The Las Vegas Spectacular Experience

Pardon in advance for:

...everything I've forgotten.
...everything I should not have said.
...indecent pictures.
...costume nerdiness.
...thoughts opposing the 8th commandment of the Bible.



Saturday:
Sewing, sewing, sewing, sewing, sewing, sewing... Oi! If I'm gonna be able to transport that skirt I either need to wear it or buy an additional suitcase... running, buying, possibly eating, I can't remember.... sewing, sewing, sewing, sewing. Passport! Oh good, I have it. Packing. Facebooking? Probably. Sewing, sewing, sewing, sewing. FOUR IN THE NIGHT? Holy crap. Sewing. Going to bed.


Sunday:
Two hours of sleep. Yup, tired. Forcing the Elissa skirt into the new suitcase. Stumbles out to a rainy and cold early-morning-Oslo. Luckilly the bus to the airport stops right outside my building. Airport. Checking in. Airport security. Buying a book. Meeting a friend I shared apartment with in Rome! She's going to Switzerland. Airplane. I remember some dubious food. I sat by the window. I'm blessed with the best sleeping heart in the world and can fall asleep anytime, anywhere. I sleep all the way to New York, or mostly anyway.


Oslo-New York


Arrive in New York early in the day, by local time I mean. A short wait and I'm on the plane to Las Vegas. I remember dubious food there too, and I sleep. I wake up in Las Vegas. A taxi brings me to Harrah's. I sew glimpse of Las Vegas, I note there's a Starbucks by the hotel lobby, and I got to bed. And I wake up in the morning, well rested and hyped.


Monday:
Harrah's has no internet whatsoever. Not even one they seriously overcharge me for. This makes things a lot worse, in terms of meeting up with people. I only saved a handful of the info I need and have no mobile numbers either. Great.

Right outside my window there's a pool. People stand in the pool. They don't swim. This keeps fascinating me. Cause I stay in my hotel room much of the morning, sewing. And I look down and the swimmers standers.

Later in the day I decide I need a bit of sun on my body, and I stroll the South end of The Strip. Loving all the sights. Then I head over to the holy grail The Venetian, just to see the fake canals and the Phantom Theatre. And maybe score a cheap ticket for tonight's performance. I need inspiration. Outside Sephora next to the "campanile" (big tower where the Phantom banner previously was) I suddenly remember that Sephora in Rome tend to have free WiFi. And yup, their American sister has too. I Facebook like crazy, try and message everyone to give my phone number and say I don't have internet most of the time. Luckily I get quick replies, so at least people know where I am and I have their phone numbers.


You know you're in Vegas when....


Brianne also answers and since we're both around The Venetian we meet up. I get to see her OMIGAAAD fantastic costumes - they're so beautiful it's ridiculous - and for some reason I behave and don't run off with the whole lot. A bit of food later I'm really hyped to see the Vegas production of Phantom. Wanted to see it alone, to really digest it, and I get a good seat for a very special price up at the mezzanine, just because the lady at the ticket office is cool. Review to come.


The Holy Grail.


Stumble back to the hotel, falls asleep. Apparently I need my sleep.



Tuesday:
The Elissa skirt is mostly done, but there are finishing details to work on.

Like a backdrape.


Working on the Elissa skirt at the hotel room


Room service knocks on the door, but I point to what's going on on the floor and she just laughs and moves on. Worked on the skirt most of the day, only interrupted by a caffe mocha from Starbucks. After sunset sometime I suddenly note I haven't eaten all day, and I have no idea what time it is. I'm kinda dizzy. I head out to get some food, but is so fascinated by the lights, the kitsch, the fun, the fountains, the people... Eventually I end up at New York, New York and eat the biggest hamburger I could find.

More Sephora internet allows me to log on Facebook so I can write down all the phone numbers I need. Only problem is that I don't remember which numbers to add and which ones to remove so my phone understands it's calling from Norway to the US. Ah well.

Catch the fountain show at Bellagio too. Me gusta.



Wednesday:

Finish the backdrape and most of the details on the skirt, and life feels much better. I then head out to get some more Sephora internet, and plans with MasqPhan on when to meet her at MGM. Saw the South end of The Strip on Monday, gonna see the North side today, and then visit the CSI Experience at MGM. Turns out The Venetian is pretty far north on the strip, so there isn't too much to see further up the road. But at least I get to take the Phantom bus down the strip.


The Phantom bus.


Brianne joins on the CSI Experience, which made it a lot cooler! Kinda aged facility there, but amazingly fun in a kitschy way to wear one-size-fits-all vests and have Grissom talk to us from the big screen. And we totally nailed that murder case and was appointed First Level CSI's. I'm convinced it'll come in handy one day. We then take the rollercoaster at New York, New York and we both scream like schoolgirls. The seats in front are so tall you can't predict which way it's heading, which was lots of fun.

After some more food I say goodbye to Brianne and head over to the KA theatre to meet my "phamily". Kinda sidle in on Phantomfett, Phantom on a Budget, Artistkae and Danielle when Phantomfett admired a cute, lil' red tshirt which is totally (NOT!) his size. Artistkae and I have an epic hug moment. It's really strange, but it felt like I had known them forever, even Danielle who I had never even "met" online. A moment later MasqPhan also joins. I buy a mojito at the size of Norway and we head into the theatre.

Vegas. Custom made theatres for whatever shows they put on. I can easily get used to this. The guy next to me snores like an old saw through the whole show. Why is beyond me. I plot with MasqPhan on ways to wake him up or at least stop him to snore, but then decides to enjoy the show instead. 't is fantastic.

Food at Rainforest café afterwards. Yes, I did indeed order Chicken Fried Chicken. Yes, the waiter seemed embarrassed over the name. Yes, it did taste like chicken. Also, the restaurant have "topical storms" at regular intervals, and they have a huge tank with fish where Ben Lewis' twin swims around. MasqPhan tells how magnetic monkeys clung to her so she suddently found herself in possession of two unknown, unpaid-for monkeys. We all agree it's monkey business.


Ben Lewis fish.


We take the monorail back to our respective hotels, and this night too I fall asleep like a baby. Must have been the chicken.



Thursday:

Time to check out of Harrah's and move over to The Venetian. Let me say right away that this trip would never have happened if Phantomfett didn't keep bugging me about it and if Raphael hadn't offered me to camp on his couch the last couple of days. Those guys (and MasqPhan) also took care of the whole buying-tickets business. The fact that I knew these elementary things was taken care of made it so much easier to finally take time off work and book that plane ticket. I doubt it would have happened otherwise. So THANK YOU, folks.

And this is why I moved from Harrah's to The Venetian.

Stuff got temporarily stored in Phantom on a Budget and Phantomfett's room. I got to drool over fantastic costumes there too, and yet again I surpressed my urge to run off with the whole lot. I then headed down to meet Raphael, Phantom10906 and GoblinsorShoes (we sound like criminals in Duckburg, hahaha!) and we went for some well deserved (or not) lunch.

Picking up my stuff from the two Phantoms whose costumes I still hadn't stolen, we took goofy "Red Death meets Elissa" costume photos. Giggle-giggle. And I was in for surprise number one: When Raphael said he might have room, he didn't say he would have several rooms and a fantastic view and a freakin' BAR. Much oi'ing and gasping and giggling from me, and in some mysterious way the living room was turned into a costume department. I don't really think Raphael was to blame for that... Phantom 10906 tried on his costume - a FANTASTIC replica of the Phantom's Don Juan robe made by Artistkae - and I plotted on when or how to steal it.


The costume central AKA suite 1.


Out to pick up tickets for Absinte - Raphael had decided I was going so obviously I was going - and then a short costume nerd visit to Artistkae and Danielle. Danielle had brought a puffy shirt, which made me too happy for words ('t is my favourite Seinfeld episode). And Artistkae's Star Princess costume was... words can't describe it. It had to be seen in real life. So detailed. Here's a picture of the bodice still:




At this point I wondered how I would get all these stolen costumes back to Norway.

Time for another Phantom performance. Same cast as Monday, but a different seat. Very different:


THIS is what I call front row.


Another stellar performance, and sitting front row was such a cool experience. Glad I got to experience both. Also very glad I got to experience CrazyStalkerWoman's (CSW, not to be confused with CSI) intense inhaling of the mist in the boat scene. I've never felt more normal in my life. After Phantom we headed over for Absinthe over at Caesar's Palace. Had no idea what to expect, but WOW! Absinthe is what you get if you combine world class acrobatics with dirty-no-shame humour. One of the most entertaining experiences in ages. Thank you for ordering convincing me to go and see it, Raphael.

Everyone was tired, I think (well, some of us had a Red Death costume to finish...) so it was back to the hotel to sleep/sew/eat/drink/enjoy. The "some of us" who had a Red Death costume to finish stacked up on coffee, while other "some of us" decided that bringing an already finished costume might be dull, but it might be smart too. Cause then you can:

Z-z-z-z...



Thursday:
My hair doesn't curl. It just doesn't. Sometimes I still force it to once in a blue moon. It takes lots of tools, lots of patience and a can of hair spray. And in the mean time I look like Frankenstein's mother. It still didn't stop me from heading down to the bakery next to The Phantom Theatre. I decided they've probably seen so many hungry cast members with crazy makeup and hairdo already, and they didn't seem to react all that much.

Decided Phantomfett was probably going nuts and possibly driving his roommate nuts, so I brought some emergency hot chocolate to their room. I then headed back to the suite, and after a quick breakfast I did some finishing details on the Elissa skirt. I bought a coffe mocha for Raphael, but since he was still sleeping and it got cold I drank it myself. I'm the best roommate. We were later joined by Phantom10906 and MasqPhan, and we tried to educate Raphael in the art of "crotch tiara" and "butt tiara". He seemed to get a grasp of it.


Butt tiara. Not crotch tiara.


We then had a rather serious photoshoot with MasqPhan in full costume. Her costume for the night was the Hannibal Slavegirl, after all! With the UK tour Degas wig, the Slavegirl costume and the Elissa skirt she looked like a million dollar. I mean, seriously:


MasqPhan in full outfit. I wanted to steal that wig too.


The skirt then had to be stuffed back into the suitcase and wheeled down to the lobby. As explained by Raphael in his post the plan was for Michael Lackey to bring the suitcase with him into the backstage area, and from there hang the skirt in Brianne's dressing room, with a card explaining the gift. Since Brianne arrived before him we had to stall her while he took a backway into the wardrobes. I'm not a particularly good staller, I can tell you that much... Which meant Brianne arrived shortly after Lackey, and experienced to be thrown out of her own dressing room without explanation, and when she finally was allowed to enter she still got no explanation, until she of course discovered the skirt hanging there. Hahahahaha, MAN I would have given a lot to be there. Well handled Lackey, well handled!

As for me I could finally run upstairs and jump into the Aminta costume. I had luckily done the hair and makeup in advance, and the dress is easy to get into. And Phantom10906 looked fantastic in his Don Juan robe, and Raphael looked awesome in his Venetian Rococo costume and MasqPhan looked equally awesome in her Slavegirl/Dressing gown combo, and we headed down to meet a sea of awesomeness in the lobby!

I've posted some comments and pictures of this in the Vegas thread ( https://desertedphans.forumotion.net/t72p510-las-vegas-production ), so I won't repeat it here. But when Phantom played in Copenhagen in 2009 Tomas Ambt Kofod, their Raoul, insisted on "party pictures" (that is, team up, let one person hold the camera and flash away) being the coolest kind of pictures. So I took lots of "party pictures" in Vegas, while sending some fond thoughts to Tomas. It is indeed the coolest kind of pictures:


Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!


Afterward we all headed for Grand Lux Café, some in costume and some in civil. Both Kaedra and me can attest to sitting on large netting skirts in a small space for a long time does not do wonders for the thighs... But the pizza and mojitos at Grand Lux, plus the excellent company, more than made up for that. I remember laughing. Gossiping. Nerding. Laughing more. Eating. Drinking. And oh yes, even more laughter.


This was after I had eaten half the pizza.



More to come!

-

Thanks, operafatomet, for sharing your PLV experience with us! Lots of fun to read, and great photos too!

operafantomet wrote:

Brianne also answers and since we're both around The Venetian we meet up. I get to see her OMIGAAAD fantastic costumes - they're so beautiful it's ridiculous - and for some reason I behave and don't run off with the whole lot.

Yay! Hanging out with Brianne

Brianne joins on the CSI Experience, which made it a lot cooler! Kinda aged facility there, but amazingly fun in a kitschy way to wear one-size-fits-all vests and have Grissom talk to us from the big screen. And we totally nailed that murder case and was appointed First Level CSI's. I'm convinced it'll come in handy one day. We then take the rollercoaster at New York, New York and we both scream like schoolgirls. The seats in front are so tall you can't predict which way it's heading, which was lots of fun.

Yay for more hanging out with Brianne!

After some more food I say goodbye to Brianne and head over to the KA theatre to meet my "phamily". Kinda sidle in on Phantomfett, Phantom on a Budget, Artistkae and Danielle when Phantomfett admired a cute, lil' red tshirt which is totally (NOT!) his size. Artistkae and I have an epic hug moment. It's really strange, but it felt like I had known them forever, even Danielle who I had never even "met" online. A moment later MasqPhan also joins.

Yay for meeting phans face-to-face for the first time!

The guy next to me snores like an old saw through the whole show. Why is beyond me. I plot with MasqPhan on ways to wake him up or at least stop him to snore, but then decides to enjoy the show instead. 't is fantastic.

Too bad you guys didn't have some bobble-penises handy.

Food at Rainforest café afterwards. Yes, I did indeed order Chicken Fried Chicken. Yes, the waiter seemed embarrassed over the name. Yes, it did taste like chicken. Also, the restaurant have "topical storms" at regular intervals, and they have a huge tank with fish where Ben Lewis' twin swims around. MasqPhan tells how magnetic monkeys clung to her so she suddently found herself in possession of two unknown, unpaid-for monkeys. We all agree it's monkey business.

I like that restaurant, but boy is it noisy in there!

Let me say right away that this trip would never have happened if Phantomfett didn't keep bugging me about it and if Raphael hadn't offered me to camp on his couch the last couple of days. Those guys (and MasqPhan) also took care of the whole buying-tickets business. The fact that I knew these elementary things was taken care of made it so much easier to finally take time off work and book that plane ticket. I doubt it would have happened otherwise. So THANK YOU, folks.

Just for the record, you *insisted* on using the fold-out sofa because I was more than willing to switch with you so you could use the bed

Stuff got temporarily stored in Phantom on a Budget and Phantomfett's room. I got to drool over fantastic costumes there too, and yet again I surpressed my urge to run off with the whole lot.

And I was in for surprise number one: When Raphael said he might have room, he didn't say he would have several rooms and a fantastic view and a freakin' BAR.

We never did get to use the bar, did we? Had I known you liked mojitos so much...

Phantom 10906 tried on his costume - a FANTASTIC replica of the Phantom's Don Juan robe made by Artistkae - and I plotted on when or how to steal it.

I'm sensing a theme...

At this point I wondered how I would get all these stolen costumes back to Norway.

Methinks this review demands phantoon accompaniment.

After Phantom we headed over for Absinthe over at Caesar's Palace. Had no idea what to expect, but WOW! Absinthe is what you get if you combine world class acrobatics with dirty-no-shame humour. One of the most entertaining experiences in ages. Thank you for ordering convincing me to go and see it, Raphael.

You're welcome. I thought you might enjoy it

We were later joined by Phantom10906 and MasqPhan, and we tried to educate Raphael in the art of "crotch tiara" and "butt tiara". He seemed to get a grasp of it.

I might need another lesson, btw.

Butt tiara. Not crotch tiara.

For instance, I don't know why a butt tiara would be frowning.

We then had a rather serious photoshoot with MasqPhan in full costume. Her costume for the night was the Hannibal Slavegirl, after all! With the UK tour Degas wig, the Slavegirl costume and the Elissa skirt she looked like a million dollar.

SERIOUSLY!

The skirt then had to be stuffed back into the suitcase and wheeled down to the lobby. As explained by Raphael in his post the plan was for Michael Lackey to bring the suitcase with him into the backstage area, and from there hang the skirt in Brianne's dressing room, with a card explaining the gift. Since Brianne arrived before him we had to stall her while he took a backway into the wardrobes. I'm not a particularly good staller, I can tell you that much... Which meant Brianne arrived shortly after Lackey, and experienced to be thrown out of her own dressing room without explanation, and when she finally was allowed to enter she still got no explanation, until she of course discovered the skirt hanging there. Hahahahaha, MAN I would have given a lot to be there. Well handled Lackey, well handled!

Wish I'd been there to see that too

More to come!

Looking forward to it

R.

I found this video on YouTube...someone posted their recording of the final performance curtain call.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi4DcSwAie0

It's just too bad whoever filmed it couldn't zoom in closer to the stage, but at least people like me who weren't there in person can sort of feel like we were.

NightRachel wrote:I found this video on YouTube...someone posted their recording of the final performance curtain call.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi4DcSwAie0

It's just too bad whoever filmed it couldn't zoom in closer to the stage, but at least people like me who weren't there in person can sort of feel like we were.

That "someone" would be me. The camera would not have handled closeups, so I settled on filming the scenery and sea of people instead. Glad it gave you a sense of the atmosphere.

Ah, okay -- so it was you, operafantomet. Thanks for posting your video of the curtain call for us to see! And yeah, you got the best footage you could minus closeups of those on stage. It did really make me feel like I was there in the audience with you, so good job! And at the end of your recording I liked how you did a swing-around shot of the whole auditorium and the ceiling and chandelier -- that was fun to see!

So now I'd really like to see more video footage from the final performance curtain call from anyone else who possibly filmed it.

Raphael wrote:

operafantomet wrote:

Phantom 10906 tried on his costume - a FANTASTIC replica of the Phantom's Don Juan robe made by Artistkae - and I plotted on when or how to steal it.

I'm sensing a theme...

I think many of us were plotting to steal one another's costumes at various points in time.

At this point I wondered how I would get all these stolen costumes back to Norway.

Methinks this review demands phantoon accompaniment.

Do eeeettt!

We were later joined by Phantom10906 and MasqPhan, and we tried to educate Raphael in the art of "crotch tiara" and "butt tiara". He seemed to get a grasp of it.

Raphael wrote:I might need another lesson, btw.

Butt tiara. Not crotch tiara.

For instance, I don't know why a butt tiara would be frowning.

It's frowning because I forgot to attach it to the costume before we left. It spent the whole evening with only L'il Erik and Klepto Monkey for company.

We then had a rather serious photoshoot with MasqPhan in full costume. Her costume for the night was the Hannibal Slavegirl, after all! With the UK tour Degas wig, the Slavegirl costume and the Elissa skirt she looked like a million dollar.

Raphael wrote:SERIOUSLY!

Getting to wear that skirt to make up a full costume was one of the most awesome things I've ever done. It was a real dream come true. This sounds so dorky but I never felt so pretty before. Thank you sooooo much for using me as a model and decoy.
I also played with the Aminta dress while you guys were out stalling Brianne so Lackey could plant the skirt. I made the dress fit.

I'm rather slow at getting to this review but am loving every second of it.
I have to say though, wasn't it a HUGE strawberry daiquiri slushy you had at KA? I'm glad you enjoyed KA. Out of four performances over the years, THAT was the best one I've seen them do. Everyone was really on.

And back to Phantom - We will never forget Crazy Stalker Girl.

Oh and for the record...I did NOT steal those monkeys. They hitched a ride on me. I was terrified to ever go back to the store. My mom went back and another magnetic monkey tried to latch on to her too.

Hey operafantomet, you never finished this review! C'mon, hurry up!

R.

I miss this production so badly

Raphael wrote:Hey operafantomet, you never finished this review! C'mon, hurry up!  

R.

OMG, I never posted my actual review!!! WHAT. HOW. I'm so ashamed!

operafantomet wrote:

Raphael wrote:Hey operafantomet, you never finished this review! C'mon, hurry up!  

R.

OMG, I never posted my actual review!!! WHAT. HOW. I'm so ashamed!

Lol! Busted!