| I saw the Vegas Version | |
| Last Edit: LynnO 01:45 am EDT 04/20/20 | |
| Posted by: LynnO 01:35 am EDT 04/20/20 | |
| In reply to: re: LET ME JUST SAY.... - WaymanWong 11:21 pm EDT 04/19/20 | |
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| I had friends in the Vegas cast, so I saw it around 15 times. Also participated in the amazing Phan Fest that they put on, where I met Hal Prince! Loved the multi-day event so much, wished that they had done it again. Anyway, the Vegas version was cut way down to be around an hour and 40 minutes without an intermission. Seeing the show in Vegas was worth the price of admission for two things (well, maybe three..). The theatre itself was built to recreate the interior of the Paris Opera House, and it was stunningly beautiful -- there were actual dummies dressed in period costumes in the boxes surrounding the orchestra section. Second, the chandelier was mind-blowingly incredible! It started out as five or six pieces that looked like art suspended over the orchestra seats. When the famous music started after the auction, the huge chandelier pieces started to slowly move in circles overhead, circling, circling, crossing over and around each other (if there were wires attached, they would have all been tangled up), but eventually meeting at the center in the correct order to assemble the chandelier. The pieces all came together at the same moment like a huge choreographed magnet , and then it slowly moved up to the ceiling. But the DROP was just downright SCARY. It came down super fast, and straight down on the audience, no swing to the stage. It came down so fast, and the lights would go out at the very last second, accompanied by a massive cold WHOOSH in the dark -- that you really thought that you were going to die if you were sitting underneath it (which I did a couple of times). The third reason to go was to see Andrew Ragone as Raoul, who has a glorious velvety voice, is drop-dead handsome, and made the role out to be so much more than it was. Also, if you went early in the run, they had two different Phantoms, and you could have also seen Sierra Boggess... if memory serves, they had two Phantoms and three Christines in the beginning. Always one Raoul. The downside of the Vegas production was that they cut down the roles of Carlotta, Piangi, and the managers so much that they became minor characters. Also, the chandelier did not come down after Il Muto, it came down as a distraction during Don Juan Triumphant, which changed some things in the story. They did have some actual fireworks in the theatre in place of intermission, as entertainment for the New Year's party that normally opens the second act. Overall, the Vegas show felt like it had a faster pace, of course. They kept the theatre very chilly for the fireworks. I saw the Vegas version many times, but after a while, I longed to see the Broadway version again because I missed Carlotta, Piangi, and the managers, as well as the wonderfully slow rhythmic pace of the original version. And all the beautiful little details. |
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