Debbie Gibson had a number one single at seventeen that she wrote and produced herself, and she has lived in Las Vegas since 2009. This December is the first time The STRAT has booked her. Five holiday shows, Thursday December 17 through Sunday the 20th, in a theater of about six hundred seats, with a Christmas set wrapped around the singles that anyone who owned a radio in 1988 can still sing. That's a singer who topped the Hot 100 twice, in a room the size of a high school auditorium.
Sleigh Ride, then Shake Your Love
Winterlicious takes its name from the holiday album Debbie Gibson released in 2022, and the show runs the way that record does: standards like "Sleigh Ride," "White Christmas" and "Let It Snow" beside her own seasonal songs, including "Jingle Those Bells" and "Cheers!" Then the other catalog arrives. "Out of the Blue" went to number three, "Only in My Dreams" and "Shake Your Love" both reached number four, and "Lost in Your Eyes" held the top of the Hot 100 for three weeks in 1989. She is still the youngest woman ever to write, produce and perform a Billboard Hot 100 number one, with "Foolish Beat" in 1988. Watch the room when the first bar of "Only in My Dreams" lands. It takes about two notes. A reissue, Winterlicious D'Luxe, adds new songs this October, including a holiday take on "Out of the Blue."
When: Thursday December 17 to Sunday December 20, five shows including weekend matinees. Where: The STRAT Theater, The STRAT Hotel, Casino and Tower. Run time: about ninety minutes. Ages: five and over.
Why this room
The STRAT Theater sits at the foot of a 1,149-foot tower, the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States, which turns a matinee into half a day. Go up to the STRAT tower for the city in daylight, come down for the show, and step outside when the lights are coming on. The STRAT hotel is the natural base if you're staying for the night, and our High Roller vs STRAT comparison covers what the deck is like.
Who it's for, and who should pass
Book it if you grew up on those singles, if you're bringing a parent who did, or if you want a holiday show the kids can come to; the listing allows ages five and up, and the Saturday and Sunday matinees are made for exactly that group. Pass if you want a nostalgia night that's all 1987. Roughly half of this set is Christmas, and that's the point of it. If a big-production holiday spectacle is what you're after, the rest of the season is on our Las Vegas Christmas guide.
Before you book
Five performances in a six-hundred-seat room adds up to roughly three thousand seats for the whole run, which isn't many for a holiday week. Friday evening is the date-night slot, Sunday's matinee is the relaxed one, and Saturday offers both. The Bellagio Conservatory's holiday display is a short drive down the Boulevard if you want to make a day of the season.
