Every one of these four shows works for a couple. Pick by mood. What separates them is the mood you walk out with: hushed, amazed, glamorous or laughing too hard to talk. They run below from the gentlest to the most daring, so the further down you read, the more adult the night gets.
O by Cirque du Soleil: the milestone-anniversary show
O by Cirque du Soleil has played the Bellagio since 1998, on a stage that is mostly a 1.5-million-gallon pool. Divers drop from the rigging, swimmers rise in formation, and whole sets sink with performers still on them. There is almost no dialogue. The room goes quiet in a way few Vegas theaters do, and couples tend to reach for each other's hand at the same moment. For a 10th, 25th or 50th, it is the safe and right answer. Our Cirque du Soleil ranking compares it with the other three.
Where: O Theatre, Bellagio, center Strip. Run time: 90 minutes. Ages: 5 and up. Mood: dreamlike and hushed. Best for: milestone anniversaries and first-time Cirque couples.
Shin Lim: the show you'll argue about at dinner
Shin Lim won America's Got Talent in 2018 and then won the all-champions season in 2019, and his card magic is quiet, slow and impossible. The Palazzo Theatre is small enough that you can follow his hands and still lose track of the card. The Clairvoyants, a mind-reading duo from the same competition, open the night. Dinner afterward writes itself. Neither of you will agree on how he did it.
Where: Palazzo Theatre, The Venetian Resort, center Strip. Run time: 90 minutes. Ages: 4 and up. Mood: playful and amazed. Best for: couples who love a puzzle, and anniversaries with family in town.
Dita Von Teese: the glamour pick
Dita Von Teese brings her burlesque revue to Voltaire, an art deco cabaret room inside The Venetian, and it is built like a couture show: crystal-covered costumes, old-Hollywood sets and the famous number in a giant martini glass. It's adults only and never crude. People dress up for it. That's half the fun. Our Dita Von Teese at Voltaire guide covers the room in detail.
Where: Voltaire, The Venetian Resort, center Strip. Run time: 75 minutes. Ages: 18 and up. Mood: glamorous and a little wicked. Best for: couples who like an excuse to dress up.
Absinthe: for couples who laugh at the same terrible jokes
Absinthe has filled a vintage Spiegeltent on the Roman Plaza at Caesars Palace since 2011. The stage is a small round platform, the seats circle it, and the acrobats work close enough to touch. Between acts, a host called the Gazillionaire and his sidekick Wanda Widdles say things no other Strip show would say. It's filthy. It's also the show couples quote to each other for years.
Where: Spiegeltent, Roman Plaza, Caesars Palace, center Strip. Run time: 75 minutes. Ages: 18 and up. Mood: rowdy and close-up. Best for: couples with a shared, unshockable sense of humor.
Making a night of it
Shin Lim and Dita Von Teese are under the same roof at The Venetian Resort, so a long dinner on the Grand Canal and a gondola ride fit before either one. Our romantic things to do in Vegas guide covers the gondola and the Eiffel Tower deck. The quick version: milestone year, O. Puzzle lovers, Shin Lim. Dressing up, Dita. Laughing until it hurts, Absinthe.
