POTO: The High School Version

A little over a month ago, I had my first experience seeing a high school production of our beloved POTO. The performance was at Punahou School in Hawaii (which happens to be my sister's alma mater). I tried not to come in with too many preconceived notions of what would and wouldn't work in such a production, but let's be honest. I think everyone reading this page has seen the stage show live, or at least watched YouTube clips of one or more productions. Plus, we've had the novel, the movie version, countless cast recordings and cover versions, and all sorts of other media telling us what to expect when we see "Phantom" somewhere.

I wasn't all that worried about a high school version "ruining" POTO for me -- I had seen many school versions, some good and others bad, for many other shows, and none of those shows had been "ruined" for me, nor have any that I consider to be poor shows been "saved" in my eyes by a high-quality production, whether done professionally or by students. Plus, there have been a few POTO adaptations I disliked, but clearly, none of them "ruined" the whole thing for me. But anyway, thus ends my rant over whether a high school or other amateur production has the potential to "ruin" Phantom. I now present my review of Punahou School's production, the first amateur one done in Hawaii.

Happy Hallow's Eve!

Greetings, everyone! I'm sorry I haven't posted in so very long... but I knew I couldn't let Halloween go by without some kind of acknowledgment on this blog. I hope all of you have a wondrous All Hallow's Eve, whether you're planning on trick-or-treating, staying home and giving candy to kids (and kids-at-heart) who drop by, going to Halloween parties, curling up with your favorite scary books/movies/music, or doing something else to keep the spirit of Halloween alive in your heart. As for me, I'll be prowling the streets of Waikiki as part of their annual costume parade!