Las Vegas is known as the Entertainment Capital of the World, the Gambling Capital of the World and, for better or for worse, the Marriage Capital of the World. Perhaps it’s time to add “New‑stalgia Capital of the World” to its list of nicknames because Sin City has become a reliable stage for people and things whose slide from the spotlight feels like a sin in itself.
For a town fond of imploding its architectural history, it has a softer, more nostalgic heart when it comes to honoring entertainers, TV shows, movies and fads that a fickle world has decided are past their prime. Here, pop culture that has lost some of its pop is often given a second chance with a fresh burst of neon and glitz.
Striking while the iron is supposedly hot isn’t always a sure bet, however. Paris Las Vegas bid adieu to “Bat Out of Hell: The Musical” after only 12 weeks, unable to turn the run into an unintended tribute to Meat Loaf, who died just eight months before opening night. More recently, “Bob Marley Hope Road” ran into a dead end in January, a mere six months after the ambitious, reggae-infused musical debuted at Mandalay Bay.
While icons past and present have their legacies wagered on productions that don’t always pay off, when stars do align above the bright lights of Vegas — with the right timing, a dedicated following, top‑notch production value and a bit of lady luck — everyone hits the jackpot.
Just ask Donny Osmond, the 68-year-old singer, dancer, actor and former teen idol whose enduring career spans pop music, television, Broadway and a long-running Las Vegas presence. When it comes to legacy acts and nostalgia‑driven brands finding room to reinvent themselves without abandoning what made them popular in the first place, few illustrate that dynamic better than Osmond, whose solo residency at Harrah’s has become a master class in honoring a long career while reshaping it for modern audiences. And nowhere embraces that balance more fully than Las Vegas.
Donny Osmond’s residency at Harrah’s delivers a polished dose of new-stalgia that celebrates a career spanning six decades. (Photo by Denise Truscello)“It is actually the modern-day memory palace because nostalgia here doesn’t stand still to accommodate a certain generation,” said Osmond, citing his own success on the Strip as a proof point. “My ‘Donny’ show isn’t just a look back, but a living celebration of six decades of show business, blending past, present and future — proving that Las Vegas is one of the few places in the world where entertainment truly connects all generations and every demographic.”
Carrying that thought down the Strip to Luxor shows how Vegas might be the only vacation destination where Osmond’s wholesome show can share the same cultural landscape as a tasteful topless revue that’s been wowing audiences — older than his, of course — for more than 26 years. Performed nightly, “Fantasy” is a nostalgic heir to the classic showgirl lineage, keeping old‑school Vegas alive with its unapologetically risqué edge.
Crossing multiple music styles, the cast serves as torch‑bearers for a page in Sin City’s history, tempting tourists with modern digital dazzle yet proudly following in the same high‑heel footsteps as those who once paraded in “Lido de Paris,” “Folies Bergère” and the revue widely considered the OG of Vegas, “Minsky’s Follies,” which opened in 1957 at the former Dunes.
Keeping the Vegas showgirl legacy alive at Luxor are “Fantasy” dancers (from left) Mariah Nieslanik, Gigi Metayer, Ashton Bray and Abby Sullivan. (Photo by David Dickstein)For the women on Luxor’s Atrium Showroom stage, carrying that legacy forward is both a responsibility and a thrill, said Mariah Nieslanik, co‑producer and featured dancer.
“This style of show matters because it is Las Vegas,” she said between two Sunday performances. “‘Fantasy’ proves that classic Vegas glamor can evolve, stay bold and still captivate audiences while honoring showgirl traditions. [The show] carries forward a legacy of iconic women who helped define Las Vegas, while continually adding fresh energy and individuality to the stage each night.”
Other pieces of the Vegas showgirl story now live in preservation rather than performance, a quiet thread of new‑stalgia.
Classic Las Vegas signage rests in the Boneyard at the Neon Museum. (Photo by David Dickstein)Keeping the lights on for this lingerie-loving lineage and other pieces of the town’s brassy and bawdy history, the Neon Museum lets the past glow. Timeworn signs from the Dunes, Stardust and Tropicana — the resorts that gave Vegas its feathers, sequins and swagger — still attract attention in their afterlife. No longer luring passersby to stay and play, these retired beacons, including one from “Lido de Paris,” are treasured artifacts that draw the eye like desert flowers.
New‑stalgia greets visitors before they even enter the main exhibition space, affectionately known as the Neon Boneyard. The former La Concha Motel lobby — moved roughly three miles from its original Strip location – anchors the museum’s entrance, a classic slice of Googie architecture with a thin‑shell concrete roof that sweeps into dramatic parabolic curves shaped like a stylized seashell.
Swingers gives the classic pastime of miniature golf a fresh update, enjoyed adults-only except on summer days. (Photo by David Dickstein)Back on the Strip, another example of Las Vegas’ love for taking something familiar and turning the volume up is par for the course at Mandalay Bay. Make that four courses, each a themed nine‑hole reimagining of the old‑school pastime of miniature golf. The slick venue transforms a childhood favorite of Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers into a three‑level, neon‑bright playground with flirty cocktail service, a happening bar, tasty grub, competitive arcade and carnival games, and a club‑like soundtrack driven by a live DJ. Swingers’ adults‑only policy gives groups of friends a place to play when they’re on a break from the city’s hip and hypnotic nightclub scene.
Speaking of friends “on a break,” one of the newest new‑stalgic attractions in town is The FRIENDS Experience: The One in Vegas at the MGM Grand — and if those three words in quotes don’t ring a bell, this isn’t your stop. Opened in July — 21 years after the sitcom became full‑time rerun fodder — the attraction lets visitors wander through set recreations, props, costumes and behind‑the‑scenes content from the long‑running show.
The FRIENDS Experience: The One in Vegas attraction is geared toward superfans of the classic sitcom at MGM Grand. (Photo by David Dickstein)Among the full‑scale replicated sets —beyond the obligatory Central Perk coffeehouse and opening‑credits fountain and sofa — is Monica and Rachel’s apartment, where the dreaded “break” word was first uttered in (as every superfan knows) season three, episode 15. Those not among the die‑hards may find the nearly $50 admission steep for an attraction that leans heavily on replicas. And for folks representing a beloved classic sitcom, the staff seemed disengaged on a recent visit — almost as if they, like Ross and Rachel, were on a break.
The city’s appetite for new‑stalgia extends to its famously fabulous food scene, where a few spots pay homage to dining concepts that have long been pushed to the back of the kitchen pantry.
The STRAT’s fine-dining Top of the World, soaring 844 feet above the city, is one of the few remaining examples of the revolving‑restaurant craze that peaked in the late ’60s and ’70s. Opened in 1996, when the resort was named the Stratosphere, the establishment famous for its ribeye and filet offers patrons a view of the entire valley every 80 minutes right at their table. So, while gamblers are betting high stakes on the casino floor, diners are cutting into high steaks on the 106th floor of the tallest observation tower in the nation — and one of the few still serving a side of spin.
Top of the World at The STRAT keeps alive the revolving-restaurant craze of the ’60s and ’70s. (Photo by David Dickstein)“Revolving restaurants were built on a sense of wonder, and that idea still matters today,” said Alam Leyva, vice president of food and beverage at The STRAT. “At Top of the World, we see ourselves as caretakers of something rare, not just a 360-degree dining room, but an experience that invites people to slow down and really appreciate where they are. It’s a dining experience that feels immersive and uniquely Las Vegas.”
Just like Osmond’s show at Harrah’s — giving the seasoned showman an encore in this story much as Las Vegas has with his career. “Donny,” signed on through at least May, is built to pull audiences into the full sweep of his showbiz story, using technology, interactivity and narrative devices that go far beyond a standard Vegas concert.
“I balance nostalgia and innovation by telling my story in a way no one expects — through a rap, yes, rap, that is a 10-minute chronological experience taking the audience from the very beginning of my career to where I am today, with massive video walls showing every stage of reinvention along the way.”
An example of the innovation woven into the show is when he sings his monster hit “Puppy Love” with his 14-year-old self using AI technology.
“The face and voice are mine at that age,” he said, “while the physical performance comes from my 14-year-old grandson, proving that honoring the past and embracing the future can exist on the same stage.”
It’s new‑stalgia in action — a Vegas‑style fusion of memory and modernity that turns the past into something newly electric.
“It really comes down to whether an artist is willing to do the work of reinventing themselves in the first place,” said the performer who has reinvented himself more times than most artists get the chance to debut. “I see my residency as a perfect reflection of what Las Vegas does best — it’s a stage where artists don’t have to freeze in time but can evolve.”
If you go
“Donny”: 3475 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; 855-234‑7469; donny.com
“Fantasy”: Luxor, 3900 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; 800-557‑7428; luxor.mgmresorts.com
Neon Museum: 770 N. Las Vegas Blvd.; 702-387-6366; neonmuseum.org
Swingers: Mandalay Bay, 3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; 725-201-1422; swingers.club
The Friends Experience: The One in Vegas: MGM Grand, 3799 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; friendstheexperience.com/vegas
Top of the World: The STRAT, 2000 S. Las Vegas Blvd.; 702-380‑7711; thestrat.com
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