I was very excited when I first heard about Phantom in Las Vegas. Many years ago my husband and I had seen the show at the Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles and, even though we were in nosebleed seats, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Last year, we were able to go to New York and one of the highlights of our trip was seeing the production at the Majestic Theatre. We weret thrilled with the show. The singing was absolutely wonderful. Having had such pleasant experiences, we had high hopes for the Las Vegas production.

We had great seats. As recommended by other reviewers on this site, we were under the chandelier. The set was fantastic. The problem occurred when the performers started singing. I guess I did not read enough reviews because I did not know that the speed of the music and singing was sped up. What a travesty. To both my husband and myself, there was a complete lack of build up or emotion, everything was just forced. I never felt connected to the performers and was very disappointed.

I would recommend you save your money over the Las Vegas production and buy the movie (Although a much more rock 'n roll type production then the Broadway show, it did a good job of fleshing out the character of the Phantom. And make sure to watch the second disc, it provided fascinating information on how the Phantom of the Opera production came to be.).

A few caveats: I've never seen another production of Phantom, and I tend to hate operas/musicals. Having said that, I - and everyone around me as far as I can tell! - just loved it. The performances were all spot-on (well, two minor notes slipped from the non-headliners - but that's NOTHING!), the stage is amazing, the effects are enthralling, and it goes by so quickly. The lead performers received a standing ovation at the end - not surprising, they were superb. I don't want to contradict the poor reviews, but I'd suggest that the performers must have just had an off night - they were great tonight and it made for a highly enjoyable show (not a single yawn from me!). Best seats are probably 6-10 rows back; I was in the 4th row and it was a little too close. Like others have said, check for discounted tickets - the theater was full on this Wednesday night and I know the discounts helped that along.

Highly recommended!

First let me say that my husband and I both do not care for musicals. Also would like to mention that believe it or not I had never even seen the movie. So, on several suggestions from friends I booked this show for our 25th anniversary. We are in our 50's and I was worried the whole time that my hubby (surfer dude) would not like it. I think he liked it more than i did. :)

One word of warning: I got a super deal on the tickets. 85.00 each...I called to talk to an actual person and he talked me into those particualr seats to be able to see the chandelier drop rahter than the actors faces. Well, the lesson I learned was that 95% of what is happening is on the stage. I could have afforded the extra money for closer seats. My only regret. If you can afford it, actually at any Las Vegas show...get as close to the stage as you can.

I just returned from a 3 night trip to Las Vegas with my three daughters 22, 18, and 16. We went to see POTO at the Venitian and we were completely blown away. We are all fans of POTO, especially my 18 year old daughter. She's watched the movie at least 50 times and knows every song by heart.

The Venitian is by far the most beautiful hotel casino in Vegas, and it totally set the mood the moment we walked in. We had great seats in the Orchestra section. These tickets were usually $125, but I found a promotion code on line to enter to get them for only $75 (GREAT DEAL!) The theater is so beautiful with attention to detail that really set the mood for the show. The special effects and the beautiful sets were dazzling. I thought the music was great, and so was the singing. The acting wasn't the best, but we were more about the music anyway.

My two youngest daughters saw a NY broadway show of Lion King, and they said that this show was SO much better than what they saw in NY. There was just no comparison. My girls absolutely LOVED it. They said it was the best experience they've ever had. :o) I think we would go see it again we enjoyed it so much.

Add to your whole Venitian experience by taking a gondola ride in the canal and having dinner in one of the restaurants on the Piazza. Madam Troussauds was lots of fun too, because they have the wax statues in an interactive environment to make photos more fun.