) and the Return of the King (part 3).  The Two Towers, particularly where Frodo and Sam are working their way to Mordor is extremely dark and tends to drag on a bit.  It is still good, but the other parts are better.

The Lord of the Rings is an phenomenon.  It is the second best selling book of all times (excluding religious works) having sold over 150 Million copies. (Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities” is the first with over 200 Million copies. Check out Wikipedia’s list of best-selling books – very interesting.)  The work has spawned multiple live action and animated movie series with action figures and all the marketing materials which is not so uncommon, but also board games, online role playing games, comic books, radio dramas, artwork and music.  Led Zeppelin songs “Misty Mountain Top”, “Ramble On”, “The Battle of Evermore” and “Over the Hills and Far Away” are all supposedly inspired by Tolkien’s works. National Geographic did a special which is currently available on Netflix or you can stream for almost nothing here: National Geographic Beyond the Movie – The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring.

There are many groups that were built around Tolkien, but he most prominent is the Tolkien Society.  There are university courses taught on Tolkien and his works.  Being a linguist, the languages he created for the different races in the books were “real” and there are societies devoted to their research and propagation.

This post is a little short and a little light on facts, but there are literally thousands of web pages, classes and programs devoted to the subject.  The best I can do here is guide you to some of them and tell you they are really, really good books.  They are exceptionally well written, fun to read and full of meaning that relate even to today’s society.  While I strongly recommend you read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I suggest you read The Hobbit first.  It is lighter and sets the stage.  Don’t get lazy and just watch the (admittedly very good) movies.  You will miss a lot!

Writing this post reminds me I haven’t re-read these books in a while.  I think I’ll go pull out my copies and take another pass at them! If you don’t have a copy you can find a wide assortment at Amazon – Tolkien Books.

Jeff Jones

Travel – Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave sign 2

Our family loves exploring caves and we’ve visited several on our road trips across the United States throughout the years.  There is something exciting about being in the dark underground caves.  It is interesting to learn about how these caves are formed on the guided tours and there is always something to see inside, such as stalactites, stalagmites and other rock formations or bats, blind fish or sometimes even mummified animals that are found deep within the caves.  A few years ago we planned a trip to see Mammoth Caves National Park in central Kentucky which is one of the longest cave systems in the world.

A brief history of Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park was established on July 1, 1941 and covers over 52,000 acres and has over 400 miles of surveyed interconnected cave passageways.  The area of Mammoth Cave was formed more than several million years ago when water started to work through the limestone deposits by dissolving the rock and creating underground water passageways that connected with the nearby Green River.  Over time the water level slowly worked further underground creating narrow horizontal tunnels, vertical shafts and large caverns that were interconnected.  Eventually as the water continued to seep into the cave stalactites, stalagmites and gypsum crystal formations began to form.

Mammoth Cave interior 2  Mammoth Cave interior 1

In regards to the human history of Mammoth Caves, it has been determined that Native Americans had been in this area of Kentucky for over six thousand years.  Several pre-Columbian Native American remains have been found within the cave and it has been determined that these burial were intentional.  But in 1935, the remains of an adult male were discovered that indicate that the person, who became known as “Lost John”, became trapped when a large boulder shifted and fell on top of him.  For a period of time his remains were on display to the public but when this became a sensitive and political issue the remains were buried in an undisclosed location with Mammoth Caves.

Mammoth Cave was discovered by one of the Houchin brothers in 1767 while on a pursuing a bear on a hunting trip he found a large cave opening near the Green River.  The ownership of the land changed throughout the following years and during the War of 1912 the English blockage created a shortage of saltpeter which was used for the American military gunpowder.  As a result, the saltpeter extracted from the cave became a very profitable business.

After the war the price of saltpeter fell dramatically and the mines were eventually abandoned.  The cave became a local tourist attraction and tours were given.  A slave tour guide was responsible for making many important cave discoveries and was responsible for making a detailed map and naming several of the cave’s features.  When the remains of a Native American mummy were discovered in the cave the cave received international attention.

Eventually private citizens formed the Mammoth Cave Park Association in 1926.  Donated funds were used to purchase local farms within the area for extremely low prices and unfortunately during the process thousands of people were displaced and relocated to other areas.  Once the required minimum acreage was acquired to meet federal requirements, Mammoth Cave National Park was officially established and dedicated on July 1, 1941.

During the 1940s, the CCC was brought to Mammoth Cave to make improvements to cave passageways and build administration park buildings and additional staff housing.  Throughout the 1950s to 1970s, the Mammoth Cave National Park grew significantly in size when the other caves in the area were officially surveyed and confirmed as being definitely connected to Mammoth Cave.

Mammoth Cave staircase  Mammoth Cave buses

Mammoth Cave National Park visitor information and tips

  • Mammoth Cave National Park is located in central Kentucky, about 90 miles southwest of Louisville, and is open year-round, but the best time to visit is spring or fall.  Summer months can be very hot and crowded. 
  • Tours of Mammoth Caves are very popular and do sell out quickly, especially between April and October.  Visitors are advised to make reservations in advance and tickets will be held at “Will Call” and must be picked up at least 30 minutes prior to trip departure.  For more information on the tours, please see the Mammoth Cave National Park website at www.npsgov/maca.htm
  • There are several different tours to choose ranging from easy to very difficult, some last 1½ hours, the 3 hour lantern tour and the wild cave tour which is over 6 hours. The various tours explore different areas of the cave with interesting places such as Mammoth Dome, Bottomless Pit, Fat Man’s Misery, Frozen Niagara, Snowball Room and the Drapery Room.
  • There is a tour which is specially designed for children 8-12 years old, the Children Trog Tour.  Parents accompany their children for the first part of the program and then the children explore the cave with their guide.  Please see the Mammoth Cave National Park website for more information and restrictions, www.nps.gov/maca.htm
  • Visitors should wear comfortable shoes with non-skid soles and bring a jacket; the temperature inside the cave can be cool even during the summer.
  • SPECIAL TRAVEL NOTICE:  Please be aware that a disease called White-Nose Syndrome is a potential threat to the Mammoth Cave bats. The park may restrict what visitors can wear or bring into the cave.  Clothing, footwear and other items that have been worn in other caves or mines in specific areas of the country may not be brought into the Mammoth Cave.  For more information, please see the Mammoth Cave National Park website at www.nps.gov/maca.htm

Mammoth Cave 4

Craft – Jeweled Pumpkins

Classic Jeweled Pumpkin final 1  Halloween Jeweled Pumpkin final

For the past several years I have seen jeweled pumpkins in retail stores and this year I decided to make two different styles.  The first style is a Classic Jeweled Pumpkin which is an elegant ceramic pumpkin painted a beautiful metallic bronze color with individually glued topaz crystals.  I created two of these pumpkins to display in the china cabinet in our dining room for the upcoming fall season.  The other style is a Halloween Jeweled Pumpkin which is a lovely ivory porcelain pumpkin with individually glued black crystals and spiders.  This pumpkin is also displayed in our dining room on top of a tall chest of drawers.

Classic Jeweled Pumpkin supplies

Classic Jeweled Pumpkin – supplies

A small pumpkin
Metallic bronze paint
Metallic green paint
Paint brushes
Topaz crystals, flat back
Glue stick
Tweezers and toothpicks (optional)

 

Classic Jeweled Pumpkin – instructions

  1. Paint the pumpkin using the metallic bronze; paint the pumpkin stem using the metallic green paint.  Allow the pumpkin to dry completely.  (Craft Note: I used two unpainted ceramic pumpkins for this craft project, but wooden or papier-mâché pumpkins can also be used. I also selected traditional paint and matching crystal colors)
  2. When the paint is completely dried, hot glue individual crystals onto the pumpkins.  Follow the natural “stems” of the pumpkin.  (Craft Note: I used a toothpick to apply the glue to the back of the crystal and then tweezers for placing the crystals, this allowed for greater control when positioning them)

In the photo below  – the painted pumpkin is on the left and the pumpkin on the right shows the pumpkin with the crystals added.

Classic Jeweled Pumpkin final  Classic Jeweled Pumpkin on display in china cabinet

The Classic Jeweled Pumpkin instructions are very simple but the craft project can be very time consuming because of the painting process and, depending on the amount of crystals used, the application process can also take some time to complete.  The end result is a very elegant home accessory that would look wonderful displayed in any room of the house.

I used very traditional colors for the two Classic Jeweled Pumpkins but any color combinations of paint and crystals can be used.  One suggested color combination is ivory pearlized paint with “diamond” crystals or white pearls.  The color combinations can be endless and the idea is to create a custom look would match your room decor.

Halloween Jeweled Pumpkin supplies

Halloween Jeweled Pumpkin  – supplies

Ivory porcelain pumpkin
Black crystals in a variety of different sizes, flat back
Black spiders
Glue stick
Tweezers and toothpicks (optional)

Halloween Jeweled Pumpkin instructions

  1. I used an ivory porcelain pumpkin that I purchased from a local craft store, but if you cannot find one use an unpainted ceramic, wooden or papier-mâché pumpkin.  Paint the pumpkin an ivory color, white can be too harsh of a color, and allow it to dry completely.
  2. Starting with the largest sized black crystal to the smallest, place the crystals in a straight line in each of the “seams” of the pumpkin.  For visual interest vary the length of each line of black crystals.  (Craft Note: I used a toothpick to apply the glue to the back of the crystal and then tweezers for placing the crystals, this allowed for greater control when positioning the crystal)
  3. Add a spider to the end of each line of black crystals; this will look like the spiders are creating a web!  (Craft Note: I used 3-dimensional spiders that had self-adhesive backs, I found them in the scrapbook section of a local craft store)

Halloween Jeweled Pumpkin final

The Phantom of the Opera – the Musical

The Phantom of the Opera 1

“Le Fantome de Opera”, was originally a French novel written by Gaston Leroux and was first published in serial form in the newspaper Le Gaulois from late 1909 to early 1910.  When the story, “Phantom of the Opera” was publish later in book form but it sold very poorly and over the years there were various films and state productions, the most successful were the 1925 silent film adaptation starring Lon Chaney and the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.

A brief history of Andrew Lloyd Webber and “The Phantom of the Opera”

Andrew Lloyd Webber has created some of the most recognizable Broadway plays from “Evita” to “Cats” to the hugely successful “The Phantom of the Opera”.  He has received numerous awards and honors such as seven Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, the Kennedy Center Honors Award and a British knighthood.

Andrew Lloyd Webber was born in London, England on March 22, 1948.  He came from a musical family; his father William was a composer and organist, his mother Jean was a violinist and pianist, his brother Julian was an accomplished cellist.  Lloyd Webber was a musical prodigy and he played piano, violin, the French horn and began writing his own music at the age 6.  He studied at the Royal College of Music to pursue an interest in musical theatre.

In 1965, Lloyd Webber had started his long collaboration with Tim Rice.  Their first musical was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and it was an immediate success.  Their next production was the 1971 “Jesus Christ Superstar” followed by the 1976 “Evita”.  By this time, Lloyd Webber and Rice had developed a tradition of composing the words and music first, then recording an album of the music and finally producing the stage play.  Unfortunately, the successful Lloyd Webber and Rice partnership ended by the 1980s.  Lloyd Webber went on to create his first solo production “Cats”, which opened in London in 1981.

Lloyd Webber had been longing to write a romantic musical and he became inspired by the 1909 “Le Fantome de Opera” book written by French author Gaston Leroux.  In collaboration with Charles Hart and with some additional material provided by Richard Stilgoe, Lloyd Webber’s score of “Phantom of the Opera” is operatic in style while maintaining the form of a traditional musical; the songs are interspersed with the play’s dialogue. In 1982, “Phantom of the Opera” premiered in London’s West End at Her Majesty’s Theatre and is the story of a beautiful soprano who becomes the obsessed with a mysterious, disfigured musical genius.  Sarah Brightman was cast as Christine and Michael Crawford played the title role of the Phantom.  For the original West End production, Hal Prince directed and Gillian Lynne provided the musical staging and choreography.  Maria Bjornson was the set designer and she created the intricate sets that included a large chandelier that seemingly crashes to the stage and a gondola that travels through the dark underground world beneath the opera house.  She also created the 200 costumes with the majority of them being the elaborate gowns in the “Masquerade” section of the play.  In 1988, “Phantom of the Opera” came to the Majestic Theater on Broadway in New York City with Crawford and Brightman reprising their roles.  Since that time, “Phantom” has become the longest-running Broadway show in history with over 10,000 performances.

Lloyd Webber’s stage production of “The Phantom of the Opera” has proven to be his most popular musical.  The total worldwide gross receipts are the highest in history at over $5.6 billion and the total Broadway gross In the United States at $845 million.  “Phantom” has been seen by millions of people in almost 150 cities in over 25 countries while the musical still continues to play in both London and New York.

A synopsis of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” musical

Prologue – Date: 1905  Location: a fictional Opera House

As the play opens there is an auction going on at an old Opera House and theater props are being sold.  Lot #665, a monkey shaped music box, has been bought by an old man named Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny. He recognizes the music box and looks fondly at it remembering someone who was once very special to him.  The auction proceeds and the next object up for bidding is lot #666, a shattered chandelier that the auctioneer says holds a mystery never fully revealed and a strange connection to a phantom that haunted the old Opera House.  As the chandelier is uncovered it appears to glow and very slowly ascends to its original place high above the theater audience as the orchestra starts to play the overture …

 Act One – Date: 1881

 As the scene opens it is several years earlier and Carlotta, the Opera House’s leading soprano, is rehearsing her performance for that evening.  Suddenly the backdrop collapses and the frightened Opera House cast members start to whisper that it is the work of the ghostly Phantom.  Unsettled by the incident, Carlotta refuses to continue with the rehearsal and will not perform under these conditions.  The new owners of the Opera House are ready to cancel the evening’s performance but Madame Giry, the ballet mistress, tells them there is a chorus girl named Christine who has a beautiful voice and she can sing Carlotta’s part.  The owners are enchanted by her voice and decided she will substitute Carlotta for the night’s performance.

Later that evening after her debut, Christine is in her dressing room when Raoul, an old childhood friend, comes backstage to congratulate her on her wonderful performance.  Christine reminds him of the Angel of the Music stories that her late father would tell them when they were children and she reveals that the reason she sings so beautifully is that the Angel has come to visit her in the past and he taught her to sing.  Raoul, who is secretly in love with Christine, tells her the stories her father told could not possibly be true and it is just a fantasy.  As Raoul leaves, the Phantom appears in Christine’s dressing room mirror.  She becomes frightened and demands that he reveal himself.  The Phantom does and he tells her that he believes her story because he is the Angel of the Music.  He convinces Christine to come with him and she follows him to a dark place beneath the Opera House.  As they board a gondola, to calm her fears, the Phantom starts to sing to her as they travel across an underground lake and go deeper into his subterranean world.

The Phantom of the Opera 2

Christine becomes frightened by something and faints. She awakens to the sounds of a strange little monkey music box.  She sees the Phantom composing music at his organ and curious about what is hidden behind the Phantom’s mask she cautiously approaches him and as he is distracted with his music she takes off his mask to find that his face is hideously deformed.  He is shocked by her actions of revealing his face and he shamefully confesses to her how he longs to look normal and wishes she could possibly love him despite the way he looks.

While the Phantom has Christine underground, Madame Giry delivers a note from the Phantom to the Opera House owners demanding that Christine replace Carlotta in his new opera, II Muto, and if they fail to meet his demands something terrible will happen.  Carlotta is very upset about the Phantom’s request and the owners assure her that she will remain the lead soprano.  But during her performance that evening the Phantom causes her to croak like a frog as she tries to continue singing.  As the ballet dancers try to go on with the show, suddenly the body of the stagehand Buquet appears hanging from the rafters and falls to the stage floor dead.  There is panic on stage and the owners plead for everyone to remain calm explaining it is just a horrible accident but a sinister laughter from the Phantom can be heard somewhere in the theater.

A frightened Christine finds Rauol and tells him of her previous encounter with the Phantom in his underground world but he does not believe her and swears to love and protect her from harm.  The Phantom is in the shadows and overhears the conversation and claims he will seek revenge against Raoul.  The scene ends with the Opera House’s large chandelier crashing to the stage and the curtain falls on Act One.

Act Two – Date: six months later

As the scene opens there is a gala masquerade ball being held and the Phantom is in attendance and disguised as the Red Death.  He reveals himself to the guests tells them he has written a new opera, Don Juan Triumphant, and demands that it be produced immediately and that Christine play the lead role.  Once again he warns that unless his demands are met there will be horrible consequences.  Christine is now engaged to Raoul and the Phantom approaches her and grabs her engagement ring and vanishes in a flash of fire and smoke.

The new opera goes into production with Christine as the lead and Raoul has a plan to set a trap to capture the Phantom, knowing the he will be attending the première. Distraught and torn between her love for Raoul and her sympathy for the Phantom, Christine goes to visit her father’s grave and wishes that he were still there to guide her.  The Phantom appears in the cemetery and Christine is once again starts to fall under his spell but Raoul arrives to rescue her.  The Phantom challenges Raoul with his words and Christine pleads with Raoul to leave with her.

On opening night of the new opera, Christine is on stage singing her duet when she realizes that she is singing with Piangi, the lead tenor, but with the Phantom.  The Phantom has strangled Piangi and uses this opportunity to express his love for Christine but she rips off his mask exposing the Phantom and the audience is shocked by his deformed face.  The Phantom grabs Christine and flees the theatre.  Madame Giry tells Raoul where to find them in the Phantom’s underground world.

The Phantom forces Christine to wear a wedding dress and Raoul finds them but the Phantom captures him.  The Phantom tells Christine that he will free Raoul if she agrees to stay with him forever and if she refuses his demand Raoul will die.  Christine comforts the Phantom and having experienced compassion for the first time he agrees to set both of them free.  After they leave the Phantom starts to weep and covers himself with his cape just as an angry mob searching for Christine arrives down in the underground world but the Phantom has vanished and only his mask remains.