Variety & Circus Shows

ABSINTHE at Caesars Palace is the best-known — provocative aerial acrobatics staged in a small spiegeltent where no seat is far from the ring. Others worth a look are Atomic Saloon Show, V - The Ultimate Variety Show, WOW - The Vegas Spectacular and Sexxy The Show. Cirque du Soleil productions are listed separately under Cirque du Soleil.

Yes. Touring circuses play Las Vegas through the year — Cirque Italia's Water Circus, Paranormal Cirque, the International Circus Festival of Las Vegas, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Circus Circus also runs free midway acts on its Carnival Midway stage every day.

A drag brunch is a daytime variety show served with food and, usually, bottomless drinks — hosted performance, lip-sync numbers and audience interaction across a couple of hours. Las Vegas has a dozen or more, including Faaabulous! The Ultimate Drag Brunch, Hamburger Mary's Dine 'n Drag and several Sunday brunch residencies.

Cirque du Soleil productions are single large-scale narrative shows in purpose-built theatres, each with one company and one continuous production. A variety show is a bill of separate acts — aerialists, jugglers, comedians, singers, drag performers — introduced one after another by a host, usually in a smaller room and often with audience participation.