Our second day we took a boat tour to see Lady Liberty. I thought we’d be able to go up but it takes tickets months in advance to even get inside. Still, she did not fail to impress. The Francophile in me loved the connection with Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, the man of course famous for the Eiffel Tower, but also for designing our statue’s steel framework. French sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi created the statue itself using sheets of hammered copper. The island where she resides is now known as Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty remains one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world today. When we disembarked I got Burk to sit still for another portrait. (I don’t care for caricatures). He felt like the one from our honeymoon in Paris made him look like a serial killer. This one he felt made him look 12. Next it was time to change for an unfashionably early dinner at the 21 Club. I had seen pictures of it on TV but it was Burk’s childhood stomping ground as his Grandmother often dined there for lunch. So I saw it with new eyes and Burk saw it through the lense of time. Established in 1922, it was originally a small speakeasy that moved locations and was raided by police several times. As soon as a raid began, a system of levers used to tip the bar shelves, sweeping the liquor bottles into the sewer. We were essentially alone in the restaurant at that hour but that was more than fine with me. I got to walk through the various rooms without being stared at while I took pictures. After dinner we literally ran into Elmo on the street and I made Burk have his picture taken with him. I feel so badly because I did not realize you were supposed to tip. <cringe> “The Phantom of the Opera” was everything I thought it would be and much, much more. The set design was the best I’d ever seen. Going down the staircase of The Majestic at intermission was a bit like stepping back in time. It opened in 1927 and until the ’70’s was the largest theatre on Broadway. Currently it has the longest running production with Phantom in Broadway history. I have inherited my mother’s long-standing pet peeve of disiking Dallasites for jumping up to give a standing ovation for absolutely ANYthing. She studied classical music for over 20 years. THIS however definitely merited it. And so with that I shall close with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous lyrics from “The Phantom of the Opera”:
“The Music of the Night”
Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation
Darkness stirs and wakes imagination
Silently the senses abandon their defensesSlowly, gently night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender
Turn your face away from the garish light of day
Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light
And listen to the music of the nightClose your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before
Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar
And you live as you’ve never lived beforeSoftly, deftly, music shall caress you
Hear it, feel it secretly possess you
Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind
In this darkness that you know you cannot fight
The darkness of the music of the nightLet your mind start a journey to a strange new world
Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before
Let your soul take you where you long to be
Only then can you belong to meFloating, falling, sweet intoxication
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in
To the power of the music that I write
The power of the music of the nightYou alone can make my song take flight
Help me make the music of the night
