Press Release: The Skeleton Takes First at LA Opera’s Hercules vs Vampires Halloween Costume Contest. The Official Ranking.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE · Nightlife Report News · Downtown Los Angeles · November 2, 2026

LOS ANGELES — The skeleton took first. The lady knight took second. Dracula took third. And on Halloween night at the United Theater on Broadway, LA Opera’s Hercules vs Vampires proved that a costume contest can be the best runway in town.

The Results

1. First place: the skeleton. Ten thousand, plus VIP tickets and a tour of the LA Opera costume shop.
2. Second place: the lady knight. Twenty-five hundred and VIP tickets.
3. Third place: the Dracula-themed look. Five hundred and VIP tickets.

Nightlife Report’s own pick: the Greek goddess. On a night built around Hercules, a goddess in white walking the stairs felt like the theme had stepped off the screen.

Results are as reported by Nightlife Report from the contest floor on October 31, 2026.

The Judges and the Rules

The panel included artisans from LA Opera’s own costume department. Costumes had to be handmade or substantially modified. It showed. These were not party-store capes. Contestants walked the staircase and the lobby floor of a 1927 movie palace while phones went up on both sides.

The Night

LA Opera first staged Hercules vs Vampires in 2015. It returned for two nights only, October 30 and 31, 2026. Mario Bava’s 1961 cult film Hercules in the Haunted World, with former Mr. Universe Reg Park and Christopher Lee, plays on the big screen. The original dialogue is gone. Patrick Morganelli’s score and adapted libretto are sung live in its place.

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On the podium: Blair Salter (@blairpiano), LA Opera’s Head of Music. On the stage: Joel Balzun (@jdeebizzle) as Hercules, Alexis Seminario (@alexis_r_soprano) as Dianara, Gabriel Manro (@g_manro) as Lycos, Roy Hage (@roythetenor) as Theseus, Gretchen Krupp (@g_krupp) as Persephone, with Gabrielle Turgeon, James Hayden, Orson Van Gay II and Robert Norman. Producer: @laopera. Venue: @theunitedtheater.

The Vibe

Classy, and without judgment. Mostly couples in coordinated noir. It is one of the best date nights in Los Angeles.

Our Full LA Opera Coverage

• The preview: Halloween at the United Theater
• LA Opera Turned Halloween Into a Runway, and Ten Thousand Went to the Skeleton
• The Review: LA Opera Just Beat the Movie Palace Final Boss
• Opinion: Opera and the Runway Are the Next Frontier
• LA Opera, Forty Years of Fire
• On Instagram: @lillithmagic

About Nightlife Report

Nightlife Report is an independent Los Angeles news desk covering the night: culture, fashion, music and the people who make it. In the last 30 days our Instagram reached 82,237 accounts with 235,547 views, 92.8% of them from people who don’t follow us yet.

Media contact: Anthony Perlas, Editor · nightlifereport.app

Join the inner circle: patreon.com/aperlas · discord.gg/P3bECmuYwA

Anthony Perlas · nightlifereport.app

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