Channing Tatum's 'Magic Mike Live' to debut U.S. tour in Nashville
Move over Las Vegas: Music City is about to become even more magical.
Actor and dancer Channing Tatum's "Magic Mike Live" is slated to debut its first-ever North American tour next year, and Nashville will be the show's first stop, the team behind the show announced Saturday.
After performing to sold-out, worldwide audiences in cities including Las Vegas and London, the U.S. show's premiere is slated for April 6 in Music City.
"We agonized for close to a year about where to launch the tour, and while there were many worthy candidates, Nashville rose to the top," Executive Producer Vincent Marini told USA TODAY – Tennessee. "The (Nashville) music scene is unbelievable, the number of people there to have a good time, it's so unique... it's going to add to the vibrant scene there."
Conceived and co-directed by Tatum, "Magic Mike Live" is a "thrilling, sexy, live dance and acrobatic spectacular" based on the movies Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL.
The tour will come on the heels of the new series "Finding Magic Mike," an unscripted competition from Eureka Productions and Warner Bros., premiering on HBOMax Dec. 16.
Dubbed by its creators "a unique, immersive, live-entertainment experience," "Magic Mike Live" will begin its limited run in a brand-new, custom-built venue before heading to Miami in fall 2022.
Other stops include New York, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas and Houston, with more to be announced at a later date.
Tickets for Nashville shows went on sale Saturday and will be available through the end of June 2022.
Why start in Nashville?
The worldwide tour launched in April 2017 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
"We've been asked time and time again to launch a North American tour," Marini said. "So many people said, 'You have to start in Nashville.' It has a tremendous profile among our target demographic – females, especially females ages 21-25."
"There are so many great restaurants, so many great hotels. It's a vibrant entertainment scene that we want to be a part of."
Marini said his team also took into account the city's population growth.
The show is 90 minutes, Marini said, and includes a curated cocktail experience.
"The show is his baby," Marini said of Tatum's dream to launch it.
While it's unclear whether the original crew – including Magic Mike (Tatum), Richie (Joe Manganiello), Ken (Matt Bomer), Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) and Tito (Adam Rodriguez) – will appear in Nashville and other cities, viewers can expect fresh faces, Marini confirmed.
A mini-metropolis venue
The show takes place in a pop-up, two-story spiegeltent that seats 600 audience members.
Christened “The Arcadia,” it includes a glass lobby, custom bars and indoor and outdoor lounges.
"Every fabric, every seat, every chair... every bit of that space is curated to feel special and unique and that you're part of a high-end experience," Marini said. "We cram the biggest kind of technology you see on a Broadway show while also making it feel intimate."
There's also a VIP section where guests can meet the stars.
"When you are there you feel like you are in your own world," Marini said.
Where the venue will be in Music City has not been released, but Marini said it will be close to downtown.
Tickets are on sale now at MMLTour.com. Prices start at $49.
Natalie Neysa Alund is based in Nashville at The Tennessean and covers breaking news across the South for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Channing Tatum's 'Magic Mike Live' to debut U.S. tour in Nashville
