There will be a flying unicorn, a rain system and a pool suspended above the stage. Magic Mike Live arrives at Adelaide Festival Centre’s Festival Theatre in April 2027, and the theatre is being rebuilt around it. Seats are coming out, the stage is moving into the middle of the room, and performers will be dancing in the aisles.
The 90-minute show mixes professional dance, acrobatics, live music and comedy. It has built a devoted following in Las Vegas and London over the past decade. Adelaide is the second stop on the new Australian tour, after a short run in Perth.
We spoke with director and choreographer Alison Faulk about what’s involved, and why Adelaide was always on the list.
Why Adelaide?
“We knew that Adelaide often gets overlooked by larger concert or theatrical tours, so when we were planning out the route for the tour, we wanted to be sure that Adelaide got its proper attention,” Faulk says.
This new version of the show was designed to fit traditional theatres, so the Festival Theatre, Adelaide’s largest, was an obvious choice. For Faulk, it’s personal too. Her husband, Anthony, is Australian and also works on Magic Mike Live. “It’s a bit of a homecoming for us!”
Turning the Festival Theatre into a 360-degree stage
Magic Mike Live’s resident shows in Las Vegas and London are staged in the round. There’s no barrier between performers and audience, and that closeness drives the show’s energy. Faulk says it took the team several years to work out how to recreate that in a standard theatre. “I think we’ve really nailed it with this version of the show.”
In Adelaide, the first few rows of the stalls will be removed and the stage extended out into the house, so it sits near the centre of the room. Tiered seating goes behind the proscenium, and cabaret seating surrounds the stage. Aerialists fly in over the audience, and the cast moves through the aisles. “No matter where you’re sitting, you feel like you’re really in it,” Faulk says.
It takes six days to set up and rehearse in each new venue. Behind the scenes, 14 touring crew work alongside six to eight local crew across wardrobe, lighting, sound and stage management. Faulk says the lighting and audio rigs are closer to a rock concert than a theatre show. She describes the backstage action as “very well orchestrated and choreographed chaos, in the best way possible”, with crew catching shirts thrown into the audience and helping the cast with quick changes.
What’s new in this production
This is the most ambitious version of Magic Mike Live so far, with the biggest cast the company has worked with. The cast rehearsed for a month in August in a theatre outside London very similar to Adelaide’s, putting the show together routine by routine.
New highlights include an aerial routine by aerial designer Dreya Weber, which Faulk calls “truly so beautiful”, several large ensemble numbers, and a hip hop–tap routine. Fan favourite Candy Shop has been updated with new lighting and a raised platform built into the stage. “While there’s a ton that’s new in the show, there’s plenty of fan favourites that everyone will enjoy,” she says.
A night to let your hair down
Some guests have seen Magic Mike Live more than 200 times. Faulk says the appeal goes beyond the choreography. “It’s a place where you get to let your hair down for the night and laugh with your friends, and forget about the outside world for 90 minutes.”
Audiences are often there to celebrate something: birthdays, promotions, retirements, divorces. Plenty just want a great night out. Under the spectacle, there’s a message the team hopes people take home: that they deserve everything they want in life.
Her advice for first-timers is to arrive with an open mind. “The show is what you make of it.” You can sit back and watch, or get closer to the action. And if you’re hoping to be picked for an onstage moment, Faulk has a practical tip: wear trousers rather than a skirt or dress.
Magic Mike Live Adelaide
Where: Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
When: 7 April – 24 April 2027
Times: 4pm, 7pm and 9.30pm sessions
Tickets: From $69
Book: adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/magic-mike-live
The Festival Theatre has hosted plenty of big productions, but rarely one that brings the show this close to the audience. Get a group together, book early, and leave your preconceptions at home.
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