Phantom of the Opera

On the night before Halloween 2015, Irvin's friends had a Phantom of the Opera-themed Masquerade party.  Naturally, Irvin decided to go as the titular Phantom - perhaps one of the easiest costumes he ever pulled together, as the only thing he needed to acquire was the mask from a thrift store.  At the party, Irvin as the Phantom got to row the gondola with an abundance of Christines, pop out of mirrors, both push and swing from a chandelier, and loom ominously behind people.  He also frequently demanded of other partygoers, "SING FOR ME!!!"  Far less elegant were the Phantom's attempts at drinking water and eating pizza in the mask, but they were ultimately successful.

The day after Halloween, for a friend's birthday, Irvin and his friends went to a showing of the original Phantom of the Opera silent movie from the 1920s, at the breathtaking United Palace movie theater - a pretty good doppelganger for the Paris opera house.  Within a minute of arriving and posing on the fancy staircase, a queue formed to take pictures of/with Irvin.  There was also a grand piano to "play," balconies to lurk in, and a costume parade to show off the costume.

Nine years later, Irvin had a mad scramble for a last-minute costume for a Broadway-themed dance party, and decided to reprise the Phantom cosplay.  This proved an excellent decision, because the minute Irvin walked into the venue, the opening notes of the title song started playing.  Irvin burst onto the stage right on cue, in one of the top five entrances of his life, and billowed dramatically back and forth as he sang the song to an adoring crowd.  For the remainder of the night, he received compliments on how awesome it was seeing him on stage!  And luckily, there was no shortage of dramatic staircases on which to pose for photos.