Phantom of the Opera

I saw PHANTOM again last week (5th time)

The Vegas production is closing in September and I wanted to see it
one last time while the entire cast is still there. Many times when a
Show is set to close, some of the main characters may drift away for
contracts in other productions...hope that doesn't happen here, but
you never know...SEE IT SOON IN ALL IT'S GLORY.

The Las Vegas production has sights and effects even the Broadway Show
doesn't. Sitting next to me last week, was a woman who was a BIG fan....
always had seen the New York Show.
NOW THE LAS VEGAS PRODUCTION WAS HER FAVORITE VERSION!

I suggest sitting in the Gold Circle section for very close to it...centerish.
PHANTOM has some of the most elaborate costume and stage sets of all
the Las Vegas Show and you owe it to yourself to sit close enough to
really enjoy them!

www.venetian.com
'Point' to Entertainment, 'click' PHANTOM...there's a few little videos you can view
*TIP IN RE TO THE CHANDELIER: Sitting up close, the Chandelier will be in back of you.
Just after the 'masquerade ball scene'...the opera company puts on a part of the Phantom's opera...
This doesn't go well. LISTEN for the Phantoms voice to command...BRING DOWN THE CHANDELIER!
then TURN AROUND QUICKLY to see it fall behind you!

Thanks for the great review.

Did you buy tickets from Tix 4 Tonight or through Travel Zoo or the Venetian?

Just wondering what the best prices are and do you have to book ahead of arriving in Vegas?

Thanks for any help.

Hey there 'bpahles3'....
I always call the Box Office and request where I want to sit. It's the full rack rate
price, but I'm picky where I sit. IF YOU ASK the Box Office...sometimes they offer
deals that aren't advertised, ya gotta ask 'em.

TIX4TONIGHT has 'em...don't know if they're any good or if the other discounters
carry them. Many times, the discounted seats are off to a side, in the back or
balcony.
For PHANTOM, the Gold Circle or close to it is the way to go (for me...)

And YES...you can wait til you get in town. You'll probably find most of the better
seats are gone though. If you're not picky, you'll find something.

Thanks so much for the additional tips. I am home today with a horrible cold and did somemore research on the internet.
Based on what you have told me, I think we are going to go for the gold circle or orchestra tickets. We will be out there for a
full week, so I have multiple days to choose from. If you call the venetian directly, do you still have to pay the Ticket Master charges.
I know right now that Travel Zoo is offering the good tickets for $98 each, plus whatever taxes and fees I suppose.

Thanks again for your help and suggestions.

I believe I was talking direct to the Venetian Box Office 'bpahles3'
They all have a service charge, but TM is the highest.
Call 'em...1.877.583.6423

Thanks Gregrio - the box office asked me if I was a local and I said no. I said, I suppose there is a good deal for locals and she said, yes 2/1 orchestra tickets or gold circle. I just talked to a friend of mine who has a sister that lives in Vegas. She told me to call her and she would probably go with me to buy the tickets and get the 2/1. I think I will take her up on that offer. Thanks again for all the good advice.

Just to get us in the mood for POTO in Vegas.... I bought the blu-ray of Phantom at the Royal Albert Hall. For $20+ bucks at Amazon...a great choice. Considering how quickly that $twenty will go at one of favorite slots...money well spent.

Just saw that on PBS last night (fund-raising week). So I went ahead and bought a ticket, and there was a comp upgrade to Gold Circle seating, so I went ahead and sprung for it. I'm usually not picky about where I site, but what the hell, I'll splurge. I forget how much I paid to see it at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC 20 years ago, but it was fairly close to the $148 this ticket cost, and those were not the best seats.

I had been really skeptical about how they condensed a three-hour show to a 95-minute show, but I've read good things about the Vegas show, and as long as they did it without cutting out any of the music, OK.

Please tell me they use a real bona-fide pit orchestra, not 2 woodwind players and 3 guys with synthesizers.

Aww...I just watch the 25th Anniversary, Royal Albert Hall performance last night on my local PBS.
I had never seen a full preformance before. The Venetian version is cut a bit and
I was real curious to see...just what had been cut out...(lots, lol)

I know several folks who prefer the Vegas version/others want to see the whole thing.
To be honest, the full version bores me a bit, but it was spectacular and does a better job
at the total development of the story line. Having never seen it, I had no problem letting the
story develope in my head via what was put before me in Las Vegas.

Many of the old Phantoms and others from around the country were on hand...
The 'Phantoms' did a great version of 'Music of the Night' as an encore...many of the Christines' were
there along with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michale Crawford.

I NEED AN ANSWER FROM A REAL 'PHANTOM' FAN....
In the first scene...during the auction...who is the guy in the wheel chair and the woman in black
bidding agaist him?

The man in the wheel chair is Raoul, (Vicomte de Chagny). Considering his age...I'm figuring that the women would be Meg Giry, the blonde daughter of Madame Giry (the dance teacher).

I bought my tickets today. I used the discount code from Travelzoo, 50ZOO so instead of the $148 + ticketmaster fees ($9+), the cost was $98 per ticket for the Orchestra. The same discount can be used for the Golden Circle, and the tickets would cost $127.