Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular
- ak1
- First Reviewer
- 4 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 4
- Reviews
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Editor Pick
The Best Thing I Have Ever Done in Las Vegas
- November 24, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
Red Mezz from Inverness, Scotland
Ok - so it's actually a French story, if you want to be very picky about it. But opera is Italian and no where could be better suited to the display of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom' than in the opulent splendour of the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.
Phantom of the Opera is something I was introduced to quite young by one of those great once-in-a-life time teachers who had an entire class of 11 year olds desperate to get to school the next day and listen to more opera. True story.
It's something a friend of mine and I had wanted to see for years, and though she managed to get tickets to see the show in Houston (via our wonderful teacher...) as well as a show in New York - I moved away and was busy travelling around and never managed to see it for myself.
When I saw that it was showing in Las Vegas when I was due to show up for my 5th anniversary with my husband - and my favourite hotel - I knew that it was something I couldn't let pass me by.
It was such a good opportunity in fact that my friend flew up from Houston for the weekend so that we could finally see it together.
This was something we were both excited about - but my husband and her boyfriend (neither of them fans of opera and unfamiliar with the story) came along purely to accommodate us.
After years of missed opportunities and wanting to see the show, I had very high expectations, but nothing prepared me for how spectacular the Venetian's production would be.
The venue is very very grand, and as soon as you walk in and take your seat you realize how this room was custom built for this one show - with the illusion that you are in the Parisian opera house of the show - complete with large chandelier hanging above you waiting for its dramatic moment.
I don't want to spoil it too much because this is a show that benefits from surprise. Despite being very loyal to the original - with the original team reunited to do it and all of the original songs included - there is a spin on it that only Las Vegas could produce.
This is a show and a half - and to my surprise and delight both of the men we dragged along loved it as well - and have become complete converts to the story.
To say this is dramatic and stunning just does not cover it - so I will leave it at that and just say emphatically that if you ever get the chance to see this then you really have to do so. Even if you are not a fan of this type of thing normally - this is the one to see. And if you are a fan of Phantom of the Opera, then you will love it all the more.
The price is also very reasonable I thought at around $35 per person. It is - quite simply - worth a trip to Las Vegas just to see this show.
From journal Las Vegas - The Italian Experience...
Editor Pick
Phantom, the Las Vegas Craptactular
- December 29, 2008
- Rated 2 of 5 by
Carmen from Fairfax, Virginia
For some reason, the entertainment gurus in Las Vegas think that audiences can only pay attention for an hour and a half, so they took a classic Broadway musical and made it into a Las Vegas Spectacular version. It is my humble opinion, that in doing so, they tried to make a few "spectacular" special effects hold together a disjointed story, and to me, it was a huge disappointment.
I’m one of the biggest fans of Broadway musicals that you’ll find, and I’m looking forward to seeing how The Lion King will play when it opens, full-Broadway time, in Mandalay Bay in April. I’d never seen the original Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, so it’s not a matter of poor comparison. It was a matter of a story that was pieced together with just the biggest musical numbers, and one that was hard to follow. The cast, while talented, couldn’t seem to get it together. I think they were all singing the same words, but I couldn’t understand any of the words that they were singing. Some of the microphones didn’t work very well, they sang out of synch with each other, etc.
The night we were there, the theater wasn’t even half capacity (in the middle of the December slow season in a recession.) I have to say, that if I had paid for those $150 seats underneath the chandelier effect, I would have been royally pissed off. They took those of us that had paid for nosebleed seats and moved us – for free – into the expensive seats. So we paid about $75 each (still too much, if you ask me) and sat in $150 seats. There’s a reason for that, I think. I wonder how often the theater isn’t full of anything other than disappointment.
Save your money. Wait for the Lion King.
From journal Christmastime in Sin City (Plus Some Best Ofs)
Editor Pick
Spectacular Indeed
- December 22, 2008
- Rated 5 of 5 by
wolfbrother from Edinburgh, United Kingdom
The Venetian is a spectacular location - as a hotel, as an attraction, as a wedding venue - whatever you use the place for, it has been beautifully put together and equally well maintained. As a location for Las Vegas' No.1 show - the Phantom of the Opera - it is perfect.
Walking through frescoes and marble hallways and indoor shopping precincts crisscrossed by canals, classically trained opera singing gondoliers with their beautifully painted ceilings, you are in a truly palatial setting. The entrance to the theatre itself leads you to a darkly lit, wide open space with broken chandelier parts hanging from teh ceiling and dark drapes covering the walls. The lights come down and the subdued opening sequence draws you in quietly and comfortably until the music stars thundering out and the chandelier magically reassembles itself above you ...
They have really paid attention to the details in this production. The acoustics are great, the actors really seem to grasp the soul of the storyline and it grabs you very quickly, never seeming to drag through the one and half hour show.
Every detail has been carefully assembled, from the backdrop and performers to the flawless and dramatic set changes. It all serves as a beautiful palette for the music of the production to sweep you up and draw you in, and then stay with you for weeks afterwards.
Tickets are very reasonably priced, starting at about $65 plus tax. You can pay more to get closer to the stage, but it's not an overly large theatre, so the cheap seats are still very good. You get a great view and the sound system does an exteremly good job of bringing you every word you need to hear.
Don't even think about driving there if you're coming on the weekend. The traffic was unreal. We got a taxi from the Excalibur Hotel who took some back roads and got us there in about half an hour, costing a very reasonable $13.
It's a good idea to arrive early and take the time to explore the Venetian itself, if you haven't already done so. It is spectacularly well done, and if you're looking for a decent bite to eat then you can do a lot worse than some of the restaurants along the canals, many of which are far more reasonably priced than you would think.
It's advisable to book well ahead if you can, as this show regularly sells out, but if you do have the means - particularly if you're a Phantom fan anyway - then I heartily recommend it to you. I don't generally like musicals and I don't usually like Opera, but I do appreciate good music and a good production and I loved this.
From journal Las Vegas - the Return
Editor Pick
Phantom-The Las Vegas Spectacular
- August 24, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
ak1 from Auburn, Washington
This was a remarkable production to see. Upon entering the theatre, I was emerged into an atmosphere with very little color. The theatre was draped in dark sheets and the chandelier looked as if it were broken. Our seats were only 10 rows from the front stage. We were sitting directly underneath the chandelier; everyone sitting around us was muttering in concern about it falling. The chandelier itself weighs 1 ton and is made up of thousands of hand-strung crystals. The chandelier plays a major visual part in the play when the story of the Opera House is retold. When the play first starts, the chandelier is in three parts. Needless to say, the visual effects were astonishing and the three chandeliers move around the theatre and finally become one very large chandelier.
This show has an orchestra of 19 that sits in front of the stage in a pit, and they did a beautiful job with the music from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of the Phantom of the Opera. The stage scenery was well transitioned from scene to scene, there was enough variety to keep the play interesting, and the scenes changes didn’t seem to distract the audience, either. The actors who performed in this were truly magnificent. Between the singing, dancing, and acting, I thought certainly somebody would either fall or be off queue, but I was wrong luckily and everything was perfect. I guess when the Venetian decided to build a 40 million dollar theatre for this play, they wouldn’t expect anything less than spectacular, and that's exactly how I felt about my evening at The Phantom.
From journal Vegas, Venetian Style