Las Vegas is on a hot streak. The city is buzzing with talk of new projects and events this year, including the openings of the Sphere in September and Fontainebleau in December and the arrival of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. Add more excitement with the possibility of the Oakland Athletics coming to town in the coming years, and the hype intensifies.

Tourism numbers continue to soar after the challenges of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Las Vegas drew 38.8 million visitors in 2022, with weekend hotel occupancy clocking in at 89%. The first quarter of 2023 continues the upward trajectory, with more than 10 million visitors and 90.8% weekend occupancy. And last year’s record $14.8 billion in state gaming revenue demonstrated that visitors are spending more in casinos, not just on big entertainment and sports events along the Strip.

Despite that strong recovery and a bright future, however, there are pieces of the puzzle that remain out of place. Live entertainment feels bigger than ever in Las Vegas, with sports, concerts and massive residencies like the one U2 will open at the Sphere, but its most traditional form—production shows performed nightly in theaters along the Strip—continues to seek stable ground.

Awakening at Wynn Las Vegas opened in November in the theater that formerly hosted Le Rêve for 15 years. Universally reviewed as a visual spectacular with a dramatic story and astounding special effects, Awakening ran twice nightly five times a week—until it went dark on April 17.

According to a statement from Wynn, the show “will temporarily pause performances … to allow for an extended rehearsal period. Consistent with the resort’s commitment to excellence and quality, Wynn Las Vegas is committed to bringing a superior vision of Awakening to audiences.” Tickets are on sale for performances starting on June 6.

It’s common for new Vegas shows to adjust and adapt during the first year of production, but many of the recent arrivals to showrooms haven’t been able to overcome those early challenges. The magic-based Amystika from Criss Angel and the late Franco Dragone opened in April 2022 at Planet Hollywood and closed in October. The Broadway rock musical Bat Out of Hell opened in September at Paris Las Vegas and closed in January. And the musical improv show Freestyle Love Supreme debuted in November in the smaller Summit Showroom at Venetian before closing in January.

Convention catchup

The challenging new twist in today’s landscape appears to be the previously sluggish return of Las Vegas convention business.

After 6.6 million convention attendees in 2019, the city saw nine months of no business in 2020, and then just 2.2 million attendees in 2021.

Last year brought significant improvement—nearly 5 million convention attendees—and the first quarter of 2023 has been especially promising, with 1.95 million people showing up for business events that are largely happening midweek.

Ross Mollison, founder of Spiegelworld, says production shows on the Strip rely on convention business because those visitors aren’t coming to Las Vegas to gamble, yet they’re still looking for activities when the meetings adjourn.

“I’m not going to say we’re slaying it, but I’m not complaining about our business,” Mollison says. “The resorts have been crushing it, and there seems to be a greater percentage of gamblers than pre-COVID occupying the hotels. Restaurants are crushing it; our restaurant is doing incredible business.”

Spiegelworld produces three Strip shows—Absinthe at Caesars Palace, Atomic Saloon Show at Venetian and OPM at Cosmopolitan—and operates the Superfrico restaurant at the Cosmopolitan. The company also plans to launch DiscoShow at the Linq next year.

“Our shows themselves are doing fine, but some of the smaller shows are probably suffering, and we’re seeing some drop off, which is problematic,” Mollison says. “And it’s really difficult to launch a show, because if you miss the market, there’s no recovery. You’ve got to be careful and really know what you’re doing.”

There are positive signs of life, however. The Luxor’s America’s Got Talent Presents Superstars Live opened in November 2021 and celebrated its 500th show in March. Thanks to a rotating cast of performers audiences have seen on the popular TV competition of the same name, the variety show has been rolling right along, with eight performances weekly at the 1,500-seat Luxor Theater.

And Cirque du Soleil added a sixth resident production to its Las Vegas Strip portfolio in 2022 with the debut of Mad Apple, situated in the New York-New York theater where the company’s Zumanity show ran from 2003 through 2020. Another different take on the Vegas variety show, Mad Apple takes the stage twice a night every week from Friday through Tuesday.

“Entertainment in Las Vegas continues to amaze and delight guests from around the globe post-pandemic, whether they are in town for business or pleasure,” Eric Grilly, president of Cirque’s resident shows division, tells the Weekly by email. “[And] Cirque du Soleil is proud to have been part of those guest experiences for 30 years.”

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