19 Best Performing Arts in South Strip, Las Vegas

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 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.

The reigning king of Las Vegas afternoons has reached his two-decade tenure on the Strip, now ensconced at medieval-themed Excalibur. (This being Vegas though, he shares a theater with the nighttime male revue Thunder from Down Under). These days, he 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. A one-man hour of low-key, self-deprecating humor features the kind of close-up magic that's baffling but doesn't take the focus away from the running banter and audience participation.

"What took them so long?" you might ask. A live version of America's Got Talent was a no-brainer once you go down the list of the former winners and contestants—from Terry Fator to Piff the Magic Dragon—many of whom ended up with ongoing residencies on the Strip. An attractively packaged variety show finally came to roost at Luxor in early 2022. The lineup packs as many as nine acts into 90 minutes, reflecting the NBC show's wide net: knife-throwing, magic, ventriloquists, you name it. The acts rotate; some are more or less permanent, while others come in for short stints. The winners who may not have a lot of stage experience are buffered by those who do, and ensembles such as Light Balance get an extra visual boost from the enhanced production elements of a stationary year-round revue.

Talk about aging in place. It's been more than 17 years since the prop comic with the eternal college-party vibe moved his trunks full of tricks into Luxor, where he became the Strip's longest-running year-round comedian. The Florida native known offstage as Scott Thompson still is most unique when wielding his visual gags, and 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 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 in his mid-60s, 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 the 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.

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 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 that tend to skew toward younger, heavier hard-rock bands and all-ages shows. That said, Carlos Santana has become somewhat branded with the room after more than 300 shows there. As with other branches, rustic folk art covers the walls and the Gospel Brunch is a Sunday staple. This one differs from other locations, 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 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.

Mad Apple is Cirque du Soleil on a budget, more like what you might see on tour than the company's other Las Vegas extravaganzas. After the pandemic and changes within the company, Cirque downsized its more grandiose ambitions to create a modest cabaret-style show. Music and comedy get nearly as much stage time as the acrobatics, and there's a pre-show bar right onstage in the cozy U-shape theater that previously housed Cirque's more ambitious Zumanity. This show is clearly Cirque's answer to its competitor Absinthe, and yet the two have distinct tones beyond their shared acrobatics and ribald jokes. In keeping with the title and host property's theme, New York–themed songs and imagery—a yellow cab, a disco ball shaped like an apple—loosely connect the now familiar action, such as hand-balancing and a sexy aerial adagio. The big departures from past Cirque shows are the amount of stage time given to the comedy magician (Harrison Greenbaum in the early months) and bringing the singers and musicians off the risers to perform alongside the acrobats. You probably wouldn't want to choose this one over the more mind-blowing Cirque shows if you haven't seen them, but it's consistent fun if you have.

T-Mobile Arena is now the top dog for concert acts, but home games for the Vegas Golden Knights still require a lot of big concerts to move over to the MGM Grand Garden. It seats as many as 17,000 depending upon the configuration. But the lack of a second deck of seating means more quality seating without being tucked under overhangs when the likes of Jimmy Buffett play there.  Now that MGM properties charge for parking, remember the Grand Garden is easily accessed by the MGM monorail stop for those on the east side of the Strip.

After traveling the world as The Immortal, Cirque du Soleil's salute to Michael Jackson took on its second iteration in a remodeled Mandalay Bay theater. A partnership with Jackson's estate, it helps everyone remember why he became a worldwide phenomenon. Amid the bombardment of video imagery, Jackson pops up now and then as the spirit guide to a quartet of misfit fans, who gain powers to defeat robotic paparazzi (don't ask) by harnessing the King of Pop's "agility, courage, playfulness, and love." Instead of a live band, the acrobatics and dance numbers unfold to remixes of Jackson's actual recordings in earth-shaking sound delivered by more than 7,000 speakers.

This 12,000-seat arena (formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center) has yielded the big concerts to T-Mobile Arena and become more of a sports venue after a $10 million upgrade, including new seats. It's the home court for the WNBA team Las Vegas Aces, who won the championship in 2022. The Aces now share dates with the National Lacrosse League's Desert Dogs, of which Wayne Gretzky is a part owner. Mandalay Bay also has a great outdoor venue, Mandalay Beach, set up for general-admission concerts in the hotel's lushly landscaped pool and beach area. Both a monorail and retail mall connect Mandalay Bay to Luxor and Excalibur, so if you have to drive to a show, parking at either hotel makes for an easier post-concert escape than the Mandalay garage.

A knack for self-promotion—and an unimaginable outlay for hair products—made this comedy-magician instantly identifiable by his black-framed glasses and an exploding shock of vertical blonde hair. Murray (Sawchuck) has become a Las Vegas mainstay with a relaxed, slow-burn stage presence and a solid showcase of classic magic heavy on audience banter.

This stylish, 400-seat showroom is a throwback to old Vegas with its coziness and tables-and-booth seating. Visitors are likely to be surrounded by locals for name comedians, tribute acts, or veteran musical acts. The 2023 schedule included multiple dates from three former headliners on the Strip: The Righteous Brothers, comedian Rita Rudner, and the Australian vocal group Human Nature.

Las Vegas has long been a haven for impressionists, only this one lets his puppets do the talking. Fator's second-season win of America's Got Talent in 2007 led to a long tenure on the Strip, where the variety tradition was a perfect match for him giving ventriloquism a new twist with singing impressions. After 10 years at The Mirage, Fator downsized into a smaller venue at New York–New York formerly used for corporate events. The show is now subtitled Who's the Dummy Now?, adding an autobiographical slant to the career enhanced by puppet sidekicks such as Walter T. Airedale and Winston the Impersonating Turtle. Fator's Christmas show, during the holiday stretch when many titles go on vacation, is even more charming.

The Australian gents planted their G-strings on the Strip in 2001, as the first male dance revue to counterbalance all the topless burlesque and showgirl revues for men. With table-top dancing and a hands-on approach to their forays into the audience, the Thunder dudes relied on a low-tech, in-your-face appeal, even as Chippendales and Magic Mike Live brought more theatrical and slickly produced competition. But the Thunder struck back in early 2019, with an $8.5-million renovation of the troupe’s longtime space at the Excalibur, which now lets them cavort amid immersive technology such as LED screens and pod stages throughout the room.

A rare survivor of Las Vegas's mostly forgotten "family" phase is this Arthurian stunt show, which has lasted more than 25 years in a dirt-floor arena in the basement of Excalibur. The audience dines on a Cornish hen dinner (warning: no utensils) and cheers on fast horses, jousting, and swordplay. Those familiar with Medieval Times around the country will know the drill. The show remains a great family gathering—especially for preadolescents, who get to make a lot of noise—and the realistic stunts speak to the commitment of the cast.