Phantom in Vegas

I saw Phantom of the Opera in Vegas on opening night (a while back but I'm just now getting around to writing about it).

I was very excited to see it because I can't recall ever seeing a regional production of a hit Broadway show that was cut down to 90 minutes on the road but given a budget twice as big as the Broadway version. That's a theatre-first, I believe.

So, my dear friend, Thom Wise, gets us free tickets for opening night and off we go to the Venetian. The theater is stunning and the first 5 minutes of the show, the Paris Opera House coming back to life is totally riveting. It's totally different from the Broadway production and so much better.

Look at the picture above, they have dummies sitting in seats on the sides, it's very cool. They have dummies sitting in the orchestra seats, too, but those are actually tourists from Utah.

Anyway, the show clips along from scene to scene and rarely lags. It felt a little like Cliffnotes which is fine by me because I've seen the Broadway production and both times I was bored out of my fucking mind.

Anyway, they cut it down to 90 minutes and it was the first time I've ever enjoyed the show but, you know what, I would've liked it better if they cut another 15 minutes. And for the record, the musical really makes no fucking sense but who cares? People love it. But it really doesn't make any fucking sense.

I mean almost NOTHING in it makes sense. If you don't agree, pick a scene and lets argue. If you've never seen it, see it in Vegas. Unfortunately, what happens in Vegas stays in
Vegas which is too bad because I think they should close the Broadway production and replace it with this one. And slot machines in the lobby wouldn't be a bad idea either.