Fidget Chandelier

Daphne's from from Manchester, who's like maybe a real minx. Uh. Leslie is a real person. She is my good friend from Los Angeles. We've known each other since kind of since our big chill days. Um and Leslie now is in Berlin and she's visiting New York this week. And she is a trainer and also just in general, like a writer and thinker about fitness. Fitness is like maybe like a bad word, but like yeah, just about physical

activity and and and one's practice. So I thought that would be kind of fun to talk about because um, I think we tend to be really big advocates of like brain and a jarism. Uh are you advocates for it or you just well, well, we all fall on different lines of it. Tests says that she's a percent brain in a jar, but I would argue otherwise. Tests is like a big digger of holes. I hear, I

do I want? Literally she loves to dig a hole. Well, I have a backyard and like occasionally when I feel existential dread or um just frustration with something, there's like a tree adoption event every so often in my neighborhood. And I have all these trees in pots, you know, I have them waiting for those times, and then I'll go out in the yard and dig a gigantic hole. And it's satisfying, right, It's very satisfying. I have like the world's worst shovel, so I really have to work

in it, and that's how I get it out. But I don't consider it exercise even though it hurts. That is exercise, that it's using your body to do something that's satisfying, which is I feel like what I like about Leslie's exercise practice whatever Leslie would like to call it, What do you think of it? It's like an art practice that involves exercise, but it's about like practical things, like um, getting out. You did one that was about like lifting things in the way that is like the best,

the most efficient way to get up efficient. I like the way to do it properly so you don't like sunk up your back and shoulders, which is yeah, yeah, for sure. I mean my relationship to exercise and movement is like for sure evolved over the last uh well long long time because I grew up in l A in the middle of like fitness culture, which I totally resented, and um, I think I lived a very brain in the jar kind of existence except for like doing Emily. Yeah,

I was a swimmer. I did do some sports. I did actually many sports, but not very many compared to like my super athlete friends. When I like one of my best friends when I was a little little kid, became a professional football player, and but I did gymnastics

until I got too tall for that. And and then once I was in high school and started to dabble in photography, I think that the dark room kind of swallowed me up and I did fully come out of that until I got a trainer for a bit in l A. Through a job that I had, and um, this trainer worked with me three times a week and it was oddly something that my work was paying for. So I just took full advantage of that because they

weren't paying me very well. I think that they were paying you for like, um, superficial reasons, like they wanted to make sure that all of their people, and I think it was just like, um, something that they weren't fully aware of. It was just like insurance full It was a glitch, a glitch in the matrix. There was a glitch that I found in the matrix and I

really really liked it. Actually, it was so funny because we were like so so poor at that time, but it was like you were going to this fancy gym, like and I still remember where it was because it was so unusual to be in a place like that, a penthouse gym, yeah, overlooked, and we were like out on the patio like swinging kettlebells. Is like the first time I ever did that. Night Call is brought to you by robin Hood. Robin Hood is an investing app that lets you buy and sell stocks, et fs, options,

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nightcall dot robin hood dot com. That's nightcall dot robin hood dot com. I went into an Equinox with somebody and I was like, Oh, you could just live here. They stop people from just living here. I have this thing, I wrote, like, because I wasn't equinox member. When I was at the verge end Um, I had to quit. When I can report to be an Equinox member. But I like wrote a thing that I never published anywhere that was like my goodbye to all that, but about Equinox?

Can I publish that? Actually it might have been lost in my computer when I I mean what that made me think of those? Like how? How? I think there's like impediments to people getting into adopting that into their lifestyle because like one, they like feel like they could never identify as somebody goes to a gym or something. Yeah, I think that's what we're talking about. It is like

as like an as like a nerd girl. You have to be like, well, I'm not a gym and I hate my body and I will never acknowledge that it's there, and I will do everything in my power to deny my body. But I saw it as like functional. I was like, my body is for like getting me from one place to another, but not that like I don't want it doesn't have to be ornamental. I can just be exactly the truck that drives me around my body.

I'm very respectful of other people's exercise routines. I find it very I've done it before, and I did Power of Ten. I think it was called for a while where it's like just lifting as much as you can lift, and tests can really lift some stuff because she has kids, So I think your brain in a jar at all. No she's not, but I respect that your conviction that

you are. I think it's more that I went through periods where I would like really just spend a lot of time, Like in college, I spent a lot of time in the gym because it was free at school, and I think I was really interested in becoming like super super strong. But then eventually it just made me like just crazy hungry all the time, so much hungrier than a real person should be, because I was expecting

so many calories when I was starving. It's like I was preparing for someone to like want to fight or something. I now do. I try to be active, like if it's easier, you know, if I can walk someplace, I will. I'm lifting kids and bags and I like to carry stuff for people. If the opportunity arises of a work where is media in l A. I'm very aware of the kind of like the vanity of feeling as though um it's not like a spiritual or like you're in tune with your body thing, but it's it's more of

a you know, superficial thing. I just reject it and it makes me like I'm very ornery about it. Yeah, it's a different It's like it's totally good, I think. Yeah. I always resented the like kind of fitness practices that were dominant in Los Angeles, and really it took me until moving to Berlin to like to get so down with and even then, like I was going for strength and not for some kind of an esthetic goal. Right, it's not like you know, toning your calves or whatever.

People like like these really microup session things about certain parts of your body, like trendy like you know, fitness trends that come and go, or we talked about opinion, but there's all kind of stuff like that. My friends went to Across Fit. I'm like, I remember just crossed that, just being like nah, like that's not for me. Because there was one called sweat Garage where it's like they put you in a garage and they closed the garage door and they're like now you're in the sweat garage.

And I was like no, now you're trapped. God, wait, that sounds awful. CrossFit where like and this this relates to like lifting things the correct way where there's a danger and I think we've talked about this on the across. It's bad. It's like you're not supposed to push yourself to the limit all the time, and that's what's good. Back to Leslie, Well, Leslie's Breakfast Studio is a lot

of it is about sort of functional things. And yes, yeah, I mean I think that what I'm on a path too towards and what I'm trying to help facilitate other people um to do is to just be able to, um do something that prompts a positive adaptation in their bodies, so like doing stuff that feels good, that makes them stronger, that makes them more mobile, but is also just something that like becomes a really practical and sustainable part of

their lives. So that's also really individual, Like people live very differently and for some folks, like CrossFit will be great actually because they're really tuned to it. It's something that will serve them, um they have more energy or whatever they're more fit for like Olympic weightlifting and gymnastics and all that kind of stuff that's in that package. But for other people, like CrossFit would just be like

system overload, total shut down. Like they're even more alienated from fitness than UM they were when they started trying cross fit or whatever because they or they hurt themselves or something and then you really like give up for a time. Yeah, And I think it's like it's just really important to create a space where people aren't scared of UM trying to get stronger. There's like there's a way for anybody if they're like reached properly to to

get stronger. It's just different for for everyone. UM. Yeah, I think UM. I wanted to talk about our experience on UM on election night also Hi, everybody were on the other side of the election. But that that night, UM, I was just trying to figure out what to do, Like I had a screening that I could maybe you could go to, or you know, I was just trying to figure out what to do with myself that evening

to not just go crazy. And Leslie and I ended up going to a martial arts class that, like I did not realize was going to be two and a half hours long. It was like a class and then there was just kind of a practice session in the middle of it too. There's a lot of teaching. There's a lot, Yeah, there was. It wasn't like constantly doing stuff, but it was still like by the end of it, I was like shaking, or are you good at martial arts? By the end? I mean martial arts by the end,

know I got Indian burns. Yeah, but it was like it was really really great and it was so different from I've even been doing boxing lately, but it was even different from that. But it was like, it's like the opposite of brain at the jar, because like if your brain at the jar during a stressful time, like I don't know, say, any given point of the last several years, and that's what we all like about physical activity,

yourselves out of the brain in a jar. And that's why it's fun to dig the hole, is because you're like, I just gotta dig the hole and like it's fun,

it's mindful. The thing that's also crazy when I was talking about this, when we were talking about group fitness, like a few weeks ago, was that I started going back to the physique fifty seven and like the pop physiques of the world and stuff, and I hadn't gone for years and years to that, and I went back and it was such a culture shock, like especially because I think like I had been taking so many of my cues from you, Leslie, and or like like trying

to rethink about like how I approached doing any kind of these classes. Well, No, like in the classes, it's just like so the opposite of everything. Like it's just like these models and stuff and it depends what you want. It's like they're all styles, and like I also just like as a people watcher, enjoy all the styles. Like I also enjoy going to Runyon Canyon and seeing people that are like super dressed up to work out, you know, perfect.

You talk about the power of observation in terms of exercise, like if you put your self within these things, like they're really different experientially. Yeah, for sure. I go to the y m c A, which my friend Sarah got

me into in part because it's like the most unintimidating Jim. Yeah, Like the y m c A is all it's a lot of old people well, which we go to different wise, but mine is also mostly people over sixty and people and naked and body confident, which is my favor just like good sense of community at the y, like you get to know the people your your time frame tends to line up, so eventually you have like pretty deep

discussions with your nine year old. I've also heard some really like I eavesdrop, you know, obviously in the locker room. And I heard a really interesting like prop ten conversation last right before the vote. Um it was a couple of people talking about how they were voting. Yes, um r I p prop toon. We're still going to figure out in control in Los Angeles. But one of the reasons that we're talking about fitness so much is because

we have to get soul for the apocalypse. Right, Yeah, I'm not I'm not getting swollen you guys, but I am supporting you getting I think when in terms of this whole sentiment of like getting swollen for the apocalypse that to me as a professional, like it totally shuts me down. I'm just like, nope, nope, nope, nope. Like my role as a like fitness mentor is sort of to help to get people to do training just out of a sense of curiosity and not for any specific purpose,

even though it could be functional. Like I think that it's more about like what will happen if we try to do this like in a safe obviously, in like a safe and prepared environment, or like expand your notion of what your body can do or something, because there's like some inherent used to that even if you're not good at whatever you're doing. Yeah, yeah, which is kind of like this like notion of self and posed enrichment that I'm like a big, big believer in and kind

of doing things for no reason. Like last year I just started climbing up these mountains because I realized that, Like I was like, if I don't, if I don't start summiting mountains, I'm never gonna be a summit or so I got to get going. And I'm like not a mountaineer. I'm not even a hiker at all. I was raised like in the concrete jungle of l A. But I mean we used to go on hikes, and you, like I, I would like die. I would die on hikes with Emily. I got so gung home in hiking,

like it became a really love beating me. Oh my god, I loved it so much. Leslie, did you get strong to become stronger than Emily? That all comes down to that. Oh, this is what we're talking about. This, this is going to culminate in an arm wrestling championship. Yeah, well I call arm wrestling. I'm already putting money only. I'm sorry, Molly. I feel like you've got secret strength you don't even

know about. You're probably, yeah, you're probably. Like you know, they always talk about like moms can lift a car if they see like a car coming towards the adrenaline, you could summon that adrenaline. Mom's moms can lift a lot. Like I sometimes que moms when we're like doing a dead lift. I'll tell them that like their kids trapped under a car, and then like all of a sudden, they can lift like twenty k that's like forty four pounds more. Oh my god, your brain switched to Quilo's leslie.

How long did that take? Totally European, guys, And just like I'm in my American suit, you're like toning down your l a voice right now, though I know I've been trying real hard to have a New York voice, a New York voice. Yeah, well I'm trying to have it right now. You guys can't tell Oh my God, you're not loud enough. You have to like yell your opinion like everybody yelling at the same time. Would be a New York New York voice as a Los Angeles

person who likes to yell my inion at people. Let's not make these generally where the loud people who yell come from over. Today's episode of Night Call is brought to you by Lola, a modern approach to feminine care. Lola is a female founded company offering a line of organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners. They now offer sex products too. Unlike other major brands, Lola products are one natural, no bs, no mystery fibers, no doubts about what you're

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off all subscriptions. Visit my Lola dot com and enter call when you subscribe, that's my Lola dot com. Enter c a l l fort off your subscription. Cool test. What is that? Is it a monster? Monster? Is it one of those like little gummy ones? Oh my gosh, I love those so much. I realized I've started biting my nails again. Are you guys into fidgeting? Because I had a fidget cube and I couldn't figure. I was like, none of these buttons push. It's like it's supposed to

frustrate you or something. So I was like, I need to just get like a fidget thing that's not gonna make me square. It's like a it's a fidget cube, and it's like a little plastic cube and it has like little kind of button protuberances on it and like little switches. It's you're just both basically supposed to like play with it. It's like a fidget spinner. But if you have like, um, if you bite your nails or if you like pick your cuticles, you just kind of

it's something to do with your hands. Like I took up knitting to also try and um stop doing that. But I couldn't end like my things. I just have like really long I've been compulsively baking, which is maybe the opposite of doing martial arts and boxing. It's but you can't actually because you're right, it's all I'm a Leslie bigs Pies. You punch that bread also, and you need it. Sometimes we should take a night email. Perhaps let's do it. So we're gonna take a night email.

And as always, if you want to send us an email, you can at night Call Podcast at gmail dot com. You can also give us a call at one two four oh four six night. This email comes to us from Daniel, and Daniel says, dear Night Operators, I just finished watching Titanic for the first time. I'm thirty four and have obstinately even proudly refused to watch it into now because I thought I was too cool. I was wrong. I'm a little drunk. I watched it alone, so maybe

I missed something. But what the fuck? The ending? The last scene we're in all one, weird, dissolved. We go from underwater and all the people that died are still in the Titanic. So Rose dies and Jack is waiting for her with all the ghosts Titanic limbo? What is the moral? No one ever escapes the Titanic. It's the shining underwater, another frozen Jack, trapped forever in some gilded age, parallel universe, so intensely dark. Why did no one tell

me about this? I've been planning a night call since I listened to the Annihilation episode because it got me thinking about cosmic horror, like what is the definition? I wanted to ask, what are some of your favorite cosmic horror movies? But now I have to ask, is Titanic

a cosmic horror movie? I know there are no aliens or no body horror, but there is the crushing indifference of the North Atlantic and the tentacle ropes whooping around, and the sheer scale of the disaster driving sailors to suicide. The ship is an elder god returning to the deep to become a tiny hell for all the souls that's swallowed. So yeah, other than the Titanic, what are your favorite cosmic horror movies? Thanks? Dan? Wow, what a great night.

Excellent night. It hit all the points. Yeah, it's good, It's real good. I really like the read of Titanic as a cosmic horror movie. I don't think it's wrong, if only because what was I thinking about recently? Where When I saw it when I was in seventh grade, I was sort of surprised that I didn't cry at the end when everybody else said that they tried, But I cried at the beginning because I knew it was going to happen, Like I cried when they were leaving

the port. There's something else like that recently that I watched that I felt like was the same. Oh yeah, like a star is born, Like I cry when she goes on stage because it's like the best that it's going to be, you know, and it's all downhill from there that happened. They don't even know. Yeah, I have no idea. I did not like Titanic at all. You've never liked Titantic Titanic when you were a child, why not?

Because I thought this is so mean. I was like Minaro DiCaprio had like already peaked by that point, what peaching Romeo and Juliet he did it. He was already a square head by Titanic. You're like saying what I thought. Ever since I was like, you know, since Titanic came out, like I felt the exact same way. But I think I've always been afraid to admit that to myself. Well, he's a very damp boy. Also, he's a damp boy. They tried to like like Timothy shallow Ma they're making

into a damp boy now. But but Leo was like the original dance, so that kind of damn point. I don't get Timothy shallow me at all. And it's the exact same appeal as I find no appeal in Timothy Well, because you're not you're not thirteen. Leo at least had like a tinge of like threatening nous to him, Like Timothy shallowmy is so unthreatening. It's like for people that

don't actually want to kiss boys. Yet they're like, I'm scariest boy in the world, but he's a little more interesting than Justin Bieber, which was the same noime Justin Bieber's got edged no but original, original, original recipe. Justin Bieber was like the most even then you should sense the darkness, you think, baby, baby, Baby, there's a lot

of darkness. And though um, I like the idea of the iceberg making it a cosmic horror movie because obviously there's a lot of icebergs, and like HP Lovecraft, that's what the the ancient alien live in a couple of them. Well, all all North Pole things are existential too. I mean anything having to do like like like Frankenstein like feels like cosmic horror, just because it starts with like this wreck in the Arctic, Like that's terrifying to me, cosmic horror.

It's like what I was going to say, Number one, that's the best. I mean, initially I was going with Alien, but I think two thousand one is you can't realize we've talked. Alien is a hybrid cosmic horror slasher Instagram with a little bit of body horror, pregnancy horror, pregnancy

horror sprinkled in in revisiting Titanic. It is a very dated movie, I think, but I definitely cried in the well, yeah, like I saw it in the theater as a child, and the idea, I think mostly like the parts that maybe cry were like the band played on aspect, it's really sad to see musicians playing on a sinking ship. I felt like it was a good allegory for the sixth grade or whatever seventh grade year. It was deeply depressing.

The story of Titanic is just super sad on its nose, clearly, and you don't really need a love story to make it depressing, because I feel like I was crying more at the broad stroke. It was such a broad movie. That's like he tried to be specific. Yeah, he's poor and she's rich, and then there's love and longing and they don't get remember enjoying. You know. It's a very sad image and you can put it in any movie and I'd probably cry. It's just someone being freezing cold

in water. Remember, I can't watch that without being like, oh, it's so awful to be freezing cold in water and just die that way a little like God, Molly, you're still just you thought that the special effects and Titanic were whatever. I mean when he was especially when he was freezing to death. I thought the makeup was a little bit like really like was like over the top.

But it's like I mean, but you understand that. It's like in conversation with like A Night to Remember in all these old like three hour I don't like it's it's not as good as those movies. It's better than a Night to Remember. It's like also, like how this turned into a James Cameron podcast accidentally, and we're all always teetering on the edge of the coming to James Cameron podcast. That's all I was going to bring up

was Terminator two. Is my only reason to think that's why we have to get swollen for the apocalypse is Terminator too Well, it doesn't help to be swollen anymore, Molly. That's the sad truth of it. I think you need to learn have to throw a punch. Um yeah, oh

my god. The other I'm trying to think of like cosmic horror movies, and it's not a cosmic horror movie, but it's like a cosmic like like cosmic wonder movie, which I think then sometimes do a lot of the same things, which is Arrival, which is probably my most recent favorite movie. Um, certainly my favorite movie of It's like an upbeat, cosmic horror movie. Well it's not even upbeat because it's actually like there's like a very dark

premise at the end of it. But the kind of the scale I think is the big thing, like like what he's talking about with the ship and Titanic, Like I think that thing of like the just wildness like that happens to your brain. We see a gigantic ship like that was my favorite part was the end when it sank. Sorry, um, that's I mean, we all that's what we're there for. Money shot, right, it's like a Star is Born. You're like, but again the money shot of a Star is Born that I'm still mad, isn't

in the Newest Stars Born? Is that? In all the other versions? He walks into the ocean to die, And all I wanted was to see Brod the Cooper walk into the ocean to die. We'll never get to see it. They're far from the Shallows. Now, you just wanted that literally just hid at the end and he just runs. He walks into the ocean and it's an ice per um We also had another bit of feedback via our Facebook group, which you can find on Facebook dot COUMN. If you're still UM a member of Facebook doc A member?

Is that what you call it? No? A user? UM I had said that that Missouri was a southern state last week, and this is apparently controversial, um I, And maybe this is not right, but it's what I feel in my heart. UM. My general rule of thumb as if it has waffle house, it's southern. And Missouri has waffle house. UM in Iowa, which borders it to the north where I live, does not. Kansas, which borders borders

it to the west, does not Illinois. There might be a couple of waffle houses southern southern Illinois, like um, like champagne or band maybe, but I don't think. I don't know the Midwestern version of waffle house. What do you have instead? Potato house, corn house, cheese house, Yeah, just any place that they served cheese curds. I would go to cheese house. I don't even like cheese, and I'd go to cheese house just to see. I want

to regional dinners. Yeah, I mean the charm of waffle house is it's so bare bones, like it's such a it's such a clean space, fucking rule. Yeah. I had never been there, and I went to Florida and the first time much of Florida didn't go. And then I was like, how did I not go? It's the only thing I wanted to do back and went and it was it lived up to the legend. What did you get? Just like the regular stuff? Like I was just like, it's so cool that it's open twenty four hours. That's

which we had that here. It's like, I mean, I've but they have the same menu everywhere. Yeah. Yeah, Well, I just want to say that we have to concede though, because the person who posted in the night Callers group has lived in St. Louis for nearly thirty years, and I exclaimed it's midwestern. I'm gonna say, I said, I know, I feel like people from Missouri think of it as midwestern, but I agree that it is like a gateway to the south. Perhaps let's say it's ninety five percent midwestern

five southern. I'm gonna I'm gonna pitch something else to you guys. Okay, And again, not having lived in Missouri, but having lived north of Missouri and having also had had family in Kansas, in eastern Kansas, so we would be in Missouri all the time because most of Kansas City is in Missouri. UM, and that's where the waffle house is. Because I went to go see Weezer once in Kansas City and we had to go over to

the Missouri side to go to waffle house. Afterwards, we're gonna say Kansas City is technically the south and the rest of Missouri. No, no, no, no, because Kansas is a free state. So uh no, Kansas is not a southern state. Is that the divider, that's the real divider, that's the real divider um and makes sense. Yeah. But the other thing about Missouri that I just feel like a mid western state would not have Brandson in it a southern state. I feel like Branson is so Midwestern.

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call to eight for eight for eight. Message and data rates may apply. M there's an addendum to our previous conversation. Before we transition in to the non non corporeal realm, Like there wasn't There was definitely a year where I decided to like acknowledge the fact that I had a body. And it was when I was in college. I was at Loyal Mayor Amount. Both of our like so impressed, half Alma Maters Leslian I both went to the Darkest Secret. It's like the whole the most horrible place in the world.

I just went there for the first time to do it. You show the campus. The campus is hell. It's so gothic that the old buildings, the original buildings there are really nice. Um but I don't know, out in the spooky middle of nowhere and it's really weird side. But they had a big gym there and I took my first ever yoga class there. I remember. I remember it so vividly because I've never done any kind of working out or gone to a gym or anything like that before.

And I was like, this is that we all did a lot of free fitness and probably got some free healthcare in college. Yeah free, yeah. Actually that that's um. That is super important to me though, this this like accessibility issue because that's I think one of the things that people just don't go because it's so bloody expensive,

like it just is crazy. And then in the end, it really like it's hard, exercises hard, and it's uncomfortable, and if it's also expensive, like only some crazy freaks are going to go for it, and um, we've already got those people. But um, I'm trying to like bring it to the masses and just make also something that like everybody feels comfortable. Yeah, yeah, I don't want it to be an art form that's out of reach to

the common people, such as opera. This is also incorrect, okay, because we're going to talk about Phantom of the Opera in a second. Hair Leslie surprised me with tickets to Phantom. It's one of the best things that's ever happened to me in my life that somebody's surprised me with Broadway tickets. But I have to say, on the economic and accessibility side of it, it's so much more expensive to see Phantom, like the most performed show, than to go to the

actual opera. Um yeah, I've got I go to the met like semi like I go like a couple of times a year, and you can get a seat there for like thirty dollars. Like I had no idea. I was very lucile blue about how much it would cost to go to the operation totally reason how much could it cost? Two thousands? It is somewhat expensive. It's expensive in Los Angeles, according to Beause, because I think it's better.

I think it's better Los Angeles, less of it maybe. Also, but it's supposed to be a more thriving scene in l A, the opera scene than in New York. Yeah, I think that in the general consensus. And I'm an idiot, so I can't tell the difference. But from what I hear it's in it's in hard Times. Right now is fully Fraser podcast away. I'm wearing a turtleneck and talking about the um you went to see a show on Broadway? That was my first Broadway show. Also, yeah, it was

like like Times Square. Yeah, yeah, wasn't magic, It was that the Majestic. So it was majestic. Was it a mattenee or a night show? It was a night show we went to which I guess my friend Max's dad used to hang out in the sixties and it was full of cool people and he took me on a magical Times Square adventure. I do anyway, we don't go to sarties though somebody bathroom It was oh, yeah, we went to Yeah, we went to um Frank's. I went to a dive bar, and I was like, oh, we

walked into like nineteen fifties New York. This is the best stay here. Oh I'm gonna go. You saw so you stepped into the eighties with Andrew Lord Webber. Yeah. So, so you should give your background why this outing and why? Then? Well, I grew up in a really I grew up in l A. But I was raised in a very conservative, evangelical Christian family, and um, so it was a bit of a bubble to say the least. And we just

had like Christian music CDs available. Um, besides that, it was this Billy Joel double CD, Whitney Houston, Whitney Pointer Sisters and the Phantom of the Opera soundcheck. And so I listened to The Phantom of the Opera before I

even like saw it or the story or anything. And I was fully like recreating it for my parents, like as like a childhood like after dinner show with my cat and my brother and like my next door neighbor who was five, and and we'd like do these like long whatever performances of it and pop up behind the couch or like my brother would be the Phantom with the cape the cutest um. Anyway, then we did actually go see Family Opera because I loved it so much.

I think I saw it twice, and um, it made it made an impression on me, a really big impression, and I was aware of that. I loved all the music um forever and ever, but until Emily and I went back. Oh no, actually I should back up a

little bit. Like two years ago, I was thinking about that song, um, the Music of the Night, because it was like doing some writing and I was thinking about the lyrics of the song and like it's about like surrendering yourself to the night, and how much I think that it's sort of like set the stage for all my wildness, like and and sort of inner allegiances even to the present day, to the night and nighttime activities,

and it's very like it's unsual and erotic. Okay, So I saw The Phantom of the Opera as a child, also like Leslie, because my mom's friend Marge invited her to see it at the Pantageous and my mom was like, NA, like I'm not interested, but like why don't you take Molly? No too lowbrow for me take my daughter. And that was like for sure, like my one of my first

experiences with like super lowbrow, like just kitch. And I was like I love it, you know, um like stuff that my cool parents are like this is a little too like stupid and um a little basic for them. Yeah, And it is a spectacle. It's such a spectacle for romance. And I got obsessed with it and I had like did you read the book? The book? I read the original book and then I had like a coffee table

book that has like the lyrics in it. And I also tried to stage like a youth production of fandom of the opera at my elementary school with well, I like we I cast my friends, I was the director and also cast myself in the crucial but small role of Megg. I was like, that's the role I can play. Well still maintaining production Broadway, we got to a point where we had someone's dad recorded vhs of us like performing something from it. Um. My friend Jesse was the phantom.

It was an all female production. It's like a talk for a view of fandom of the opera. I feel like I learned about Broadway songs because there was no Internet. From the airplane radio station. There was like an airplane radio station that was like hits of Broadway when you're on an airplane and you could she's like eight different channels. Yeah, yeah, and there's one that's like songs current Broadway hits of

the nineteen eighties. When I would have been on this plane, Well, I knew all the songs, and I had seen it. I went to go see it because there was a touring company that came Toto Moyne when I was in high school, and we went with the drama club to go see Phantom like a matt Nation fanom and I fell asleep during it. I thought it was so boring. But I knew all the songs because I don't know it just like I knew maybe you didn't really fall asleep, you were just taken to like maybe I did. Ware

on a boat. I remember our seats were really like far to the right, so I never got the full effect of the boat ride, which is like so incredible. The sequence, okay, so like the sequence of them going down when they do the Phantom of the Opera song and then the boat ride and then when he sees so insane there was an eighties boom. I feel like it was like at the same time probably as some

vegasy stuff. It was like a boom in practical effects in Big musical right, the helicopter and Missagon like le MSS and Phantom to me are like the big ones where it was like, like the reason you would go because like who wants to see a musical. You're going because it's like a crazy like stage experience, and then it's something for the husbands to be like, wow, I can't believe they pulled that off. Yeah. I remember my

dad telling me, like about the chandeli. He's like the ship they dropped the chandelier in the audience literally all like a father would care like, well, it's so like grand gun y'all to to be like, oh, like you know some violent, crazy operator Like I like all that stuff. I like that genre. I like Gothic romance and fireballs.

That makes no sense that that's just like special Power is like he's like, like fireworks, they're silent, so it's like really kind of under like they're really bright, they're like flares that shoot across, but there's no it's just like and then it's like, what did they actually do though, Like this is like the scene when she's at her father's grave where they're really nailing home the daddy issues of the entire show, and then he's like talking to

her about like don't you miss my father in gaze? And uh, it's like a deeply psycho sexual show. And I mean, to be fair, I haven't seen it since I was like seven, And have you watched it again? Has anyone seen the movie? No, I'm curious about it.

Isn't it like Gerard Butler Emmy Rassam is. So I did a lot of like like poking around afterwards because I even though I think that the show is pretty nonfunctional, as I think a few Andrew Lloyd Webber shows are, like, there was something still so captivated about all of the because it's like it's it's bad, but it doesn't matter because it's entertaining, which to me is like that makes it good. I get, but there are elements that I

think are actually genuinely good about it. It's just that there's so much stuff that is like, yeah, and the songs or whatever, and like some of the good ones, but Cats, you have to all see Cats really makes no sense? Yeah, Cats Yeah, you just have to imagine somebody making some of these musicals and then getting the cats. Now we're doing this musical because Starlight expresses like everyone's on roller skates and their trains, right, you know, Rachel

Sign right now. I think they're a lot for racial And I was in Jesus Christ Superstar testam for not in fact, in Jesus Christ Supers not for lack of trying. I didn't make the cut, but that's probably the best Andrewid Webber musical. Yeah, I feel like I also saw Joseph at the Tchnicolor Dream Code as a kid, because

it's like a real kid musical. But the thing about Phantom is that, like, despite all that stuff, I think, like, I don't know, I like thinking about Fantom because it's so freaking popular, Like it is like it's been running so horny. Were you saying it's like the original fifty Shades of Yeah, there's so many children in the audience. It was just like, oh my goodness, all these little kids.

And you know what, though a lot of musicals, like I saw news Ease, which is like, on the surface, you wouldn't think it's that horny, but it is so horny the whole time, just all these guys like jumping over stuff. I cried at the beginning of this was like last year, by the way, was good, the live stage version at the Pantages that I like cried when it started because I was just like spectacle. Yeah, the

beginning of Phantom. I cried when like they're doing the auction and like they reanimate the It so scary because it's haunted. It's like it's lights back up and lifts slowly over the audience and it's very just like Broadway itself, like reperforming and reperforming and reperforming in like this, like the shandel there is like in the psyche of so many people in the United States. Again, there's this amazing video I found of chandelier drops at different video, but

that's what I was wondering. It's like, has it never gone wrong? Obviously, Well, you can compare speed. You can also compare the evil cackle of the Fantom. It's one of the best elements. I was crying while I was watching this video because for some reason, like over the course of like thirties, schandelier drops, Like what are we doing as a society, Like what's going on? Why is

this the most popular. It's so sacramental. Yeah, it's like watching the time square ball dropped, just like over and over again, any video where you just watch something happen a million activity or something. It's like the Fidget Square like the Fidget. What is the last live musical before Phantom that you saw? I saw a great comment. That was the first Broadway show I saw, which is like the thing where you're like sitting in the middle of the show and they're like all around. It's like a

dinner theater type thing, except all they have this vodka. Um, so just like our live show basically dinner theater. That was pretty cool. I mean my my main show though probably before that. The last thing I had seen was lame Is, because I've seen that a couple of times, and that's like my actual show of show. I've actually never seen lame Is. It's a great show. Actually, TuS, what about you? I don't want to answer this question, but I'm going to. Uh, it was Into the Woods

at a high school. I love it the Woods. It's so good. I've never seen that. I love It's really good. We were both in that, Yes, we were both in that kind We directed you're directed at this high school. So when they do Into the Woods more than any other musical, it's got a big cast and there's lots of parts, so everybody. It's not like Phantom, where there's

really only like two parts. I remember watching the PBS like taped version of Into the Woods, like a top Yeah, the one with them with them Bernadette, I love her so much, But isn't Into the Woods? Isn't it? We even like a bunch of fairy tales. Just to wrap up on the Phantom, the Phantom tip, I was asking if anyone else had seen Phantom of the Paradise. Oh I love that, Oh my god. Brian de Palma remake a Phantom of the Opera sent in a movie palace.

Paul Williams is the Phantom, and what's her name? The chick from Suspiria is the main is the girl? I can't remember her name? Um, it is great, you will

all enjoy it. It's like a seventies Well. The other thing I was going to bring up about Phantom, and like really on the on the spectacle subject, is that there's also Phantom, like a what's it called Phantom of Broadway spectacular that's the Vegas show, because while while I was watching it, I was like, this is a basically a Vegas show in a much smaller venue than I

think it would be in in Vegas. But like, you go, if you're really just going to see these huge feats of stagecraft or whatever, you could cut about an hour out of the show and really like have a banger. You were really pushing for the bos lerman from the Bachelorette parties, and I had to I had to push back and be like, we're going to see magic Mike made Yeah, but I was so being like, next time we're going to go see one of those. I would also be enchanted by some circus, but they do have

a Mulan Rouge stage musical. Now that this is where we part company. Just in case, if you want to go see a show next time you're in New York on Old Broadway night, call on Broadway. What if we do it just a Broadway show and it's just all shandelier drops for like two hours. Did you guys know there's a sequel to Fandom of the opera that is apparently one of the worst things ever made. Yes, people are telling me about whatever. Yeah, it's like they reunite.

It's like Raoul and her end up. Um, the guy that she marries at the end, and the stupidest ending of all time, Like he ends up like kind of being a dud of a husband and then he's a dud of a character. Yeah, he's terrible. And then they go to some beach town or something. It'sn't Coney Island. That's where they believe it maybe something along those lines. No, No, Rachel is telling me it isn't Coney Island. Um, yes, correct, it's like fan fiction come to life. So absolutely, But

but somebody else is telling me that. Andrew Lord Webber wrote the part of Christine for Sarah Brightman, his wife. Uh, And I was like, well, why doesn't why doesn't she just end up with him? Then, like that's clearly what how it should end. But I guess it's with the Phantom. So people can write fan fiction forever about there's not enough fan fiction of Phantom of the Opera. We looked. Definitely, it's like a Phantom is born. I feel like between Phantom of the Opera and also like Tuxedo Mask is

kind of a Phantom of the Opera. Totally totally. I think that a lot of like young children of the eighties, young girls of the eighties, really in a scary mask, masks, masks and formal wear. Uh, we got really like they're they're just triggers for us, just like a scream mask in a tuxedo. Al Right, I think that does it for the sweet Thanks guys, Yeah, thank you so much for being here, Leslie. This is a delight. Thanks for the way memories. Um, you can give us a night

call about your phantom memories. You can go us a call at one to four oh four six night or an email at night Call Podcast at gmail dot com. And you can follow us on Twitter at Night Call Pod, Instagram, Night Called Podcast, and Facebook at Night Called Podcast. Oh yeah, and you can follow Leslie on on Instagram it's l E S l E Y m O N like the moon and you can see lots of videos I've heard newing handstands and lifting and possibly heavy things for your

daily motivation. And that's it for this week. We'll be back next week. Bye bye,