Apparently “Queen of the Night,” the latest in the line of immersive and puzzling spectacles such as the “Macbeth”-themed “Sleep No More,” has something to do with Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” but it’s hard to tell at this busy affair.
“Queen of the Night” is being presented at the newly renovated Diamond Horseshoe, a supper club that just reopened for the first time in six decades, underneath the Paramount Hotel in Times Square. The tickets go for $135 to $450. Dress up or you can be denied entrance.
Upon entering, spectators are escorted into a ballroom with a bar and a stage. As they sip cocktails, actors approach and ask them to follow.
I was taken to a room full of knives and a nook covered in white feathers. Each time, I was asked personal questions. I played along, but this could make someone uncomfortable.
The hard-to-describe show basically consists of circus acts, rock music and dance sequences from performers who (apparently) represent characters from “The Magic Flute,” like the Queen of the Night, here called the Marchesa.
For dinner, my table received a suckling pig for all of us to share. One person was picked to carve it up. When I asked if I could receive the lobster being served at other tables, I was advised to barter.
At “Sleep No More,” audience members can freely roam multiple floors packed with action, actors and props. On the other hand, “Queen of the Night” essentially is a three-hour, overly ostentatious dinner party with touches of experimental and environmental theater.
