Las Vegas Weekly

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In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the juice of a magical flower causes characters to fall in love with the first creature they see after they awake. At the Palms this weekend, you can expect nearly the same thing, albeit with a higher alcohol content to thank for the couplings.

Photo: Nikki Villoria

N9ne Group Production Designer Stephanie Ventura shared that the N9ne Group is scaling back the body painting at the event this year.

The Playboy Mansion’s famed A Midsummer Night’s Dream party returns to the Palms Pool August 13 with all the trappings of the annual fête—scantily clad ladies in lingerie and lots of glitter, gorgeous masks adding a bit of mystery, elaborately costumed characters mingling with guests and the kind of anything-goes atmosphere that seems to take hold on hot summer nights when even darkness doesn’t bring relief. Everyone would probably rather be naked, so they get as close as they legally can and start drinking.

If that sounds like a good time, it is, and this year, says N9ne Group Production Designer Stephanie Ventura, the party is getting back to its roots, ditching past concepts of pirate lands and Greek bacchanals for a more classic Shakespearean scene.

“We went back to the whimsical, magical lingerie,” says Ventura, who’s worked on two other Midsummer parties at the Palms. “I tried to bring in teams that could bring in high fashion. We scaled back on the body paint. I really wanted to go with the interesting costuming and headpieces.”

Photo: Nikki Villoria

N9ne Group Production Designer Stephanie Ventura also commented that the event will ditch past concepts for a more classic Shakespearean theme.

Along with go-go dancers dressed as seasonal nymphs and a Puck character who does Chinese pole dancing, the event will include DJ Pauly D on the decks and roaming performers interacting with guests as they explore the transformed pool area. To get into the party, you’ll need a costume or a mask, and to fully enjoy the festivities, you’ll need a creative look. After all, you’ve been cast in the part of drunken reveler, complete with candy-colored corset, teddy, lush silk robes or pajamas. If you look like you stopped by after another club on the way, you’re woefully out of character.

“It’s just a whimsical fantasy land,” says Ventura. “It’s really a cross between Avatar and Superman’s house” … with a Victoria’s Secret fashion show thrown in.