The biggest musical of all time is coming to The Smith Center as part of the 2025-26 Broadway Las Vegas Series.
No, it’s not “Hamilton.” That will be in Reynolds Hall from May 20 through June 1 as part of the current season.
Thankfully, it also isn’t “Cats,” although there are cats involved.
“The Lion King” played 1,078 performances at Mandalay Bay from May 2009 to December 2011 on its way to being seen by more than 110 million people worldwide and grossing more than $10 billion. It’s returning to Las Vegas for performances Nov. 19-30.
“It’s the show of love,” Smith Center president and CEO Myron Martin says of its popularity as the third-longest-running show in Broadway history. “It’s a family show. Everybody likes it. Parents like it. Kids like it. … The beautiful set and the staging and the choreography. It’s a brilliant, obviously, brilliant, brilliant piece. And it’s a show that people want to see multiple times.”
The nine-show season will mark the return of another musical with a long-tenured local production. Monty Python’s “Spamalot,” which ran from March 2007 to July 2008 at Wynn Las Vegas, is scheduled for Feb. 24-March 1, 2026.
“Stereophonic,” scheduled for Oct. 21-26, is another highlight. It’s one of the rare plays to make the Broadway series, following “To Kill a Mockingbird” in 2023 and “War Horse” in 2013.
“I get that question quite a bit,” Martin says. “ ‘Why don’t you do more plays?’ And the truth is, not many plays tour around the country. It’s almost always musicals.”
There’s still plenty of music in “Stereophonic,” which is set in a recording studio in 1976 as a band very much like Fleetwood Mac struggles to produce an album very much like “Rumours” that could either define the group or tear it apart. (The similarities are so great, “Stereophonic” producers settled a lawsuit brought by former Fleetwood Mac sound engineer and producer Ken Caillat.)
“Hell’s Kitchen,” the jukebox musical based on the works of Alicia Keys, is among Martin’s favorite upcoming shows. It’s scheduled to close out the season June 23-28, 2026.
“I almost take exception to the term ‘jukebox musical’ with ‘Hell’s Kitchen.’ It’s a work of art,” he says. “Yes, it uses her music and her personal story of growing up in Hell’s Kitchen. But it does it in a way that you don’t feel like, ‘Well, how are they going to squeeze this song in here?’ It’s one of the best things I’ve seen.”
Season subscription renewals will be available beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday at thesmithcenter.com/Broadway. Potential new subscribers can register their interest at the site as well.
Here’s the full schedule for the 2025-26 Broadway Las Vegas Series:
“Some Like It Hot” (July 22-27): Based on the 1959 comedy starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, it follows two male musicians who witness a mob hit, then go on the run posing as members of an all-female traveling band. “Some Like It Hot” led all nominees at the 2023 Tony Awards with 13.
“A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical” (Aug. 12-17): Named after the 1976 Diamond album, the jukebox musical finds the singer looking back on his career with the help of a therapist.
“Suffs” (Oct. 7-12): The women’s suffrage movement and the lead-up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment are the focus of the reigning Tony winner for best book and best original score.
“Stereophonic” (Oct. 21-26): “It’s brilliant,” Martin says of the play set in a recording studio. “It’s truly brilliant.” The reigning Tony winner for best play, “Stereophonic” is the most-nominated play in the history of the Tony Awards.
“The Lion King” (Nov. 19-30): The Disney musical is still going strong on Broadway despite having opened in 1997.
“Spamalot” (Feb. 24-March 1, 2026): Based on “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” with a book and lyrics by Eric Idle, “Spamalot” was a Broadway mainstay for four years starting in 2005, picking up a Tony for best musical along the way.
“The Notebook” (March 31-April 5, 2026): The Nicholas Sparks love story that inspired the movie has been adapted for the stage, with music and lyrics by singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson. The musical even brings the rain.
“Shucked” (June 2-7, 2026): A young farm girl leaves her rural county to try to find a way to keep the local crops from dying in this intentionally corn-y comedy. “The music is great, and it’s funny, funny, funny. And it’s hard to be funny,” Martin says. “It’s hard for me to believe that anyone couldn’t thoroughly enjoy it.”
“Hell’s Kitchen” (June 23-28, 2026): Seventeen-year-old Ali comes of age in New York during the 1990s in this musical inspired by Alicia Keys’ youth. This month, “Hell’s Kitchen” won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album, beating out two other 2025-26 Broadway Las Vegas Series shows, “The Notebook” and “Suffs.”
Contact Christopher Lawrence at [email protected] or 702-380-4567.