There was no ‘or’ about it; tricks and treats were plentiful at the spooky pre-Halloween world premiere of American Horror Story: Freak Show. JustLuxe was invited to celebrate with FX and special guests for craft cocktails and a multi-course dinner by Wolfgang Puck that sent chills down our spines and warmed our foodie hearts.
Held at the historic Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, the atmosphere was creepily cool, like a 1930s speakeasy when the carnival came to town. While mixologists concocted nitrogen wonders, sexy contortionists writhed on tabletops and fish-netted snake handlers inspired shivers and naughty fantasies.
Conceptualized by Truffl, the dining space was as dramatic as any American Horror Show set, with billowing red curtains and table cloths, and sumptuous U-shaped banquet seating that created a central play-space for aerialists, gymnasts and sword-swallowers to entertain while we feasted on course after course of Puck’s special plates including Uni Cream Pasta, Crab Louie, Beef Tartar and Firebreather Desserts, which were served with a flourish by a choreographed staff of butlers. Following dinner was a private screening of the premiere episode on a big screen in an adjacent hall filled with plush red sofas.
The new season of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT for 12 episodes through January and it promises to be the most spine-tingling season yet. The show begins in the sleepy hamlet of Jupiter, Florida circa 1952. A troupe of curiosities arrives, coinciding with the strange emergence of a dark entity (i.e. a nightmarish clown) that savagely threatens the lives of locals and freaks alike. This allegorical story is a close-up look at the performers and their desperate journey of survival amidst the dying world of the American carney.
Freak Show features a grotesquely talented cast including Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe award-winners Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates, Golden Globe Award winner and Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett, Emmy Award nominee Sarah Paulson, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Michael Chiklis, Oscar and Golden Globe award nominee Gabourey Sidibe, Emmy Award nominee and Golden Globe Award winner Frances Conroy, Emmy Award nominee Denis O’Hare, Emmy Award nominee Patti LaBelle, Evan Peters, Emma Roberts, Finn Wittrock, John Carroll Lynch, and Wes Bentley.
Its premiere ratings broke all FX records and easily topped the premiere episode of last year’s third installment of the franchise, American Horror Story: Coven, by 38 percent in total viewers. Not surprisingly, FX has already announced a 13-episode fifth season pickup for the mini-series from Ryan Murphy debuting one year from now.
