Las Vegas
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Las Vegas - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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We’ve compiled the best of the best in Las Vegas - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
The three bald, blue, and silent characters in utilitarian uniforms have become part of the Las Vegas landscape. The satire of technology and...
The three bald, blue, and silent characters in utilitarian uniforms have become part of the Las Vegas landscape. The satire of technology and information-overload merges with classic physical comedy and the Blue Man's unique brand of interstellar rock and roll. The group's latest home, a cozy theater at Luxor, brings the Blue dudes closer to their off-Broadway origins: paint splattering, mouth-catching marshmallows, and rollicking percussion jam sessions on PVC pipe contraptions.
KÀ, Cirque du Soleil's biggest Las Vegas production, opened in 2006 and still stands as an amazing monument to the sky's-the-limit mentality...
KÀ, Cirque du Soleil's biggest Las Vegas production, opened in 2006 and still stands as an amazing monument to the sky's-the-limit mentality that fueled Vegas in the go-go 2000s. The $165-million opus frees the stage itself from gravity, replacing a fixed stage with an 80,000-pound deck, maneuvered by a giant gantry arm into a near-vertical position for the climactic battle. Giant puppets also factor into the bold interpretation of live martial-arts period fantasies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the adventures of two separated twins. Though no other Cirque in Las Vegas rivals it for sheer spectacle, those not sitting close enough to see faces can be confused by the story, which is told without dialogue.
Meet the Beatles again—well, sort of—in a certified home run for Cirque du Soleil. Before he died, George Harrison persuaded the surviving Beatles...
Meet the Beatles again—well, sort of—in a certified home run for Cirque du Soleil. Before he died, George Harrison persuaded the surviving Beatles (and Yoko Ono) to license the group's music to Cirque. The remixed music by the late Beatles producer George Martin and his son Giles is revelatory on 7,000 speakers, often like hearing the songs for the first time. In the summer of 2016, Cirque tweaked the show for its 10th anniversary, dialing down the elegiac version of postwar Liverpool, and punching up the dance elements to emphasize the youth culture of Beatlemania. Cirque also added literal depictions of the Fab Four in videos and projection mapping. It's still a great marriage of sensibilities that explodes with joy.
The reigning king of Las Vegas afternoons was set to celebrate his 20th anniversary at Harrah's Las Vegas before the pandemic hit the pause...
The reigning king of Las Vegas afternoons was set to celebrate his 20th anniversary at Harrah's Las Vegas before the pandemic hit the pause button on his show for a year. When shows started to reopen, Harrah's had begun a shift into a more convention-minded property, so King relocated to the Excalibur. Though he shares his new home with the male revue Thunder from Down Under, the Excalibur overall is still better branded with the families and recreational travelers who have made the comedy magician popular for generations: he now greets the children of those who remember seeing his show when they were kids themselves. Onstage, King is ageless in his plaid suit and folksy "Howdy!" He's the perennial court jester rooted in vaudeville traditions of show business. He stands apart from the other magic shows on the Strip with a one-man hour of low-key, self-deprecating humor and the kind of close-up magic that's baffling but doesn't take the focus away from the running banter and audience participation.
More than $70 million was spent on Cirque du Soleil's theater at Bellagio back in 1998, and its liquid stage is the centerpiece of a one-of...
More than $70 million was spent on Cirque du Soleil's theater at Bellagio back in 1998, and its liquid stage is the centerpiece of a one-of-a-kind show. It was money well spent: O remains one of the best-attended shows on the Strip. The title is taken from the French word for water (eau), and water is everywhere—1.5 million gallons of it, 12 million pounds of it, contained by a "stage" that, thanks to hydraulic lifts, can change shape and turn into dry land in no time. The intense and nonstop action by the show's acrobats, aerial gymnasts, trapeze artists, synchronized swimmers, divers, and contortionists make for a stylish spectacle that manages to fashion dreamlike imagery from its acrobatics, with a vague theme about the wellspring of theater and imagination.
Eccentric comic magicians Penn & Teller are more popular now than when they settled into the Rio in 2002. Ventures such as their durable...
Eccentric comic magicians Penn & Teller are more popular now than when they settled into the Rio in 2002. Ventures such as their durable TV magic contest Fool Us expanded the duo into mainstream culture beyond the Strip. Now they turn up almost everywhere it seems. Back in Las Vegas, their off-kilter humor now seems less jarring as they age gracefully at the Rio. Their magic in a gorgeous 1,500-seat theater is topical and genuinely baffling, pushing the form into new creative directions. And their comedy is satiric, provocative, and thoughtful. The duo used some of their pandemic shutdown time to develop new material for the Rio.
Sometimes it’s not the elements but how they are combined. Absinthe became one of the most popular shows on the Strip by turning Cirque du...
Sometimes it’s not the elements but how they are combined. Absinthe became one of the most popular shows on the Strip by turning Cirque du Soleil's opulent, dreamlike aesthetic on its head. A downscale, shabby-chic vibe unifies circus acrobatics, raunchy comedy, and saucy burlesque numbers inside a cozy tent in front of Caesars Palace. (At least it’s a tentlike structure; once it was decided the show would stick around, fire inspectors insisted on a sturdy, semipermanent pavilion.) The audience surrounds the performances on a small, 9-foot stage. The festive, low-tech atmosphere is furthered along by the host, a shifty insult comic known as the Gazillionaire. This is cheap raunch for a discerning audience. And, like Penn & Teller’s show, it’s a winking salute to the show-business tradition itself.
The Strip's third naughty revue from Spiegelworld took its theme from the Western saloon vibe of an inherited venue in The Venetian's retail...
The Strip's third naughty revue from Spiegelworld took its theme from the Western saloon vibe of an inherited venue in The Venetian's retail mall, creating the raucous atmosphere of a theme park revue gone off the rails. The flagship Absinthe is a better overall introduction to Spiegelworld's approach. But those who can't get enough of the formula will enjoy this Wild West variation on the campy hijinks, including barely clad acrobats, sexy cowboys and cowgirls, and...a nun. Buy your tickets through axs.com or spiegelworld.com.
After years on the college circuit, the prop comic moved his trunks full of tricks into the Luxor, where he became one of the Strip's longest...
After years on the college circuit, the prop comic moved his trunks full of tricks into the Luxor, where he became one of the Strip's longest-running year-round names. The Florida native known offstage as Scott Thompson still is most unique when wielding his visual gags, but he sells them with a manic energy, a tourist's street-level view of Vegas, and a running commentary on the act itself, perhaps a sly nod to his eternal lack of respect.
The $95 million theater was built in 2003 for Celine Dion, who returned in 2011 to fill its 4,300 seats for 70 shows per year . By the time...
The $95 million theater was built in 2003 for Celine Dion, who returned in 2011 to fill its 4,300 seats for 70 shows per year. By the time Dion took 2015 off, she had become just one spoke in a wheel that includes Elton John, Rod Stewart, pop queen Mariah Carey, and country icon Reba McEntire teamed with a reunited Brooks & Dunn. The two balconies can seem distant from the ridiculously wide 120-foot stage, but a huge video screen improves the views, and the sound system is impeccable.
Criss Angel lives up to his Goth-rock image with the loudest magic show in town, full of blistering music (some by Korn's Jonathan Davis) from...
Criss Angel lives up to his Goth-rock image with the loudest magic show in town, full of blistering music (some by Korn's Jonathan Davis) from 150 speakers and performed in a Planet Hollywood theater that's been customized with wraparound video walls and surround sound to create a clublike atmosphere. Add dancers to the mix (replacing the comic sidekicks of his previous show), and it gives new meaning to misdirection. What is unchanged from Angel's long run at Luxor is how much this one depends on whether you like the magician. Angel is consistent in his Long Island rock-star image (if you don't count an appearance by his demonic alter-ego Kristos), even as the fast-paced barrage of illusions unfold with a schizophrenic tone that shifts from heavy-metal sinister to rave-up dance party.
The master magician has made Las Vegas a part of his career since the 1980s and now roosts at the MGM Grand for more than 40 weeks per year...
The master magician has made Las Vegas a part of his career since the 1980s and now roosts at the MGM Grand for more than 40 weeks per year. At this point, Copperfield is sort of the Rolling Stones of magic; you sense his authority and submit to it from the minute the show opens, and trust him to wow you with illusions such as a recent one involving a T. rex, which take years to perfect. He varies the pace with illusions that can be touching or funny, but most of all they still genuinely fool you.
No one should question either Donny Osmond's work ethic or his showmanship. What began as a "late career" reunion with sister Marie turned into...
No one should question either Donny Osmond's work ethic or his showmanship. What began as a "late career" reunion with sister Marie turned into an 11-year run at the Flamingo. Now, only a worldwide pandemic was able to slow Donny's plan to reopen next door at Harrah's Las Vegas as a solo act. The show that was set to open in late summer of 2021 shouldn't be hard to imagine. When he shared the stage with his sister, both split off into half-hour solo segments. Donny used his time to show his range: singing piano ballads, reminding audiences of his Broadway credits and serving up bold remakes of old Osmonds hits such as "Yo-Yo" and "Crazy Horses." Whatever the new show offers, you know it will resonate with the stage presence of a perennial who grew up in front of America and wears his variety training with pride.
Fantasy is a topless show (un)dressed up as a variety show, with power-pop singing by its female host and magic or acrobatic acts to widen...
Fantasy is a topless show (un)dressed up as a variety show, with power-pop singing by its female host and magic or acrobatic acts to widen its appeal beyond the topless choreography. It's the least strip club–like of the Las Vegas topless revues, so it's not uncommon to see couples in the audience at this durable show that's been around since 1999.
Magic maestro David Copperfield has come to dominate the schedule about 40 weeks a year at the MGM Grand. The old-Vegas booths are cool, but...
Magic maestro David Copperfield has come to dominate the schedule about 40 weeks a year at the MGM Grand. The old-Vegas booths are cool, but at least half the crowd of 700 or so is packed into tight table seating. It's not very comfortable but the sight lines are decent and the sound quality is good in a room that is, oddly, about the only part of the MGM that hasn't been remodeled since the early 1990s.
The Las Vegas branch of this chain books one-night concerts which tend to skew toward younger, heavier hard-rock bands and all-ages shows. That...
The Las Vegas branch of this chain books one-night concerts which tend to skew toward younger, heavier hard-rock bands and all-ages shows. That said, Carlos Santana emerged from the pandemic before 2021's end to mark his ninth year of resident shows there. Billy Idol and others also explored the potential of classic-rock residencies at the versatile venue. As with other branches, rustic folk art covers the walls. This one is unusual, however, in having a balcony level with reserved theater seating along with the general-admission floor that accommodates about 1,200.
The only Las Vegas performers who don't show their faces speak with their feet in a show that appeals to the younger nightclub demographic....
The only Las Vegas performers who don't show their faces speak with their feet in a show that appeals to the younger nightclub demographic. The masked hip-hop dance collective has steadily improved its showmanship since it settled on the Strip in 2010. There's plenty of break dancing but also a contagious sense of fun, as comedy and warm-hearted themes of brotherhood and inclusiveness emerge from those blank masks. The troupe's latest home in a 300-seat theater allows only four to six of the dancers onstage at the same time, but video projections expand the sense of space in the down-the-rabbit-hole tale of a suburban "zombie" gradually shaken to life.
Las Vegas's oldest community theater has branched out beyond the Neil Simon basics. Its main-stage season of six or more titles is augmented...
Las Vegas's oldest community theater has branched out beyond the Neil Simon basics. Its main-stage season of six or more titles is augmented by a black-box season of smaller, more adventurous works, and it usually hosts summer festivals of "fringe" comedy or new works. Productions are staged in a sparse but comfortable theater in a strip mall that borders Las Vegas's Chinatown.
Formed in 1998, the Philharmonic performs a nine-show season under the baton of Donato Cabrera, offering monthly concerts during the school...
Formed in 1998, the Philharmonic performs a nine-show season under the baton of Donato Cabrera, offering monthly concerts during the school year, as well as a four-concert pops series and special events such as playing in sync with a classic film. The orchestra performs at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts Downtown.
The durable Legends has been on the Strip since 1983, which now makes it the longest-running show in Las Vegas. It inspired dozens of imitators...
The durable Legends has been on the Strip since 1983, which now makes it the longest-running show in Las Vegas. It inspired dozens of imitators over the years, but its production values and prominence on the Strip shrank as the big shows got bigger. In its latest home at the Tropicana, Legends adheres to the same basic formula of "miniconcerts" by a rotating lineup of celebrity impersonators, from Elvis to Lady Gaga. There's no lip-syncing and always a live band. Longtime Las Vegas visitors will find it symbolic and somehow natural that drag star Frank Marino has been hosting the show of late; he showed up in town about the same time as Legends, so his tenure in shows such as La Cage is about the only thing that rivals its longevity.
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