Phantom’s Mini Me
If, like me, your professional life revolves around IT then you’re probably more familiar with Las Vegas than the rest of the planet. Conventionville has me hostage again this week and, as now seems to be the norm, I’m entombed in The (chapter 11 friendly) Venetian resort, hotel & money funnel. I’ve been an inmate of this mink-lined prison every year now for the last 5 years. On previous visits I’ve been too busy to take in too many of the non-money losing activities this place has to offer. This year is different, I have family in tow so I’ve been dragged away from co-workers to socialize with the old folks.
Tonight I sat through a very depressing experience. Las Vegas’ rendition of Lloyd-Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. This staging of the show is not the same as the millions of other Phantom productions that haunt the planet. This one is based off the movie of the original stage production. If you’ve seen that film you’ll know that some pretty major liberties were taken with the story. Act 1 ends with the infamous chandelier still firmly bolted to the ceiling of the opera house and then Act 2 meanders off into some hitherto unheard of grave yard scene with our beloved Christine flailing around in the snow in front of her dearly departed Dad’s tomb. Heart warming stuff.
Being a child of the 80s I’m very fond of Phantom. It was a massive hit in London when I was starting my career and I must have seen it on various stages over 10 times by now. Some how the movie version didn’t distress me as I made allowances for film being a different media to live performance, etc, etc. However when you see that rendition retro fitted back onto the stage it’s finger nails on a chalk-board time for anyone who loves Phantom the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Bludgeoned into a 90 min Vegas attention span the plot seems confused, the songs neutered and the cast, rushed off their feet.
The only thing I can recommend less when visiting Vegas is to pay an extra $100 a night for a “view” suite only to find that your view is the Pirate boat sinking debacle at Treasure Island, every 90 mins. Even 25 stories up, the cannons shake the windows and all the childhood affinity I might have felt for the pirates dark fate have turned to tears of hate!
Related posts:
- Time – Meet Shark – #twitter blushes
- Music to find your blue self with #glass #watchmen
- Mega Star Trek Movie link roundup
- Enough with iPhone App-o-the-week roundups!
- Next Movie | RUN, don’t walk.
