Cirque, The Works partnership opening on the Strip this spring

Cirque du Soleil is taking a bite of the big apple this spring on the Strip.

Themed for New York and staged at New York-New York, “Mad Apple” is set for a spring opening. The title has been rumored in earlier online reports and confirmed through multiple sources. The show takes over the renovated theater that was home to “Zumanity ” for 17 years before that show shut down in November 2020.

Details about the new project are being announced Feb. 22.

“Mad Apple” arrives from veteran producer Simon Painter’s company The Works, which Cirque acquired in 2019. The New York-New York production is the first original show developed on the Strip by a Cirque acquisition company. It is also the first Cirque show to open in Las Vegas since “R.U.N” at Luxor collapsed in January 2020 after a 4 1/2-month run.

A version of the show was being planned about two years ago at the old Bank nightclub at Bellagio, with Painter working with Cirque after the company merged with The Works. The idea then was to present specialty acts in the club and along the bar, shifting from the production show to the late-night club format. Those familiar with the NY-NY project have described it as a less-raunchy version of a long-running Strip hit “Absinthe.”

The Works is also a partner in “America’s Got Talent Live!” at Luxor and produced the inspired, if ill-fated, “Circus 1903.” That family production closed at Paris Theater after a five-month run in January 2018. The Works has developed the all-star magic show “The Illusionists,” which, for a time, was the center of speculation it would move into New York-New York.

The hotel’s current entertainment roster is led by long-running Strip headliner Terry Fator in its upstairs Liberty Loft theater and dueling pianos at its Bar at Times Square. Those venues, too, are (obviously) themed for New York.

Note: The updated version of this story has corrected the show’s title.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.