This leads to a perfectly timed theatre-related Ask Billy question.  Frank in NYC asks, “Did you hear about the 40^th anniversary performance of Phantom in London?  Did Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman really sing?”

Well, they “appeared” to be singing.  But let me explain what happened for those who don’t know.  This special landmark performance of The Phantom of the Opera was recorded live for future release in cinemas.  The momentous event took place at His Majesty’s Theatre in London, where the show has been running these past four decades (it was called Her Majesty’s Theatre for most of the show’s run).  After the musical ended, several former notable stars turned up for an encore of the title duet.  Genonimo Rauch and Sierra Boggess, John Owen-Jones and Lucy St. Louis, Killian Donnelly and Gina Beck, Ben Forster and Claire Moore.  The final pair to appear were Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, who entered on that mysterious gondola in the basement of the Paris Opera House.  I’m told that the vocals for these veterans had been pre-recorded, but the audience didn’t seem to care.  I think everyone was amazed that the final twosome were able to get out of the gondola without breaking a hip!  There was at least one bit of live singing from the 84-year-old Crawford.  The evening closed with all of the Phantoms singing “The Music of the Night”.  Particularly poignant is when the current Phantom sang, “You alone can make my song take flight,” motioning for Crawford to sing the final line: “Help me make the music of the night.”  You can see the full videos from the event on BillyMasters.com.

­­­When anyone is paying to see Gillian 20 times, it’s definitely time to end yet another column.  Here’s a fun fact – two of the gentlemen in this column actually dated each other.  It’s really not much of a secret, but you can probably figure it out by heading over to BillyMasters.com – the site that proves missionary is more than just a position.  If you have a question, dash it off to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Plastique works her magic on Seacrest!  Until next time, remember, one man’s filth is another man’s bible.