Finally saw Phantom!

I went with Lar, our mom, our family friend "Dorothy" and her friend "Sophia" to see Phantom of the Opera on Friday night. We got in for free because Dorothy's daughter works at the theatre we went to.
The beginning was played out very well, with the opera house "renovating itself" as the years rolled back to reveal the heyday of the Opera Populaire. The main characters were played out really well; I especially loved how Minnie Driver made the Diva Carlotta into an overgrown selfish brat! ^_^
I almost cried during "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again", not because it was sung beautifully or anything, although it was performed well, but because I was sitting next to my mom and I could imagine her singing the song and feeling the same way. Her father passed away not even a week after I got married. I could see her in the same situation as Christine, except my mom's happily married with four kids and a grand-daughter and Christine's in love with her childhood sweetheart and being persued by a masked man who just needs some love in his life. ^_^
While everybody else is watching the movie, commenting on how well the singers are doing, I'm watching the techniques they use. My mom lauds Emmy Rossum's voice, Lar is jealous that she sings so well, and I'm watching as she pulls her tongue to the bottom of her mouth to let the note ring out instead of having it in the middle of her mouth and obstructing it. I think she really got into it close to the middle of the movie where the intermission might have been. And I may get some flack from the Michael Crawford fanatics out there, but I think Gerard Butler sounded better. He's not terrific, but he's easier on the ears, especially in his higher register. Michael is okay as he goes lower, but as he gets higher, it sounds very nasal. Gerard may not have been able to hit some of the lower notes, so had to kinda whisper them, but as he got higher, he did much better. And he's more attractive! ^_^
On the whole, it was a terrific movie and I can't wait until it comes out on DVD. Too bad that Andrew Lloyd Weber isn't doing so hot and may have to sell away his empire. It might have been cool to see them do the same for Les Misérables.