What Mad Apple is
Mad Apple is Cirque du Soleil's answer to the question "what if the circus were a late-night New York bar?" It opened at New York-New York in 2022 in the theatre formerly used by Zumanity, and it is a variety show rather than a spectacle: a stand-up comedian hosts, a live band plays, and a run of acts — magicians, a basketball trick crew, contortionists, aerialists, a beatboxer — comes and goes. The set is a Manhattan rooftop and, crucially, a working bar on stage that serves the audience before the show and during a mid-show interlude.
It is the least "Cirque" of the five resident shows and the only one that is 18+. Expect adult humour, audience interaction and a party atmosphere rather than the hushed awe of O. If your group's idea of a good night is a comedy club with far better acrobats, this is the one.
The theatre and the bar
The Mad Apple Theatre at New York-New York seats about 1,200 in a wide, shallow, cabaret-style layout. It sits off the casino floor near the resort's Brooklyn Bridge-themed walkway, a short walk from the Strip entrance at the corner of Tropicana Avenue. The on-stage bar opens with the house and you can order cocktails there; the line is part of the pre-show, with performers already at work around you. The show runs around 75 minutes without a formal intermission, though there is a break-like segment when the bar reopens.
New York-New York sits at the busiest intersection on the Strip, across from MGM Grand and next to Park MGM. It is well placed for a late dinner and a walk afterwards, and it is on the free tram loop to Excalibur and Luxor; see our Strip guide.
Tickets and prices
Mad Apple is priced like Mystère: as of 2026, roughly $70–$100 for the lower tiers and $120–$170 for the best cabaret tables and centre seats, before fees. It usually plays one performance a night around 9:30 pm, with additional 7 pm shows on busier nights, and is dark one or two nights a week. Buy through New York-New York, MGM Resorts ticketing or Cirque's site. It is a regular at the same-day discount booths and is often the cheapest Cirque ticket available on any given day. See cheap show tickets for the tactics.
Seating in a cabaret room
The layout mixes conventional rows with a few small tables near the stage. The tables are the most fun and the most expensive, and they put you in range of the comedian; if that is a problem, choose the rows. Because the room is shallow, the rear rows are still close. The centre of the house is the sweet spot for the basketball and aerial acts, which use the full width of the stage. Side seats are fine — this is not a show that suffers from angles.
The band is loud and the humour is explicit at points. If anyone in your party dislikes crowd work, sit mid-row rather than on the aisle.
Who Mad Apple suits
Groups of adults celebrating something; couples who want a fun rather than a beautiful night; people who liked Absinthe and want something similar with a bigger production; anyone seeing a second Cirque show who does not want more of the same. It is 18+, and drinks are a big part of the experience — budget for them. It is not the show for a first-time visitor who wants the classic Cirque spectacle; that is O or Mystère.
For similar adult-oriented options, see adult shows and comedy shows.
Practical tips
- Arrive 30–40 minutes early if you want a drink from the stage bar; the queue is the pre-show.
- Bring ID. 18+ is enforced at the door and the bar is 21+.
- Dinner first. There is no food in the theatre. New York-New York's food court and the restaurants at Park MGM next door are the quick options; see dining.
- After the show you are next to the Strip's busiest corner; the walk north past Cosmopolitan and Bellagio is a good late-night stroll.
- Photography is not permitted during the performance.
