6 Best Performing Arts in North Strip, Las Vegas

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?

This successor to the long-running Le Rêve is one of the biggest investments in year-round, general-interest shows since the peak years of Cirque du Soleil. Wynn spent $120 million dollars for an in-the-round fantasy about three characters who visit the realms of Water, Earth, and Air on a quest to appease some sort of queen who keeps yelling stuff like: “No one rests until my magic is returned to me!” If not entirely coherent in its early incarnation, Awakening is certainly beautiful. The aquatics of Le Rêve have been replaced by a “floating” hydraulic stage in pieces, state-of-the-art video projections, and colossal puppets (by Michael Curry, best known for co-designing the original puppets for The Lion King). Performers make their way down to the stage in giant translucent chutes. Personal stereo speakers in every seat guarantee there's no problem hearing Anthony Hopkins as the recorded narrator. And yet a lackluster opening raised questions of whether audiences have seen it all before in the likes of Cirque's KÀ or shifted their interest to star showcases. The show's main producer Baz Halpin (who also staged Katy Perry's Play) maintains that it's a work-in-progress.

Wynn's 1,480-seat "regular" theater—next door to the circular one that hosts Awakening—has quite a history, having hosted everything from Broadway musicals to Garth Brooks's first solo-acoustic residency. Of late it's been the home base for comedians, such as Nate Bargatze, and musicians, including Bryan Adams, Jack Johnson, and Brad Paisley's Acoustic Storyteller show. Most of the seats are on the floor, but there's a 12-row mezzanine.

Channing Tatum didn't just cash a check to lend the name of his Magic Mike film franchise to a Las Vegas effort. He was an active member of the creative team, working with the movie's two female choreographers for this male revue that debuted in 2017 (originally at the Hard Rock Hotel). A new custom venue, converted from convention space at the Sahara, allows for aerialists and in-the-round action. Magic Mike Live still pairs the G-string antics with a nice-guy vibe and with more wit and modesty—some gals will say too much—than the genre usually allows. Spoiler alert: it even goes so far as to stage a "fake out" opening, spoofing the more typical male revues before introducing a female emcee.

The Strip's first permanent Cirque du Soleil show celebrated its 25th anniversary in late 2018 by completing a gradual overhaul that includes several new acts. It's still the town's most consistent family show, and the Las Vegas Cirque show that most purely preserves the Montreal company's innovative reinvention of the circus. Mystère has held up to the increased spectacle of its sister shows by keeping the spectators close to the action and the human acrobatics in the spotlight. You're intimately involved with this surreal wonderland and the comic characters, who interact with the audience. If you're not careful, you could even end up onstage.

This 5,000-seat theater feels grand and spacious, claiming to have the largest and tallest performance stage on the Strip. It has both a mezzanine and an upper balcony, but uses 265 speakers to reach them. The theater and its rotating list of headliners (including Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Carrie Underwood) are the true stars at Resorts World, which has no other show venues (aside from bands playing inside its Dawg House Saloon). Pit bosses might debate the merits of a unique feature of the layout: uniquely in Las Vegas, you can go straight to the theater—"turning left" past the front door—without passing through the casino.