The show, without spoilers
David Copperfield is the magician most people over 40 grew up watching on television, and the MGM Grand show is essentially those specials performed live in a theatre built for him. It is grand illusion in the classic sense: objects, animals, vehicles and people vanish, reappear and travel, often with members of the audience along for the ride. Around the big set pieces he threads smaller, more personal routines — family history, a story about his father, a piece involving objects the audience brings — that give the evening more heart than a list of illusions suggests.
He performs an extraordinary number of shows, up to 15 a week when he is in residence, and the material is polished to the point of appearing effortless. There is no assistant-in-a-box spectacle and little dancing; the focus stays on Copperfield and whichever audience members he has drawn onto the stage. It is, deliberately, the most accessible headline magic show on the Strip, which is why it turns up on so many family itineraries. For the whole field, see our guide to magic shows.
The David Copperfield Theater at MGM Grand
The theatre seats around 740, small by Strip standards and surprisingly intimate for a name this big. It is a conventional proscenium house with a flat orchestra section and a raised rear, and every seat is close enough to see expressions on stage, which matters for a show that leans on audience participation. Screens carry close-ups for the moments that need them.
Finding it is the harder part. MGM Grand is enormous, and the theatre sits at the far end of the casino floor near the Grand Garden Arena corridor; from the main Strip entrance at Tropicana Avenue, allow ten minutes of walking and follow the overhead signs. The MGM Grand station is the southern end of the Monorail, which makes this one of the easiest theatres to reach from the centre and north Strip without a car. Our MGM Grand guide covers the resort, parking and the restaurants on site for a pre-show meal; the food court and Hakkasan are both a short walk from the theatre doors.
Runtime, showtimes and ages
The show runs roughly 90 minutes with no intermission. The usual pattern is two performances a night, typically at 7 pm and 9:30 pm, most nights of the week, with Copperfield taking occasional breaks for filming and touring. The residency is running as of 2026; confirm dates on the MGM Grand site before you book flights around it, particularly if you are coming for a specific weekend.
All ages are admitted, and this is one of the very few headline shows where a child of six or seven is welcome and will follow what is happening. The 7 pm show is the family choice; the 9:30 pm crowd skews adult and the theatre bar does brisk business. The content is clean — no language, no innuendo beyond a wink — and the illusions are wonder rather than menace, so there is nothing to warn a nervous child about beyond a couple of loud moments. For shows built specifically around young children, see Las Vegas with kids.
What to expect
Expect to be part of it. Copperfield selects volunteers by random methods — thrown balls, numbered tickets, lights sweeping the seats — so anyone in the house may be chosen, and a large share of the audience ends up standing, holding something or shouting an answer at some point. The chosen volunteers are handled with warmth and nobody is embarrassed; several of the illusions depend on ordinary people being visibly astonished, and they are.
The pace is brisk, the soundtrack is loud in places but not concert-loud, and there are lighting effects and haze. There are a few moments of genuine surprise that make people jump. The show also involves objects passed around and personal items borrowed from the audience, so keep a pen or a ring handy if you want to be involved. Photography is not allowed during the performance. Content warnings are minimal: brief strobe lighting and a sequence or two that a very small child might find startling.
Where to sit for the best chance of being picked
Because the room is small, there is no bad seat, and most of the illusions are staged to read from the back. The seating question here is about participation. Volunteers are chosen randomly, but the random methods reach the orchestra section and aisles more often than the rear corners, so if being on stage matters to someone in your party, sit centre orchestra near an aisle.
- Front orchestra: the best view of the small, personal pieces and the highest chance of involvement; also the most expensive.
- Centre orchestra, rows five to twelve: our recommendation. Full view of the big illusions, close enough to see faces, still in the participation zone.
- Rear raised section: the cheapest seats and a fine view of the large-scale work. You will feel like a spectator rather than a participant, which some people prefer.
Avoid the extreme sides of the front rows, where the stage edge and any equipment can cut off part of the picture.
Tickets and price ranges
As of 2026, tickets run roughly $80 to $200 before fees, with rear seats at the lower end and front-orchestra and VIP packages at the top. Buy through the MGM Grand box office or MGM's official site. Because there are so many performances, the 7 pm midweek shows are markedly cheaper than Saturday at 9:30, and a family of four can save a good deal simply by going on a Tuesday.
Copperfield appears at the same-day discount booths fairly regularly, usually for the rear and side sections, at savings of 20 to 40 percent. MGM Rewards members also see periodic offers and hotel-plus-show bundles across the MGM resorts. The cheap show tickets guide explains the booths and the bundles in detail. Check prices across both showtimes before you buy; the difference on the same night can be substantial.
Who it suits, who should skip it, and alternatives
This is the magic show for families, for grandparents who remember the television specials and for anyone who wants big illusions without a rock-concert production wrapped around them. It is also the safest pick if you are unsure whether magic is your thing: the room is small, the show is short and the star is charming.
Skip it if you prefer close-up card work over large illusions, if you want an edgier or funnier evening, or if you are the kind of audience member who wants to sit quietly and not be involved. Alternatives: Penn & Teller at the Rio is drier and more intellectual, Shin Lim is the pick for sleight of hand, and Mat Franco at the LINQ is the closest in warmth and audience involvement at a slightly lower price. For an entirely different kind of family spectacle, KÀ is in the same resort.
Our verdict
Copperfield has been doing this longer than most Strip theatres have existed, and it shows in the best way: the illusions are seamless and the audience handling is masterful. It is not the hippest ticket in town and it does not pretend to be. Book a midweek 7 pm show, sit centre orchestra near an aisle, bring the kids and let the man who made a jet disappear do the same with 90 minutes of your evening.
