While staying in Las Vegas for a month we definately had plans to make it to at least one show. We were going to go see Criss Angel’s show Believe but after reading the reviews we decided to pass and go see The Phantom of the Opera. After getting our tickets through Las Vegas Event Tickets, we decided that we would go down a bit early and sit and have a glass of wine and appetizers before the event. We ignored mapquest’s directions which bring you in somewhat of a backway to the Venetian and ended up driving down the whole Las Vegas strip from the south end. Now the Las Vegas strip is cool when you have the time but we were sort of pressed and the traffic was horrendous. They are doing some construction in a few spots which narrows down the road a bit in places too. So if you are heading downtown to a show, leave yourself plenty of time and try to avoid driving down the strip as much as possible.
We had just enough time to sit down at the Grand Lux Cafe right outside of the Phantom theatre in the Venetian to grab a bite. The crabcakes were some of the best we had ever had and the potstickers weren’t so bad either. We drank our Pinot and Sam Adams and were sitting in our seats 10 minutes before the show started.
Once you sit down in this $40 million dollar custom-built theatre you are convinced that you are sitting down in the Paris Opera House. We had great seats in the Gold section which is the center floor and we could see perfectly. We had never see any previous version of the production live but had watched the movie that had been made so we were familiar with the story-line and music. This production leaves out none of the original music or story-line but it has added special affects and enhancements that sweep you into the world of the phantom and Kristine and make the 95 minute show fly by. The chandelier scenes in the play are worth the price of admission alone. I would highly recommend this show, it is worth every penny so don’t miss it!