7 must-see Las Vegas stage shows in 2024

Proven productions and aggressively hyped projects across the city should keep Vegas a popular entertainment destination in 2024. We have a lucky 7-pack of shows to catch this year. Some you probably know. Others you don’t, as they have yet to perform.

‘Love’

The only live Beatles show in the world licensed by Apple Corps is under an uncertain timeline, a compelling reason to see it ASAP. The show is selling through June at The Mirage, but there is no definitive horizon for the production as the hotel switches over to Hard Rock Las Vegas. “Love” opened in 2006, with a burst of support from surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, but the show’s sales have been inconsistent since the pandemic reopening (often under 40 percent), which instills an even greater urgency to catch it this year. The music is, of course, glorious, masterfully remastered and mashed up by Giles Martin (son of Beatles producer George Martin). The “Within You Without You” scene in which the audience is covered in white, silk drape is especially groovy. “Love” would soar as a touring show. Maybe, one day. But it is a Las Vegas original — for now.

‘Absinthe’

The best in class, even when lacking class, remains a juggernaut at Caesars Palace. I always say it’s the best show in the city, provided you can handle raunchy humor. If so, enjoy the ride, with the provocative witticisms of The Gazillionaire (who is now wearing flashy new Vegas-styled shoes); peerless twin tappers Sean and John Scott; the terrific Silicon Valley Girls four-member sway-pole act; and the body-balancing tandem dating to the show’s April 2011 opening, Duo Vector, featuring Misha Furmanczyk and Lukasz Szczerba. A tented sensation, this one.

‘DiscoShow’

Another Spiegelworld vision, opening June 29 (or thereabouts) at the Glitterloft showroom at The Linq Hotel. This is a $40 million adventure that charts the history of disco, as recited by Finnish dance instructor Ake Blomqvist. He is at once a fictional character and a figure based on an actual person, inspired by the late dance master of the same name.“DiscoShow” will feature a 20-person cast. Steven Hoggett, of the Broadway production “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” is on the creative team.

‘Come From Away’

A returning title to Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center from May 14 to 19. Smith Center President Myron Martin said the production was a box-office and fan favorite in its first run in 2019 and is expected to sell out its return. The story follows 7,000 stranded passengers, and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them, during the week after the 9/11 attacks.

Voltaire’s Belle de Nuit

This is the preshow at the chic Venetian entertainment club that runs ahead of such headliners as Kylie Minogue and Christina Aguilera. But beginning this weekend, the show is standing on its own at 9:15 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (doors at 8:30). The blend of cabaret, disco, acrobatics and burlesque is a more affordable nightlife hang, with tickets starting at $75, and the room, decked out like a giant glass of bubbly, is gorgeous.

‘Jersey Boys’

Hey, when a nearly 90-year-old Frankie Valli is crushing the box office at the Westgate, you know the Four Seasons’ music has staying power. This revival, produced by John Bentham of Ivory Star Productions, opens Jan. 26 at the Orleans Showroom. It’s a new venture for Boyd Gaming’s signature entertainment venue; the show is not new, having run at the Palazzo Theater and Paris Las Vegas from 2008 to 2016. Judging from rehearsals, this cast is up for the task.

‘Scream’d: An Unauthorized Musical Parody’

The quintessential underdog production at Majestic Repertory Theater in the Arts District. The show has drawn tens of millions of views on TikTok, leading to an open-ended engagement downtown beginning this month. Expect an extension in March. The script is drawn from the original story about small-town teenagers threatened by a masked killer and saved by a young heroine. The production ravages horror films, musical theater and the very genre of unauthorized musical parodies. As writer-director and Majestic Rep founder Troy Heard says, “This show literally saved Majestic Rep.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.