Phantom Previews At The Venetian

Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular is set to have its preview period starting this week on June 12. Phantom is based on the famous Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Phantom of the Opera, but it has been adapted for the Las Vegas stage. The production, edited down to 95 minutes, will feature every major song from the original musical, but without an intermission and minus some musical overtures.

Visually, the show will also include never before seen special effects in the theater that has undergone $40 million in renovations. So it’s safe to say that if you’ve seen the Tony-Award winning musical before, this show will still be new to you.

The roles of main characters in the Las Vegas production — The Phantom, Christine and Carlotta — have been double-cast due to the combination of the strenuous vocal numbers in the show and the arid desert climate of the city. Donning the mask of the title character will be Brent Barrett (Broadway’s Annie Get Your Gun) and Tony Award-winner Anthony Crivello (Kiss of the Spider Woman). Cast as Christine, the Phantom’s love, are Sierra Boggess (Les Miserables) and Elizabeth Lyacano (Oklahoma). Rounding out the trio of double-casts is the duo of Elena Jeanne Batman and Geena Jeffries, who will be trading off the role of Carlotta.

This preview period will be watched by many in the Las Vegas show industry. With the recent closing of major Broadway musicals Avenue Q and Hairspray, both of which opened to much fanfare, many are wondering if Vegas will be kinder to Phantom – The Las Vegas Spectacular.  Granted, Phantom has more of a pedigree than others that have debuted on The Strip, but with Cirque’s LOVE seeming to be the hot ticket in town, it remains to be seen if Phantom will pique enough interest to make mounting the extravagant production worthwhile.

If you’re interested in checking out the preview shows, they’ll be running until June 23. The grand opening on June 24 is already sold out, but the production is currently selling tickets through the end of the year.

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When: June 12, 2006 – ongoing
Where: Phantom Theatre
Time: During the preview — 7:00 p.m. (Wednesday – Monday); additional 10:00 p.m. show on Wednesday and Saturday only; dark on Tuesdays. After the preview — 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. (Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat); 7:00 p.m. (Thurs and Sun); dark Tuesdays.
Cost: $75.00 – $150.00

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