When I go to Las Vegas, I always try to catch a show. During this past trip, I finally saw Phantom, the Las Vegas Spectacular at the Venetian. I’d heard good things about it for the past few years, but when you only visit Las Vegas once a year and only see one show per trip, it’s hard to see them all, you know? I purchased one of the cheap seats online for around $64 about a month before my trip. (They’re actually cheaper now.) Just so you know, the cheap seats are way, way, way up a long, wide, curving staircase. Be careful on these stairs; I saw a guy trip and fall on the way down after the show.
As is generally the case in Las Vegas, no photography is allowed during the show, for copyright reasons. There is, however, a professional photographer down in the expensive seats taking souvenir photos for audience members.
One of the perks of traveling solo is that you are sometimes used to fill in gaps. Shortly before the show started, the usher told me to move up several rows to fill in an empty seat. Thank God she did, because once the show started, it became painfully clear to me that my days of being able to see a show from the cheap seats are over. My nearsightedness is at the point where it’s difficult to focus on tiny figures on a stage far away.
Warning: In case you are unfamiliar with the storyline of this show, you should know that the remainder of this review contains some spoilers. Read at your own risk.
That said, I really enjoyed the spectacle of this show. There are three stars of this show–the performers, the music, and the theater itself. Let’s start with the theater, because that is what really draws the audience into the show. Before the show starts, the side walls are draped with gauzy curtains, and then, when the show begins, they are lifted to reveal that the walls are part of the opera house set, complete with viewing boxes. They were able to change the sets quickly and seamlessly, almost as if by magic, through some technical wizardry. (I had hoped to go on a backstage tour of the theater to find out exactly what that wizardry was, but alas, they’ve discontinued the tours.) There is also a massive chandelier above the audience that plays a role in the theater experience , as well as some impressive pyrotechnics. I was most taken by the effect of a boat moving through mist and (nonexistent) water on the stage, though. What’s fun about this theater is that it feels as though we are the audience for the opera taking place inside the musical, as well as watching the musical itself.
The story of Phantom of the Opera has been edited down to 95 minutes for the Las Vegas version. This is because a) casinos don’t want you taking too much time away from gambling for cultural enlightenment and b) we all have short attention spans in a city with this much going on, anyway. This is for the best, because the pacing is much better with this version. There are very few “filler” scenes. This version of the musical hits all the high notes while featuring the songs audiences most remember from the full-length version, like the title song and “Music of the Night”.
The performers (Anthony Crivello, Kristi Holden, et al.) had amazing voices, of course. Crivello’s performance as the Phantom was top-notch, and he did push my pity button. Had the character not crossed an ethical line, I would have rooted for Christine to overlook his deformed face and choose him over the handsome-but-bland Raoul. While both men want to possess her, only one helps her achieve her true potential, and it’s not Raoul. I know how the story goes, but I’m always a little disappointed by it. Someday, I’d like someone to do a version of this story with the ending changed.
If you’re looking for a solid show to see in Las Vegas, you really can’t go wrong with this one. The music will stay in your head for hours afterwards.
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