Mad Apple Closes at New York-New York in September

Mad Apple opened in 2022 as Cirque's answer to a pandemic-battered Strip, mixing live band music, circus acrobatics, and actual stand-up sets from touring comedians, a first for a Cirque resident show. It replaced Zumanity, the adults-only show that ran at New York-New York from 2003 to 2020.

In roughly four years on stage, Mad Apple drew about 1.2 million guests. That is a real number, but it is a short run by Cirque's own Vegas standard. The average Cirque du Soleil production on the Strip has run about 13.5 years, and the company's longest-running shows go well past that, Mystere at Treasure Island has been open more than 30 years and O at Bellagio nearly 30. Mad Apple never got close to that kind of staying power.

Cirque du Soleil CEO Mark Cornell framed the closing as a transition rather than a failure, thanking "the cast, crew, and creative team and every guest who joined us at New York-New York" while saying the company "remains focused on the next chapter of our Las Vegas portfolio." No replacement show has been announced for the theater yet, so what fills that room next is still an open question. Cirque says it is offering transition support to the cast and crew, including the possibility of moving people to other productions around the world.

Cirque isn't leaving the Strip. It still runs four resident shows here, O at Bellagio, Mystere at Treasure Island, KA at MGM Grand, and Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay, and the company says new productions are in development for the theaters it does leave behind.

If Mad Apple is on your list, book it now. Performances continue through September 5, and tickets are still on sale through Cirque's site. If you already hold tickets for a date after September 5, you should get refund or exchange instructions from wherever you bought them.

New York-New York itself isn't going anywhere, and losing a show doesn't change what makes the hotel worth a stay, the Statue of Liberty replica out front, the roller coaster wrapped around the building, and a location dead center on the Strip next to MGM Grand. If you booked a room here expecting to catch Mad Apple on a whim, move that plan up before Labor Day weekend.

If you have already seen Mad Apple, or you are visiting after September 5, this is one less reason to plan a stop at this specific theater until Cirque names whatever comes next. Nothing else about a New York-New York stay changes in the meantime.