Vegas Phantom

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/10/11 at 8:50pm

Just saw the Vegas version & was pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed it.

The theater is draped in black & after the opening scene where the chandelier is raised the curtains are removed to show a complete opera house on each side with wax figures filling the galleries. The phantom hangs from the chandelier instead of running across the procenium . The dropping of the chandelier is also done well & appears to come sooner.Although only running 1 hour & 35 minutes, you really do not miss the rest or see what they cut. Some music is gone & other pieces are still there but in shorter verions and not listed in the Playbill.

It was well worth the visit

Updated On: 9/10/11 at 08:50 PM

[showchoirguy]

Posted: 9/10/11 at 8:53pm

Thanks for the review! It was a lot more clear than some reviews I read. :)

[jpbran]

Posted: 9/11/11 at 8:42pm

Just got tix for this last night (for Oct 1). Hoping it's good. Got discounted seats for $77 each for 5th row right on the aisle.

Also got seats for Cirque's KA. Will maybe get tix for another show at one of the half-price booths when we get there. Had heard it's worth seeing for the (supposedly) skillful cuts and enhanced stage effects. Thx for the review!

[redmustang]

Posted: 9/11/11 at 9:08pm

I saw Phantom in Vegas 2 years ago and really enjoyed the tightened-up, somewhat shorter version. Also saw Ka, loved it. More dramatic and serious than other Cirques but visually stunnng- esp. when the stage goes vertical. (A friend of mine saw it and hated it!) Hope you enjoy both shows.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/11/11 at 9:53pm

I saw this in Vegas back in March of 2007 when Sierra Boggess was still with the show, and I LOVED it. One of the most thrilling theatrical experiences I have attended. It was truly a beautiful production.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/11/11 at 10:23pm

It's so fun and dumb. I had a great time.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/11/11 at 10:42pm

Visually, Ka was stunning. The story is muddled so do not even try to understand it. Just watch it and enjoy.

Try Nobhill restaurant in the MGM Grand. For $ 20 you get a kobe burger & enough fries to feed 1/2 the population of mid america. Mentioned to the waiter it was way too many fries & he said the chef enjoys making this many. Go figure. The burger was awesome. Next trip it is between the MGM & Encore.I was unaware that for $ 25 you can actually get a picture taken next to the lions. That I will do next time and also I want to fire an acutual machine gun (not @ MGM)

Updated On: 9/12/11 at 10:42 PM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/11/11 at 10:51pm

Are the Cirque shows in Vegas better than the touring ones? I have only seen Corteo, Delirium, and Alergria on tour, and I was slightly disappointed in all of them... I am thinking of trying one in Vegas when I go again. I really like the music from Zumanity, but I read it is kind of just a tacky burlesque show. Any thoughts on which shows are the best in Vegas?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/12/11 at 12:06am

Roll your eyes, but... Jersey Boys. It's still my favorite production and I've seen all of them except Toronto.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/12/11 at 12:08am

I LOVE Jersey Boys. One of my top ten favorite shows! I will definitely catch the Vegas show if/ when I go to Vegas anytime soon. Is the show shortened at all?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/12/11 at 12:11am

It is, by about 15 minutes (and intermission is 8 minutes instead of 15 - 20), but I honestly don't miss the cuts at all. When I saw the show in London after having seen it in solely Vegas several times, I felt like it dragged a bit.

When I last saw the show on Broadway in March, I really missed the Vegas production. The show here is fine and good and entertaining, but I guess I'm attached.

Updated On: 9/12/11 at 12:11 AM

[BroadwayFuture462]

Posted: 9/12/11 at 3:24am

"Are the Cirque shows in Vegas better than the touring ones? I have only seen Corteo, Delirium, and Alergria on tour, and I was slightly disappointed in all of them... I am thinking of trying one in Vegas when I go again. I really like the music from Zumanity, but I read it is kind of just a tacky burlesque show. Any thoughts on which shows are the best in Vegas?"


Being that I was born and raised in Vegas, I've seen every Cirque show so if you want honest opinions here we go. hahaha!

"O": Still my favorite. There's something brilliant about the use of water and the way the stage operates in that show that never gets old to me.

Mystere: Without a doubt the most incredible use of the human body you will see on a stage. I love Mystere a lot and it's the longest running Cirque show in Las Vegas for a very, very good reason.

KA: Probably the most incredible technical spectacle you'll ever witness in live theatre. Pieces of the stage tilt completely vertical with actors and acrobats engaging in combat on the wall. It's amazing to watch, but if you appreciate amazing dance and acrobatics more, then O or Mystere are better choices. If you enjoy spectacle more then KA is your show. Basically, O and Mystere would be like seeing Anything Goes on Broadway and then KA is going to be like seeing Miss Saigon. hahaha

Le Reve: LOVE it. It's the darkest of the Cirque Shows and actually has a plot. Albeit obscure and difficult to read at moments, it's intriguing and I absolutely LOVE that show.

Zumanity: Eh. The music is really great and the choreography is freaking brilliant, but I just never got into it. The only claim to fame the show has (and should have) is its nudity. That's about it.

Love: Absolutely amazing. The music of the Beatles is so brilliantly incorporated into the show and the show is just visually stunning in both performance and technical aspects.

Believe (with Chris Angel): Even if someone offers you free tickets, DO NOT GO. Wade Robson's choreography is the only decent thing in this show, and it's a shame that the work of such a talented choreographer got put into such a steaming pile of crap. Wade Robson is brilliant, Believe is anything but brilliant.

Viva Elvis: Not bad, but not incredible. I got free tickets and I don't know that I'd go again, but I definitely enjoyed myself! I liked it, but it just wasn't my absolute favorite.

If you want a recommendation, you cannot go wrong with O, KA, Le Reve, Mystere or Love. Any of those will be amazing. :)


As far as Jersey Boys in Las Vegas, yes, I love the cut version. It really is missing like two scenes and only takes out 15 minutes, but It's perfect.

Phantom in Vegas, meh. I've seen it 3 times and I guess I just dislike ALW so much that I never have an enjoyable time.

Also, as a side note you can never go wrong with Blue Man Group while in Vegas. Make that happen at some point.

Updated On: 9/12/11 at 03:24 AM

[Idiot]

Posted: 9/12/11 at 3:59am

I haven't seen PHANTOM in Vegas, but I'd like to.

I have seen many Cirque shows there and MYSTERE remains the one to beat. KA is technically amazing and O is beautiful, but it all comes together in MYSTERE like no other show in Vegas. Other than QUIDAM, MYSTERE really is the Cirque show to see IMO. It's not so big or gaudy that the human component is dwarfed, which is the case with KA and O.
Updated On: 9/12/11 at 03:59 AM

[RemlapLBC]

Posted: 9/17/11 at 10:22pm

Phantom in Vegas is GREAT. The chandelier is worth the ticket price alone. When we saw the final show of the full length Phantom tour at The Pantages last Halloween, I was thinking some of the Vegas cuts weren't too bad after all.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/17/11 at 10:45pm

For the record, La Reve is not a Cirque show. I thought it was but have been informed by knowledgible sources it is not.

[tourboi]

Posted: 9/18/11 at 4:15pm

I'm in the minority it seems, but while I LOVED the additions to the staging, I missed all the cut bits.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 9/19/11 at 1:10pm

Saw Phantom in Vegas the other week. I thought the chandelier is a GREAT change to the show and liked that there were cuts and that the show is done in 1 act. Honestly, they could probably trim 20-30 minutes more and nothing important would be lost. Unfortunately, Phantom feels like the never-ending show, even with the cuts that were implemented in Vegas.

I thought Kristi Holden was a wonderful Christine (BEAUTIFUL VOICE!!) and Joan Sobel was a wonderful Carlotta. Both vocally were stunning. I was excited to see that Anthony Crivello was The Phantom, because I remember being blown away by him in Kiss of the Spiderwoman on Broadway. Unfortunately (IMHO), his voice sounds strange. I didn't feel like there was much power to his voice, it had a weird quality to it and there were even moments when there was an unusual tone that it took on. My partner said that there were times when (based on this tone), it sounded like he should be breaking into "Everybody Ought To Have a Maid." Kind of a weird way to put it, but if you've seen him, you probably know what I'm talking about .. . . .

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 9/19/11 at 2:13pm

Sorry to offer the only dissenting voice here on the Vegas Phantom. We absolutely hated that production regardless of its shortened playing time. We found every drop of subtlety and nuance absolutely erased from the portrayals of the leads (though I'm comparing them to my golden memories of the original Broadway cast back in 1987, which could be suspect). They were all emoting up a storm up there like the final night of American Idol, doing some dreadful takeoff of the original show.

In addition Maria Bjornson's brilliant impressionistic set design for the Broadway production had been bowdlerized into a cheesy and literal cartoon of its former self: everything implied in the original had now been spelled out in tacky painted drops and fully dimensional theater walls. I suppose the assumption was the unwashed tourists to Vegas wouldn't appreciate the gilded but skeletal grandeur of the original, and needed everything underlined in detail for them. We found it insulting and pitied Hal Prince for lending his name and efforts to such a sell-out (and not in the boffo-box office sense).

On a happier note, we agree with all those above who nominate "O" and "Love" for best Cirque de Soleil shows EVER. I've seen "O" four times over the years-- I go back each time almost like a religious experience, it's that good. "Love" has a weaker second half (with some oddly racist overtones in 2 or 3 numbers) but is absolute genius for the first hour or so.

We found "Ka" sort of like the "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" of Cirque shows-- a hollow triumph of money and machinery over anything human, though awe-inspiring to look at. "La Reve" bored us to tears (sorry, B'wayFuture462). And "Zumanity" was simply gruesome-- hated the whole tone that wanted to make alleged sexiness dirty again instead of fun. To us it was the opposite of sexy. (For true sexiness, watch the underwear-clad boys and girls in "O" gleefully high-dive off of spinning swings into the pools in unending succession-- pure lust at its finest.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/19/11 at 3:40pm

We found every drop of subtlety and nuance absolutely erased from the portrayals of the leads (though I'm comparing them to my golden memories of the original Broadway cast back in 1987, which could be suspect).

Um... THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA began previews on Broadway in January 1988.

[charlesjguiteau]

Posted: 9/19/11 at 5:45pm

Sorry, Brody. I knew I had done draftings on the Broadway set back in mid-'87, but never checked my playbills before posting. It appears I saw the Broadway production 4 times: twice in '88, then in '92 and '94. Dates notwithstanding, my point of comparison with the Vegas production still stands.

[moncruzz]

Posted: 9/20/11 at 6:17pm

I hate to be a downer, but I saw this show 6 months ago in Vegas and hated it. It didn't feel like a Broadway musical at all. The actors seemed tired, they weren't into it. All four of us in my company thought they just wanted to get it over with and call it a night. Could this be because we saw the 9:30pm show which is the 2nd show of the night after the same actors had just perfromed 30minutes prior?

or Maybe I'm just not a fan of the material altogether

[FlyingMonkey1223]

Posted: 9/20/11 at 6:19pm

The actors really need to be replaced. They've been playing the same characters for years and years and last time I saw it they were beyond bored. The shows technical aspects are awesome, but the performances left a lot to be desired.