Las Vegas Show Reviews

• Print
• E-mail
• Add to My Trips

Back to Las VegasLas Vegas Production Shows: Our Favorites

It used to be that a show was an essential part of the Vegas experience. Back in those days, a show was pretty simple: A bunch of scantily (and we mean scantily) clad showgirls paraded around while a comedian engaged in some raunchy patter. The showgirls are still here and still scantily clad (though not as often topless; guess cable TV has taken some of that thrill away), but the productions around them have gotten impossibly elaborate. And they have to be because they have to compete with a free dancing water fountains show held several times nightly right on the Strip. Not to mention a volcano, a Mardi Gras parade in the sky, lounge acts galore, and the occasional imploding building. All free.

The big resort hotels, in keeping with their general over-the-top tendencies, are pouring mountains of money into high-spectacle extravaganzas, luring big-name acts into decades-long residencies and surrounding them with special effects that would put some Hollywood movies to shame. Which is not to say the results are Broadway quality -- they're big, cheesy fun. Still, with the exception of the astonishing work done by the Cirque du Soleil productions, most of what passes for a "show" in Vegas is just a flashier revue, with a predictable lineup of production number/magic act/production number/acrobatics/production number.

Unfortunately, along with big budgets and big goals come big-ticket prices. Sure, you can still take the whole family of four to a show for under $100, but you're not going to get the same production values that you'd get by splurging on a Cirque du Soleil show. Which is not to say you always get what you pay for: There are some reasonably priced shows that are considerably better values than their more expensive counterparts.

Note: Although every effort has been made to keep up with the volatile Las Vegas show scene, keep in mind that the following reviews may not be indicative of the actual show you'll see, but the basic concept and idea will be the same. What's more, the show itself may have closed, so it's a good idea to always call the venue and check.

Our Favorites

Our vote for best show? It's a toss-up between KÀ at the MGM Grand, O at Bellagio, and Mystère at TI at the Mirage, all by Cirque du Soleil. Each has to be seen to be believed -- and even then you may not believe it, but you won't be forgetting the experience anytime soon. The most intelligent show is put on by Penn & Teller, and we are grateful. The best magic show, and one of the most reasonably priced productions (and thus the overall best value for the money), is Lance Burton at Monte Carlo. The best classic Vegas topless revue is Jubilee! at Bally's. The best we aren't sure what the heck to call it, but you should really try to see it is Blue Man Group, at their new home at The Venetian.

The following section describes the major production shows currently playing in Las Vegas, arranged alphabetically by the title of the production. But first, here's a handy list arranged by hotel:

Bally's: Jubilee! (Las Vegas-style revue)

Bellagio: Cirque du Soleil's O (unique circus-meets-performance-art theatrical experience)

Caesars Palace: Céline Dion (music and variety) and Elton John: The Red Piano (music)

Excalibur: Tournament of Kings (medieval-themed revue)

The Flamingo Las Vegas: The Second City (improvisational comedy)

Harrah's: Mac King (comedy and magic)

The Las Vegas Hilton: Barry Manilow: Music & Passion (he writes the songs)

Mandalay Bay: Mamma Mia! (musical featuring songs by ABBA; it was a great hit in London and on Broadway)

The Mirage: Cirque du Soleil's Love (featuring the music of The Beatles); Danny Gans (impressions)

MGM Grand: Cirque du Soleil's KÀ (astounding martial arts and acrobatics); La Femme (adults-only topless dancers)

Monte Carlo: Lance Burton: Master Magician (magic show and revue)

New York-New York: Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity (adults-only provocative revue)

Paris Las Vegas: The Producers (Tony Award-winning play)

Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino: Penn & Teller (illusions) and Ronn Lucas (ventriloquism)

The Riviera: La Cage (female impersonators), Crazy Girls (sexy Las Vegas-style revue), and Splash (topless revue)

Stratosphere Hotel & Casino: American Superstars (an impression-filled production show) and Viva Las Vegas (Vegas-style variety show)

TI at The Mirage: Cirque du Soleil's Mystère (unique circus performance)

Tropicana: Folies Bergère (Las Vegas-style revue) and Dirk Arthur (magic)

The Venetian: Blue Man Group (hilarious performance art) and Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber's most popular musical)

Wynn Las Vegas: Le Rêve (water-themed production show)

The Major Production Shows

This category covers all the major Las Vegas production shows and a few of the minor ones as well. In addition to the following, we recommend Rita Rudner's stand-up comedy at Harrah's and Louie Anderson's comic stylings at Excalibur, but we urge you to stay away from the musical family the Scintas at the Sahara -- a fossilized Vegas act full of near-parody-level lounge singing and jokes at the expense of every ethnicity, handicap, and sexual orientation out there.

There is also a new trend of major headliners doing semipermanent but irregular stints in the big showrooms. If you are in town when Elton John is performing The Red Piano on Céline's off days at Caesars Palace, you owe it to yourself to see it (even if the top $275 ticket prices are way over on the ridiculous side -- it's such a good show that it's worth saving up for). Similarly, Reba McEntire is doing a bunch of shows at the Las Vegas Hilton when Barry Manilow isn't there. There are rumors of everyone from Cher to Bette Midler setting up similar deals in the future.

Meanwhile, there is at least one big show coming to town in 2007 that we couldn't get any details about by deadline time (for some reason, this is a remarkably closed-mouth-town, even the publicists; seriously, guys, Bugsy is long gone, and squealers aren't punished as sharply anymore): Spamalot, the Tony Award-winning musical based on the Monty Python comedy troupe's The Holy Grail is replacing Avenue Q (which ran briefly in 2005-2006) at Wynn Las Vegas.

Note: Shows can close without warning, even ones that have been running just shy of forever, so please call first. Note also that some ticket prices may not include tax or drinks, so you might also check for those potential hidden costs.

HOT TIP!

Tickets2Nite (tel. 888/TIX2NITE) is a service that puts any unsold seats for that evening on sale, starting at 2pm, for -- get this! -- half price. Hot diggity! Of course, there are some drawbacks. It's downright unlikely that really ultra super-duper shows are ever going to have unsold seats (because the hotel will just sell them to the always-waiting-and-happy-to-pay-full-price standby line), but you'd be shocked at the range otherwise, from basic crap to stuff that we would recommend even at full price (they aren't allowed to say on the record which shows' tickets often come up for sale). Alas, the very nature of the service means you can't plan; you have to stand in line and take your chances starting at about noon (we advise getting in line even earlier than that). So if you have your heart set on ambiguously gendered contortionists, don't rely on Tickets2Nite, but, if like a good gambler, you like taking chances, head for 3785 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (in the giant Coke bottle at the Showcase Mall).

Family-Friendly Shows

Appropriate shows for kids include the following:

Cirque du Soleil's Mystère at TI at The Mirage

Lance Burton: Master Magician at the Monte Carlo

Mac King at Harrah's

Mamma Mia! at Mandalay Bay

Tournament of Kings at Excalibur

Afternoon Delight?

By now, it will not have escaped your attention that most of the nighttime shows in Vegas, at least the ones of any quality, cost a lot. Except for the ones that cost a whole heck of a lot. And that we tend to prefer the latter. "Isn't there any cheap entertainment in this town?" you may have begun to wonder, and trust us, even if we are awfully liberal with the contents of your wallets, we feel your pain.

So, barring the possibility that you might be the kind of gambler we wish to be, the sort who gets comped free tickets to expensive shows (that you could probably afford anyway, in typical Vegas irony), there are some alternatives. Several Vegas hotels offer afternoon shows, at much more reasonable prices -- that, of course, being a relative term. Here are a couple of the better offerings. Ronn Lucas (in the Rio, 3700 W. Flamingo Rd.; tel. 888/746-7784; www.riolasvegas.com; Sat-Thurs 3pm; $30 plus tax, includes drink and program) seems like a throwback to corny vaudeville days -- after all, he's a ventriloquist. But his puppets are maladjusted (why not?), with bite and wit, and he is fearless in the manner of Penn & Teller; he gleefully deconstructs his art form, confident that after he shows you how it all works, he can still bamboozle you. Watch if you don't suddenly start thinking of those puppets as real characters, even though you know exactly how it all works. He's clever, funny, and weird. And if the price seems too high (even with drink and souvenir program as part of the package), look for discount coupons in the free magazines in your hotel room.

Dirk Arthur (Tropicana Las Vegas, 3801 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; tel. 800/829-9034; www.tropicanalv.com; Sat-Thurs 2 and 4pm; $30-$40 per couple) is an entertaining magician, though one wonders why he merits his own afternoon show but not his own nighttime show, or a part of one of the big nighttime production revues (as he once did).

Viva Las Vegas (in the Stratosphere Casino Hotel & Tower, 2000 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; tel. 800/99-TOWER or 702/380-7777; www.stratospherehotel.com; Mon-Sat 2 and 4pm; $17, including tax), an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Vegas variety show, is good only if you really need an hour's respite from the slots in the afternoon.

Note: Discount coupons for the afternoon shows are often found in those free magazines in hotel rooms. Sometimes the discount gets you in free, with just the price of a drink.