Best Las Vegas Shows

Las Vegas has over 100 shows running most nights.  Vegas Made Easy.com divides them into categories of Adult, Broadway, Cirque, Comedy, Headliners, Hypnosis, Impersonators, Magic, Other, and Tribute.  Comedy, Hypnosis and Magic overlap as does Tribute and Impersonators.   

Adult shows do not include the Strip Clubs which are covered here.  Cirque refers to acrobatic, dream-like productions of Cirque Du Soleil that deserve their own category.

Tribute shows focus on a particular impersonation such as Elvis, Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, etc. while impersonators may run through 100+ personalities during a set.

Comedy and Magic are especially strong in Vegas with great headline acts as well on a visiting basis.  We show the best of the permanent shows or those that return to Vegas quite often such as David Copperfield at the MGM.

Our top recommendations are:

Jubilee is almost the opposite.  It is a very traditional Vegas type of show with topless dancers who mostly walk not dance through numbers.  It is a reasonable value if you use coupons which are not to hard to find.

Bite will appeal to Vampire and Rock music fans.  It is about split down the middle as being a show and a topless/adult themed production.

Broadway

Our top choice is Phantom which is the best production value Phantom ever produced.  However, if you are a big Phantom fan from a long ways back, you have probably already seen your best Christine (Brightman) and best Phantom (Crawford). 

If you rate your previous best performances as 10, then Vegas would be about 7 to 8 (lower for Christine and higher for Phantom).  However, the costuming, stage, theatre are clearly the best ever although the difference is more like comparing Vegas’ 10 with a 9 or 9.5 somewhere else. 

A tourist from an area without a Phantom production will be amazed.  This is overall a pretty good version and you will be able to brag later that you saw the best production value version of Phantom ever made.

Mamma Mia weaves Abba songs into a romantic comedy plot.  The performances are very good from the trio women in particular.  If you dislike Abba you probably won’t like this show but otherwise this is very light Entertainment that will please most.

Spamalot will appeal to Monty Python fans—especially those that loved their spoof on a quest for a Holy Grail.  The lead is very strong in this production.  Sometimes dialog needs to be paired with facial expression to work best so sitting way in the back may lose some of the humor.   

Cirque

Although you may have seen some of the touring shows, some of the best Cirque Du Soleil shows are in Vegas, particularly Mystere, “O”, and KA.    LOVE is a tremendous show for Beatles fans.
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Cirque shows use acrobatics to tell subtle stories in a surreal world of costumes, staging and great music.  Vegas has the most Cirque theater shows of any city. 

Le Reve was created by a former Cirque standout but it ranks behind the other shows unless Zumanity’s themes create a problem for you.  A different show is Matsuri which features Japanese acrobatics.  It does not transport you into a dream world but is very entertaining and a good value for the money.

Comedy

This is one of the strongest Entertainment areas for Vegas with great touring acts and highly polished permanent acts.  The best of these is George Wallace, Carrot Top, Rita Rudner and Louie Anderson. 

Some are sensitive to offensive and/or politically incorrect comments and prefer very clean routines.  On this basis, the top comics are Mac King, Rita Rudner, Ronn Lucas, Louie Anderson and Hello Dere!  If you prefer an edgier type of humor, you will find Carrot Top (surprisingly) and Amazing Jonathan extremely funny.

Mac King’s afternoon magic/cornball comedy is not stand-up.  Penn and Teller’s magic show actually has more digressions and comedy than magic and Ronn Lucas (also afternoon) is a very good ventriloquist who also happens to be funny. 

For pure value, when you divide ticket price by the Vegas Made Easy.com rating, the cheapest shows are Mac King followed by Marty Allen in Hello Dere!  For visual humor, Carrot Top has lots of props and Marty Allen uses facial expressions.

Headliners

Although the biggest headliner in Las Vegas has been Celine Dion, Elton John puts on a highly spirited show that singing purists would not grade highly.  However, for pure Entertainment his is actually the best in Vegas.

Celine has highly devoted fans and if you are one of them you will definitely enjoy her perfect vocals and Franco Dragone (of Cirque fame) inspired background.  A run of 5 years in Vegas is extremely long and demonstrates crowd pleasing ability.

Barry Manilow has fans as well.  His show has some hydraulic splash but probably does not reach far from his existing fan base.  It is a good show that is put together well, however.

Hypnosis

Hypnosis shows are always raunchy and funny if victimized subjects sound amusing to you.  It is often a guilty pleasure that is perfect for a bachelor or bachelorette party with one or more of its group on stage. 

Anthony Cools handles the setup as well as anyone in Vegas.  Marshall Sylver is often not at his show and Dirty will often alternate between the 2 hosts. 

Impersonators

Danny Gans at the Mirage is the top impressionist in Las Vegas with Gordie Brown second.  Gans’ best is Nat King Cole AND Natalie Cole.  His show is especially recommended for people who haven’t seen him before—less so for those who have. 

Although he may not be quite as dead-on as Gans, Gordie Brown has a very high energy act and does his facial expressions and mannerisms on a par or better than Gans.  He was the showstopper at Golden Nugget before moving to the Strip.

Magic

Vegas is one of the best places to see magic with Lance Burton our top recommendation.  He is probably the most skilled with a pleasant personality as well.  There are no rare large cat species and he does not do some of the big tricks that Copperfield and Wyrick does but he is a magician’s magician.  Some might find him too traditional.

Criss Angel will have a permanent show at the Luxor in the fall of 2008.  The design by Cirque Du Soleil might approach the $200M level.  He has won numerous awards and his show will be permanent to Vegas. 

Steve Wyrick has more of the bigger tricks and a signature Blades illusion.  His theater in the Miracle Mile can be hard to find.  However he is one of the better magicians in Vegas.

David Copperfield is not a permanent show in Vegas but he returns often to the same venue at the MGM.  He is probably more famous than any other magician in Vegas now that Siegfried and Roy are not performing.  His magic comes from the design of the illusions rather than the skill in sleight of hand that Burton has.  However, some might prefer that, especially since he has bigger illusions.

Mac King blends some magic skillfully with a lot of comedy to produce the best Entertainment bargain for the afternoon.  If you expect a pure magic show that stands completely on its own, you will be disappointed but otherwise he is highly recommended.

Other

Some acts are difficult to classify.  Blue Man Group is strangely entertaining and one of the best acts in Vegas but not for any discernible traditional talent.  They don’t sing or say anything but are not mimes.  They are especially good Entertainment for younger audiences.

If some of the New Age aspects of the Cirque shows does not appeal to you, Matsuri is closer to a straight ahead acrobatics show except for their silver ball routine.  Stomp is similar to the Broadway production except for the water scene.  It is entertaining but somewhat drawn out.

Tributes

Although there are several Elvis tributes as part of shows, the best recreation of Elvis is Trent Carlini who has a high energy concert that could work as a musical show without the very accurate, thin Elvis impersonation that Carlini pulls off.

Hamik is a strong look alike and sound alike to Tom Jones.  He stirs up the crowd almost as much as the original.  Jay White does a very accurate Neil Diamond.

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