Question of the Day - 31 January 2026

Las Vegas has indeed seen a wave of production-show closures in recent years, particularly since 2023. The city once boasted a robust lineup of nightly spectacles -- Cirque du Soleil extravaganzas, musical tributes, Spiegelworld productions, jiggle shows -- but economic pressures and shifting entertainment trends have led to a noticeable thinning out. 

We note that the following larger-scale shows have closed in the past few years. There are more; smaller and off-Strip productions close often and quietly -- one example is Miss Behave's Mavericks,  which lasted barely a year at the Plaza -- but the following highlight the trend on the Strip. 

Bob Marley's Hope Road at Mandalay Bay on January 5 of this year. It's being framed as a "hiatus" for re-tooling, but producers cited the show's strenuous demands and low attendance. A spring return is promised, but uncertain.

Speaking of strenuous, DiscoShow at the LINQ closed January 3. This was a big one -- after a $40 million investment and less than two years in business. The blame has gone to poor ticket sales, though many reviews cited a demanding audience-participation format, standing and dancing for 80 minutes.

Raiding the Rock Vault at Hard Rock Cafe closed on December 30 after 12 years; the producer cited declining visitation, especially from Canadians, though broader tourism drops were also a factor.

Timeless by Jabbawockeez's final show at MGM Grand was in September, though we note it was replaced by a new Jabbawockeez production.

Lady Like at Virgin closed last May; it was subsidized by the hotel, but couldn't sustain profits independently, and Virgin has shifted focus to concerts.

Shows that closed in 2024 included The Beatles Love (Cirque du Soleil) at The Mirage, and America's Got Talent Presents Superstars Live.

Freestyle Love Supreme, Lin-Manuel Miranda's improv hip-hop show at The Venetian, closed after less than three months in early 2023. Other shows that came and went in 2023 were Bat Out of Hell: The Musical at Paris, Extravaganza at Horseshoe, Xavier Mortimer’s Magic Show at The Strat, Legends in Concert at the Tropicana (tied to the Tropicana's demolition), and Criss Angel's Amystika at Planet Hollywood

Cirque shows overall have decreased steadily since 2009, with only two new ones in the last decade (both replacements and one already closed).

Why are they disappearing? As alluded to above, the closures stem from declining visitation from the tourism slowdown, poor ticket sales and high operations costs, competition for entertainment dollars, and broader industry trends (the shuttering of the Trop and Mirage, for example). 

What might replace the production shows? Well, they're already being replaced by big-name concerts (BTS, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Beyonce, Coldplay, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, etc.) at Allegiant Stadium, as well as big-time residencies from Sphere to Dolby Live, from the Colosseum at Caesars to Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood. 

Of course, the major sporting events are sucking up entertainment dollars: Formula 1, Super Bowl, home games for the Raiders, Golden Knights, and Aces, WWE, Major League Soccer championships. 

In addition, more and more comedy clubs are taking over the smaller venues. Unlike production shows and headliners, comedy enjoys lower costs and higher margins, requiring minimal staging and much smaller crews.

Finally, high-tech, immersive, and experiential attractions already abound and continue to show up. Digital musuems, such as Arte Museum, which is the best of the bunch in our opinion, are found from Area15 to the Crystal Shoppes at City Center. All kinds of selfie venues (Museum of Ice Cream, Museum of Illusions), casino playgrounds (Play Playground at Luxor), golf driving ranges and simulators (Top Golf, Atomic Golf), miniature golf (PopStroke, Swingers) -- all these attractions are aimed at a younger demographic and taking the place of static stage shows (old school) in Vegas.