I saw it also. The production looked very expensive and was substantially changed for that specific Vegas theater. The chandelier drop was very fast directly downward, and they also shut off all the lights while it was still falling at full speed so you don't know when it will stop falling. I think there is pre-recorded screaming, but I think I would have been screaming for real if I had been sitting directly underneath that dropping chandelier.
Although I really like the beginning of the Broadway Phantom where the opera house gets restored to its old glory, watching the chandelier slowly rise from the stage to the ceiling dilutes the effect when the chandelier falls, because you know it's just going to follow the same (safe) track back down. And the Broadway fall is pretty slow.
To get to 95 minutes, it felt like they took out everything that wasn't a special effect or one of the big songs. The script felt very disjointed. It felt like, "Phantom's Greatest Hits." Because there wasn't much downtime in between the big numbers, and I think they also sped up the pacing, it felt a little exhausting. |
