KA by Cirque du Soleil is a martial-arts epic staged in a purpose-built theater at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip. It follows imperial twins on a journey of war and reunion, told with acrobatics, puppetry, and fire on a giant stage platform that tilts and rotates to a full vertical wall. The roughly 90-minute show runs most nights except Thursday and Friday, with tickets starting around $89.
Cirque du Soleil runs several resident shows across Las Vegas, and KA is the most cinematic of them. Where the water-based O tells its story through pure spectacle, KA has an actual plot: a pair of imperial twins are separated during an attack and spend the show fighting their way back to each other across battlefields, beaches, and forests. It was the company’s first production built around a narrative, and it remains one of the most technically ambitious shows on the Strip.
The engineering is the headline. Instead of a fixed stage, KA is performed on two enormous moving platforms suspended over a bottomless pit. The main deck can pitch, spin, and rise until it stands completely upright, turning the floor into a sheer cliff face that performers scale and fall from while the audience watches from the front. Combined with projection mapping, aerial combat, and a live-feeling score, it produces images you simply do not get in a conventional theater.
This guide covers the KA Theatre at the MGM Grand, current showtimes and dark nights, ticket prices for 2026, what to expect inside, and how to get there. As with any long-running residency, exact showtimes shift seasonally, so confirm your date when you book.
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Where to Buy Tickets & How They Work
KA tickets are sold by seating section, and the price gap between the cheapest upper-level seats and the front Golden Circle is wide. Because KA is a fixed-stage show that reads best from the middle and rear of the house rather than the very front, the mid-priced tiers are often the smart buy. Booking online in advance locks in a date and section before you travel, which matters on weekends and holidays when the better-value seats sell out early. The pre-tracked ticket below covers admission at the KA Theatre.
KA by Cirque du Soleil at the MGM Grand
This is standard admission to KA in the custom KA Theatre inside the MGM Grand. You choose your section, from budget upper-level seats to premium orchestra and Golden Circle, and the roughly 90-minute performance is delivered with no intermission. Seats toward the center and slightly back give you the full sweep of the rotating stage, which is where KA’s signature effects land hardest.
Price: From about $89 for upper-level seats; mid-house panoramic seats typically run $140 to $180, front orchestra and Golden Circle seats run about $160 to $260, and a Royal VIP package with a backstage element sits near $285. Prices vary by date and demand.
Buy This TicketKA Showtimes
KA typically runs two performances a night on show days. Weekend shows (Saturday and Sunday) are often at 4:30pm and 7:00pm, while early-week shows (Monday through Wednesday) run later, around 6:00pm and 8:30pm. The theater is usually dark Thursday and Friday. Showtimes shift with the season, so confirm your exact date on the official schedule before booking.
Unlike most Strip shows that keep a single nightly slot, KA usually offers two performances per show day, and the timing depends on the day of week. Because the schedule is adjusted through the year, the two-shows-a-night pattern and the Thursday-Friday dark nights are the reliable framework, but the clock times can move. Always cross-check the date you want, especially around holidays when Cirque adds or removes performances.
Best Time to Visit
The earlier of the two nightly shows is usually the easier ticket and pairs well with a late dinner afterward. Early-week performances (Monday to Wednesday) tend to have more availability and better prices than weekend slots. Book well ahead for Friday-eve weekends and holidays, when the show sells strongly.
If you want the best value, aim for a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday performance, when demand is lower than on the weekend. The MGM Grand sits at the busy south end of the Strip near several other draws, so it is easy to build an evening around the show: catch KA, then walk to the Big Apple Coaster at neighboring New York-New York, or stroll up toward the Eiffel Tower Las Vegas viewing deck. If you are trying to see more than one Cirque production, spacing them across different nights keeps each one feeling fresh.
How Long Does a Visit Take?
The show itself runs about 90 minutes with no intermission. Add time to collect tickets, clear the theater entrance, and find your seat, and plan for roughly two hours at the venue. Arrive 30 to 45 minutes early on busy nights, since the MGM Grand is large and the walk from the parking or Strip entrance to the KA Theatre takes time.
The performance is continuous, so once it starts you are in your seat for the full run. The bigger time sink is the MGM Grand itself, which is one of the largest hotels in the world. Give yourself a generous cushion to navigate the casino floor, reach the theater, and settle in before the lights drop.
What to See & What to Expect
Expect a story-driven Cirque show built around a massive tilting and rotating stage, with martial-arts choreography, aerial battles, puppetry, projections, and pyrotechnics. Highlights include the vertical cliff-climbing battle, the shadow-puppet sequences, and the fiery finale. There is no water, unlike O, and no intermission.
The Moving Stage
KA’s central platform is the star. It rises out of the pit, pitches to steep angles, and eventually stands fully vertical so that performers appear to climb and fight on a sheer wall while you watch from below. A second, smaller deck handles other scenes. The stagecraft is the reason KA feels unlike any other show in town.
The Battle and Combat Scenes
The story is a war between rival forces, and the choreography leans into martial arts and aerial combat. Performers fight suspended in harnesses, tumble across the tilting deck, and stage a climactic clash on the vertical wall that is the show’s most photographed moment.
Puppetry, Projection, and Fire
Between the big set pieces, KA uses shadow puppetry, projection mapping, and practical fire effects to move the story along. The blend of low-tech craft and high-tech engineering gives the production a hand-made warmth that keeps it from feeling purely mechanical.
The KA Theatre Itself
The theater was custom-built for this show, with seating wrapped around the deep central pit and sightlines engineered for the rotating stage. There is not really a bad seat, though the middle and rear of the house give the best view of the full vertical effect.
Is KA Worth It?
Yes, for most visitors KA is worth it, especially if you like a show with an actual story and jaw-dropping engineering over pure abstract spectacle. The rotating vertical stage is genuinely unlike anything else on the Strip. The main caveats are premium-seat pricing and the two dark nights, so book a mid-house seat on an early-week date for the best balance.
KA is one of the strongest picks in the Cirque du Soleil Las Vegas lineup for travelers who want a narrative to follow. The combat choreography and the tilting stage produce images that stick with you, and the mid-priced seats deliver the full effect without the Golden Circle premium. If you prefer water spectacle you might lean toward O, and if you want music you might prefer a residency show, but for sheer stage engineering KA is hard to beat.
Things to Know Before You Go
- KA is usually dark on Thursday and Friday, so build your show night around the Saturday-to-Wednesday schedule and confirm your date.
- The show runs about 90 minutes with no intermission; use the restroom before it starts.
- Middle and rear seats give the best view of the rotating vertical stage, so you do not need the priciest front seats to enjoy it.
- The MGM Grand is enormous, so arrive 30 to 45 minutes early to find the KA Theatre and your seat.
- There is no water element and there are pyrotechnics and loud combat scenes, which can be intense for very young children.
How to Get to KA
KA is staged at the MGM Grand at 3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard, on the southeast corner of Tropicana Avenue and the Strip. From the middle of the Strip it is a long but flat walk south; from the airport it is one of the closest resorts, roughly a 5 to 10 minute drive from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS).
The most convenient public-transit option is the Las Vegas Monorail, which has a station at the MGM Grand on the east side of the resort, so you can ride in from other stops along the east Strip and walk straight into the property. The Deuce and SDX buses run along Las Vegas Boulevard and stop nearby. If you drive, MGM Resorts charges for self-parking and valet at the MGM Grand, so factor that in, or use rideshare to be dropped at the entrance. Once inside, follow signs across the casino floor to the KA Theatre, and leave extra time because the resort is vast. If you are pairing KA with other shows, O by Cirque du Soleil plays up the Strip at the Bellagio and Michael Jackson ONE is a short ride south at Mandalay Bay.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are KA tickets in 2026?
KA tickets start around $89 for upper-level seats and rise to roughly $140 to $180 for mid-house panoramic seats and about $160 to $260 for front orchestra and Golden Circle seats. A Royal VIP package with a backstage element runs near $285. Prices vary by date and demand.
What are KA showtimes at the MGM Grand?
KA usually runs two performances a night on show days. Weekend shows are often at 4:30pm and 7:00pm, and early-week shows run later, around 6:00pm and 8:30pm. The theater is typically dark on Thursday and Friday. Confirm your exact date on the official schedule, as times shift seasonally.
How long is the KA show?
KA runs about 90 minutes with no intermission. Including time to reach the KA Theatre inside the large MGM Grand and find your seat, plan for roughly two hours at the venue.
Where is KA performed?
KA is performed in the custom-built KA Theatre inside the MGM Grand at 3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard, on the southeast corner of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue. The resort has its own Las Vegas Monorail station.
Is KA suitable for children?
KA is generally suitable for older children and teens who can sit through a 90-minute show, but it features loud combat scenes, pyrotechnics, and intense imagery that may frighten very young kids. Cirque du Soleil recommends the show for guests age 5 and up, and children under a certain age may not be admitted, so check the policy when booking.
How is KA different from O and Mystere?
KA is a story-driven martial-arts show performed on a giant tilting and rotating stage, with no water. O by Cirque du Soleil is built around a massive pool and aquatic acrobatics at the Bellagio, while Mystere is the classic, more abstract Cirque show at Treasure Island. Each has a distinct style, so many visitors see more than one.
Which seats are best for KA?
The middle and rear of the house give the best view of KA’s rotating vertical stage, since you can see the full sweep of the deck when it stands upright. Front Golden Circle seats put you closest to the action but can make the tallest effects harder to take in, so mid-house seats are often the value sweet spot.
