11th Anniversary in Las Vegas continues....

I'm pretty much a paranoid theater "goer" as in I like to arrive at least 45 minutes early. I start to get anxious if we haven't found our seats at 25 minutes before showtime. But, because our hotel was so close and not having to deal with parking......we still arrived about 45 minutes early. Yea, I'm crazy like that. We did take that time to browse the Zarkana gift shop. There were quite a few items I wanted to buy, but I would later edit that list down to a few items.

Finale costume for the main character. the magician.

Eric and I found it interesting that this Cirque theater opened up right into Casino. As soon as you walked in with your ticket, you are in the theater. Usually you enter their doors and find a small lobby with concession stands. The venue is massive! It gives an immediate impression that this show wants to make a name for itself. And, almost everything is bathed in red lighting down to the wall coverings. We saw red drapery, a red stage curtain, and even red chairs. All this red made it a little hard to photograph with my phone.

The sides of the theater are amazing!

I'm not going to give a scene by scene synopsis because this is only a review. Have you ever read a review and the writer lays out the whole plot/show without really giving an opinion? Annoying (IMO). Going into this experience I had no clue what the show was about. Usually we have at least heard the soundtrack, but still had not. Afterwards, I wish I had known a little information because apparently the plot was lost on me. There's a musician looking for his lost love and magic. Does he find them? You all will have to watch the show.

Zarkana is filled with great acrobatics, eye candy, haunting music, and originality. After seeing the show I learned the creative team wanted to honor the American Circus aesthetic from the 1930s. They have achieved that through the acting, sets and costumes. Cirque really conveyed the "spooky/freakshow" feeling from old photos I have seen. Zarkana has really separated itself from other Vegas shows like O, Mystere, and Love. Rather than take the audience to a fictitious world, the show takes place in an actual time period that has whimsical characters.

The following day Eric and I were taken on a backstage tour of the show. I'll get into that at a later time because on this same night we had another new experience. We were about to finally eat at Serendipity. It's located along the strip, in the Caesers Palace complex. The place isn't really known for its grand meals, but instead for dessert. Serendipity has what is called The Frozen Hot Chocolate. Up until we actually ate it, Eric and I had no clue what it was. Obviously we knew there would be ice cream, but we weren't sure how it was used. As it turns out there was a bottom layer of hot chocolate with a slushy ice cream (like a malt)over it. On top of that is a huge mound of whipped cream and chocolate chips.

Ceiling decor of Serendipity

After a long wait, with a reservation, we were seated. The service was slow, but we weren't about to go searching for another place to eat. We finally had our meals of grilled cheese/cheeseburger respectively, then had a go at the Frozen Hot Chocolate. It was an interesting texture that we both enjoyed. I'm not a food critic so I don't have a marvelous review of it other than "it was good and we would have it again". As it turns out there are many flavors to choose from. The word is out about the dessert, so it's best to arrive with a patient disposition. Maybe get there with a cocktail in hand?

What the fuss was about.

That same night, it was already nearing 11 pm, we headed to The Mirage hotel for the Revolution Lounge. A friend had us on a list for the Gay club that takes place on Sundays. We only had one other experience at a Vegas Gay club called Krave. The time had come to try another colorful night out, Vegas style! It was exciting to head to Revolution Lounge because the venue was started by Cirque du Soleil, based on their Beatles show called Love.

As I had mentioned it was getting near midnight. We thought that by then the place would be hopping with the local Gay community and vacationers. We were wrong! We obviously were there as a couple, celebrating a milestone, but we too like to dance! There were maybe 10 people in the venue and we made 12. At the door we also received a free drink each so we used that coupon right away. We weren't in a rush to leave because the music was fun and it was nice to just hang. The place slowly filled up, but it didn't reach any sort of a "crammed" capacity. We lasted until about 1:30 AM when we decided to head back to the hotel.

Although the lounge never became hugely popular that night, we still had a good time. The street as we headed back to Planet Hollywood was so empty. There were still the people out that try to sell you on the escorts and strip clubs. Eric and I joked they didn't have anything to sell that we wanted. But, it wouldn't be Vegas if those advertisers weren't out there trying to get your attention, as the smack their pamphlets against their hands. Ah Vegas....dont' you just love it? We do!! That's why we stayed a whole other day/night............(to be continued)