8 Best Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada

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.

Eccentric comic magicians Penn & Teller are more popular now than when they settled into the Rio in 2002. Ventures such as their durable TV magic contest Fool Us expanded the duo into mainstream culture beyond the Strip. Their magic in a gorgeous 1,500-seat theater remains topical and genuinely baffling, and their comedy is satiric, provocative, and thoughtful. The duo marked 30 years of Las Vegas performances in early 2023, all the more resonant because it was the 73-year-old Teller's return from a three-month break due to heart surgery.

Criss Angel lives up to his Goth-rock image with the loudest magic show in town, full of blistering music in a Planet Hollywood theater that's been customized with wraparound video walls and surround sound to create a clublike atmosphere. What is unchanged from Angel's long run at Luxor is how much this one depends on whether you like the magician. Angel is consistent in his Long Island rock-star image, even as the fast-paced barrage of illusions unfold with a schizophrenic tone that shifts from heavy-metal sinister to rave-up dance party.

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.

A winning smile (and winning America's Got Talent) turned out to be a formidable combination for a young magician who settled on the Strip after the TV talent show fast-tracked his fame in 2014. Franco's charm and likable attitude compensates for a streamlined production, on a mostly bare stage augmented by video screens. But he makes the classics seem new to a younger audience, and the show builds to a big finale in two bits of trickery that both involve the wider audience.

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.

The likable magician had the good fortune to be on the very first, highly watched season of America's Got Talent in 2006, parlaying that national exposure into a durable career on the Strip. Burton puts a fun spin on familiar illusions and is family-friendly for those with older children. Mom and Dad will smile because the tickets are routinely discounted.

Billing himself as "The Loser of America's Got Talent" fits the droll humor of the British comedy-magician, whose goal of competing on the TV show was to get a berth in Las Vegas. It worked. The magician who stands out for his satin dragon suit, bad attitude, and stoic chihuahua sidekick, Mr. Piffles, keeps the jokes coming as fast as the card tricks, and pulls plenty of recruits from the audience. It's a testament to Piff's popularity that he's moved from the Flamingo's smaller cabaret to its main showroom.