Queen of the Night.Diamond Horseshoe at the Paramount Hotel (see Off Broadway). By Randy Weiner. Directed by Christine Jones. With ensemble cast. Running time: 3hrs. No intermission.
Queen of the Night: In brief
Nightlife impresario Randy Weiner refashions the old Diamond Horseshoe Nightclub (below the Paramount Hotel) into a wild hotchpotch of food, drink, circus, theater and dance. The cast of 33, directed by Tony-winning designer Christine Jones, includes Katherine Crockett as the ball's hostess and Steve Cuiffo as a magician.
Queen of the Night: Theater review by Adam Feldman
Divine decadence is on the table at Queen of the Night, an almost absurdly deluxe dinner-circus-nightlife experience by immersive-theater king Randy Weiner. Set in the Paramount Hotel’s gorgeously refurbished Diamond Horseshoe nightclub—shuttered since 1951—the show takes the form of a grand party held by the Marchesa (Katherine Crockett, an elegant dancer). Designed and directed by Christine Jones, it borrows vague themes from The Magic Flute; there is also a continual swirl of circus elements by Shana Carroll, of the neocirque troupe Les 7 Doigts de la Main (several alums of which are in the ensemble).
Attractive performers take you aside for interactive micro-adventures; lissome acrobats perform on the very banquettes at which you feast on things like lobster and suckling pig. It’s not unlike a cruise-ship version of Eyes Wide Shut, but in a pleasantly indulgent way. If it rarely seems quite like theater, it is certainly immersive: This is how it might feel to be a strawberry dipped in chocolate.
THE BOTTOM LINE A glamorous atmosphere steals the show.
Follow Adam Feldman on Twitter: @FeldmanAdam
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