“Mad Apple,” Cirque du Soleil’s Manhattan-flavored variety show at New York-New York, is shutting down Labor Day weekend.
The production’s finale is tentatively set for Sept. 5, sources familiar with the show’s scheduling confirmed Saturday.
A Cirque rep offered no comment Saturday. MGM Resorts International officials referred inquiries back to Cirque. Word of the show’s closing was originally shared on the Las Vegas Locally X feed.
With a cast and crew of 60 employees, “Mad Apple” opened for previews May 12, 2022.
The future of the venue, which MGM Resorts owns, is not yet clear. Elsewhere, Cirque’s Strip stalwarts “O,” “Mystere,” and “Michael Jackson One” are doing solid business. “Ka” at MGM Grand, routinely the source of shutdown rumors, has reportedly stabilized.
Warning signs at NY-NY
The “Mad Apple” closing arrives even as some cast members are under contract through 2027. Some had started families during the show’s run and had taken their kids to their first day of school this week.
But the dazzling variety production has shown signs of struggling. Over the past years, the theater’s upper balcony had been closed because of low sales, cutting the 1,200-seat room to between 600 and 800 per show.
The show’s impressive bar sales (including a pre-show hang on stage) were not enough to turn a profit.
A soft ticket-buying market is reportedly the reason the show is going dark. Sales for production shows at MGM Resorts venues are reportedly down from about 65 percent capacity a decade ago to about 30 percent today.
This is a trend across Las Vegas for midsize productions. Just last week, Harrah’s “Menopause the Musical” ended a 21-year run in Las Vegas because of sliding revenue. Most, if not all, showroom productions are reporting sales falling by at least half from two years ago.
Entertainment fans are instead opting for touring shows, superstar headlining theater productions and (naturally) Sphere. Friday night, these shows performed at or near capacity on the Strip: Backstreet Boys at Sphere, Benson Boone at T-Mobile Arena, Boyz II Men at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan, and Ne-Yo and Akon at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
That’s about 40,000 tickets in a single night from venues that dominate the city’s entertainment options. Allegiant Stadium was dark Friday, but a week ago, red-hot Colombian superstar Karol G. played to 40,000 fans at the Raiders’ home venue.
Producers also say a dip in international tourism numbers, the audience that feeds Cirque shows, has contributed to the downturn.
A quiet celebration
“Mad Apple” was not immune. The show celebrated its 2,000th performance on Aug. 8. But as a possible foretelling that bad news was on the horizon, the production didn’t stage a media night or formal celebration of the milestone.
At a cost of less than $10 million, the production was developed as a more cost-effective replacement for “Zumanity,” with its $60 million price tag (including the theater build-out).
The adult production ran in the theater from September 2003 through March 2020; formal closing was announced the following November. “Mad Apple” stepped in.
The show was originally a production from The Works entertainment company, a Cirque acquisition in 2019. That five-year partnership ended in 2024. The Works founder, Simon Painter, is co-producer of the “Now You See Me” magic production opening in October at MGM Grand Theater, formerly David Copperfield Theater.
As the name indicates, “Mad Apple” was framed as a New York City nightlife and street festival. The show rotated stand-up comics, close-up magicians, jugglers, aerial-hoop artists (including a “hair-ialist”), a basketball-trampoline troupe, and Cirque’s signature Wheel of Death act.
The show has also employed a full band through its entire run. Those musicians, too, will be looking for work as the show bows out. Until then, tickets for the final performances of “Mad Apple” are at cirqueduSoleil.com. With a 30 percent summer discount, single seats start at $49.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.