The Luckiest Girl in the Whole World

There was once a girl who wanted so badly to go see the 25th Anniversary concert of The Phantom of the Opera. She called all week to the box office at the Royal Albert Hall hoping there might be a way to get a ticket; however they were almost sold out and were selling for 85 to 225 pounds, which equals too much American money for a poor girl on a student budget!

She had almost given up all hope, but at the last minute decided to go to the Royal Albert Hall the night of the show to see if by some miracle she could get a ticket. Well, right as she walked up to get in line at the box office to ask about a ticket, a lovely couple walked up to her and said, "You wouldn't by any chance want to buy a single ticket for 45 pounds?" And the girl practically threw her money at them and semi-burst into tears. (She may have actually scared the poor nice people a little bit.) But they said, "We're glad the ticket is going to a good home!"

Well she got up to her seat in the nosebleeds, and quickly realized that from where she was sitting she would not actually be able to see the show. She was OK with this though because she made it in, and would at least be able to hear the glorious concert! She decided in the interim time before the start of the show to stand by the rail her balcony and admire the stage below, taking it all in. While she was doing so, another lovely British couple took their seats next to where she was standing. She struck up a conversation with them about how she was a student, and couldn't believe her luck that she was here to see the show. Before she knew it...the show was starting and it was time for her to make her way to her seat.

However, as luck would have it, no one was sitting on the other side of this couple the girl had been talking too. The empty seat was at the rail of the balcony over looking directly on to the stage! Well as the usher walked by to ask the girl if she was in her correct seat, the lovely British couple said, "Oh no, she's with us!" And they let the overjoyed student sneak right past them and sit in a seat with a full view of the stage! From where the girl was sitting not only could she see the performance below, but she could see the orchestra, who for the concert, were playing from an elevated pit above the stage. She was also very glad that at the start of the show, the wonderful people who had sold her her ticket were able to sneak down and sit next to her at the railing. She was very glad they could see the show too!

Oh! And the music that filled the hall was the most glorious thing! The orchestra was flawless; filled with the best musicians from the UK. The music just swept over you and made you want to cry that's how beautiful it sounded! And Ramin Karimloo gave the most heart wrenching performance of the Phantom...it was like the audience was holding their breath every moment he opened his mouth to sing. People were just waiting to hear what notes would come next (even though everyone there knew the score backwards and forwards).

As if a full length production of The Phantom of the Opera with a cast of about 150 people wasn't enough, an hour long concert followed. Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber gave a speech, followed by a performance by Sarah Brightman (the original Christine), and the original cast from 25 years ago with Michael Crawford appeared on stage as well!

The girl was just beside herself with happiness, and couldn't believe she was lucky enough to witness such a spectacular event!

And this friends and family, is the story of the Luckiest Girl in the Whole World!!!!

The End.

**Below is the view of the stage from my seat!**(Also coming soon are tales from my day trips around the UK! So stay tuned for more amazing adventures!)