‘Believe’ audience looking for magic in show’s previews

By Melissa Arseniuk (contact)

Thu, Oct 2, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Tomask Rossa

Criss Angel

Sun archives

Criss Angel on ‘Cloud Nine’ as ‘Believe’ previews begin (9-27-2008)
Premiere of Criss Angel’s ‘Believe’ delayed (9-13-2008)
Criss Angel ‘loyals’ get first glimpse of theater (8-7-2008)

Beyond the Sun

Criss Angel Believe

Criss Angel has 30 days to make believers.

His Cirque du Soleil show, "Believe," premieres at the Luxor on Halloween, leaving a month to put the finishing touches on the $100 million production. The show opened softly Friday to a sellout crowd and previews of the work-in-progress will continue until the Oct. 31 premiere.

"Believe" originally was scheduled to open Sept. 12, and some have suggested the delays indicate deep-rooted and serious problems are afoot. It isn't the first Cirque show to be delayed: "KÀ" was delayed about seven months before it premiered in 2005 at the MGM Grand.

Critics have taken swings at "Believe" as the preview performances ramp up.

A column in Monday’s Review-Journal called "Believe" an "unsalvageable waste of time … that literally bored some audience members to sleep." Though columnist Doug Elfman said he didn’t see the show himself, he talked to several people who saw the show Friday and Saturday. He also eavesdropped on ticketholders as they left the theater to reach his conclusions.

"Not one person I talked to said it was good," he said during a phone call Wednesday. "I wasn’t trying to stack the deck one way or another … I put in all the positive stuff I got."

Tuesday night's crowd wasn't as tough.

Cheryl and Randy Dalton, of Canton, Ohio, sat in Row M of Section 102. After the 25 percent preview price discount, their tickets, came to just over $100 each.

“It was definitely worth the money,” Cheryl said after the show. "(Angel) tied everything together, made it more of a performance, a story," she said. "I didn’t think there was going to be a storyline. It was kind of like an extra treat."

Said her husband, Randy: "I would’ve liked to see a little bit more illusions, but still it was very good."

Jason Koehn, Celeste Mansanz and Shawn Reiter came to Las Vegas from St. Paul, Minn., to see "Believe" and do a little gambling. Masanz said "Believe" was the highlight of the trip, while Reiter said he felt there was "a little too much of the TV stuff," but he still enjoyed the show.

When asked Tuesday night about the magic to song-and-dance ratio, Angel said there are more illusions in the show than most people realize. By his count, the show has about 25 significant so-called "mindfreaks" in the 90-minute performance.

Angel has learned a few things in these preview shows. The illusionist noted some aspects of the show that never were intended to be magic have been misinterpreted as illusions-gone-wrong. Case in point: the cables used in one sequence that suspend costumed Cirque performers above the stage.

"I never set out to try to fool anybody. Those people are hanging from a line," Angel said. "They’re not supposed to be levitating or flying. They’re hanging from, you know, a typical Cirque rig."

The 40-year-old Angel sat cross-legged on his dressing room couch, joking about his show being under a misguided microscope. "People in the audience are sitting there like, 'Oh, look at that girl flying like a bird! You can see a line!'" he said.

“Yes, you can see the line! I’m not trying to hide a line. The line is like this big,” he said, laughing as he held his fingers and inch or two apart to show the line's diameter.

He cracks jokes as he discusses the ups and downs of the creative process. Still, he said there’s a lot that remains to be done before the show opens next month.

“Is the show done? No, it’s not done,” he said. “We have a lot to do in the weeks coming.”

He said two or three illusions have yet to be worked into the show, while other aspects still need tweaking.

“We have work to do but it’s not unexpected,” he said. “We need a period of time to evolve and develop and to perfect and to utilize the audience as a barometer to be able to go through that process.”

Once it opens, "Believe" will be performed twice a night, five times a week for the next decade, if not longer. For now, however, there is just one show a night, at 7 p.m., allowing the production team time to evaluate audience reaction and the performance itself and make changes as needed.

And changes are needed.

After gauging audience response over the first five "soft performance nights," Angel said he wants to modify the part of the show in which he gets sawed in half.

"People are having a very hard time responding to me getting cut in half because, you know, they’re applauding my death and they don’t want to do that," he said. "I’m going to come here tomorrow at noon and … I will work with the director and try to kind of change the routine a little bit."

He said the show’s music has to be adjusted, too, to allow for applause in areas where no one anticipated people to cheer.

Three things didn’t go as planned Tuesday night: A chair didn’t spin when it was supposed to and, twice, a streamer didn’t shoot across the stage as scripted. Most in the audience didn't seem to notice when the relatively minor details didn’t fall into place as planned.

Without going into details, Angel acknowledged one of the show’s major illusions still needs work. He said Tuesday marked the first time he felt he pulled it off sufficiently, and even so, it's nowhere near where he wants it to be.

“I’m very, very excited about where we’re going and by Halloween … we’re going to be 110 percent perfection,” he said.

Angel's public relations rep, Steve Flynn, said the show is "very much still a work in progress.”

“The skeleton for the show is in place," he said. "Now we just have to put meat on the bones."

Angel said there are several things, both big and small, that need work.

"A major thing would be it rains in the show, and unfortunately, we couldn’t stop it from raining in the show (on Sunday and Monday),” he said. On Tuesday, the waterworks seemed to be in order and the rain machine stopped when it was supposed to.

He said the show is falling into place for the Halloween night debut.

"I think we’re in really good shape," Angel said. "People don’t stand (and applaud) if they hate something. People don’t stand if they feel that they didn’t get their money’s worth."

"Believe" joins "KÀ", "Zumanity," "O," "Mystère" and "Love" as the sixth permanent Cirque show in town. Tickets for "Believe" are available at the Luxor box office and online.

They range in price from $59 to $150, plus taxes and fees, but are discounted by 25 percent during the preview phase. The show is sold out through Oct. 6.

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By MsMerlina

10/5/08 at 12:48 p.m.

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Our large group saw Believe on Sept 30th and we were blown away by the intensity and beauty of Criss Angel's magic. His complex, groundbreaking vision of nature and the supernature is imaginative and brilliant.

The music, costumes and supporting cast complete a timeless elegant production combining skill of the highest order and concepts not easily grasped by some - hence the hostile and naive reactions by some reviewers. There have been previous taboo areas when dealing with magic and supernature. Comments based on unknown fears do not surprise me but the negative reactions are unjust.

If you do not understand there's no reason to attact. Try to learn something on this magical trip! Criss Angel takes us on a mindbending journey of painful, passionate all consuming love in his storyline. This is life, the magic of matter changing constantly to something else in nature.

The beautiful elements of the show drive the production into another dimension which takes most people, especially men, out of their emotional comfort zones. Believe tears down walls and I think women can go there more easily than men, hence the strong negative reactions from most men who are afraid, and yes, jealous of Criss' obvious talent and strength.

I will see Believe again & again. I need this beauty and truth in my life, not the gloom and doom of naysayers. I rate 'Believe' infinite stars out of infinite stars*******
By Virginia66

10/6/08 at 7:24 a.m.

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I firmly believe that this show has great potential. Of course it's not perfected yet....something this complex takes time to evolve. If you don't want to see imperfections, you shouldn't buy tickets to preview shows. There are a lot of technical issues that need to be worked on, but once that is done, it's my opinion that the show will be a roaring success. I plan to see the show at least once a month for the first year. I am looking forward to being witness to the evolution of a project that is like no other.

Some have complained that they couldn't follow the story line. This I can understand because the story is about Criss, his life experiences & his emotions. I suspect that one would have to know Criss & his personal history to get the full impact of the story line. They may want to work on that aspect of the show in order to satisfy a broader audience. It needs to be done so that even those who have never heard of Criss Angel can follow & enjoy the story. Even then, I think, everyone will have their own, personal interpretation of the story. It's like an intense fairy tale combined with a complex ballet production....where no two people will see it the same or feel it the same. That's the best I can describe it....and it's not just because I'm an Angel fan, either. Criss was ok individually....but the intensity of the show is a result of the whole emotionally-charged production and the ability of the players to draw you into their world, into their minds. But you have to be open to it....you have to be willing to give up your own world for a while and just let yourself go....allow yourself to FEEL. Unfortunately, there aren't enough people who are comfortable enough & secure enough in their own skin to be able to let down that wall of false security & feel the raw emotion of the moment. I pity those who are afraid to let themselves feel. They are missing out on the true beauty of life.
By keepnitfunky

10/9/08 at 6:46 p.m.

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I attended the September 30th and October 3rd Believe performances. I saw improvements from one show to the other, and I'm not sorry I went to either show.

I don't understand the harsh criticisms as the shows are previews and not yet finished. In fairness to the performers and other personnel staging the show, they haven't gotten to rehearse in the actual theater for very long due to recent changes to the fire codes and having to rebuild parts of the theater. I saw with my own eyes in August that construction was still ongoing. Rest assured that Criss Angel is a perfectionist, and he will make sure everything is perfect for the gala.

When watching Believe, you should allow yourself to feel and take in the experience as a whole without trying to pick it apart, paying attention to the story. You won't enjoy it if you're expecting it to be another episode of Mindfreak or another Cirque show. It's something new. It's an artfully done, theatrical production which uses illusions to help illustrate the storyline. It's similar to Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz. It's about a magician who gets hurt while performing on stage and while hanging between life and death has fantastical dreams or hallucinations of finding love, reaching for it and not getting it, getting it, and having it ripped away by death. There is so much that is visually stunning, the music is powerful and the dancing is wonderful. I laughed and I cried.

I'm looking forward to seeing the show again after the additional illusions are added and everything is fine tuned. I hope everyone will remember that what we're getting now is a "behind the scenes" look of sorts at the creative process, not a finished product.
By thiafrosso

10/10/08 at 2:34 p.m.

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I saw the second show of Criss' "Believe." Sitting 2nd row center was a dream come true for me. Even though the show was in it's preview stages and not yet perfected, I was totally enthralled by what I saw. The music was incredible, the dancers were breathtaking and Criss was beyond superb. I know he has some tweaking to do on it, but if the preview is any indication of how wonderful this show was, and is going to be, I will be returning year after year to see it. I already have a second trip planned in March. Criss Angel shines.
By peterc82

10/12/08 at 3:42 p.m.

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I was on holiday in Las Vegas from the UK and saw Believe on Fri 10th October.

I have to say it was rubbish. Perhaps Criss "Mindfreak" will chose to ignore the many people leaving before the end of the show. Or maybe he was too busy prattling on about his dreams coming true, name dropping J-Lo and Marc Anthony and telling the audience how he would appreciate any feedback on the show. The feedback was there to be seen and should be sending out alarm bells to Criss.

I went into the show with no expectations as I have not seen Mindfreak. A few clips were shown on the night and so I thought I was about to see something amazing. As it turned out none of the illusions were that great (he shouldnt have built himself up so much at the start of the show). I suspect I would probably enjoy his TV show but this show leaves alot to be desired.

I think Criss is perhaps a bit delusional at the moment if his comment in the above article is anything to go by. The reason people have a hard time responding to the illusion of him being cut in half, or in fact any of his other illusions, is that they were probably thinking they had seen all this before somewhere and were underwhelmed, like myself. Alot of the applause was half-hearted and seemed to be out of politeness with perhaps an expectation that something great would happen soon.

Criss says he has spent 15 years creating this show so I doubt he has enough time to wake up and fix the show before the grand opening.

I don't doubt Criss has put alot of thought and effort into the show but it just doesnt work. Especially any segment which involves dialogue as it resembles a school play in terms of both content and the way it is used to connect the whole thing together.

I think he should stick to TV where he seems to save his best illusions.

If anyone wants to see something truly amazing, go and see KA at MGM Grand, I dont think I will see anything like it again.
By LordAbinger

10/18/08 at 1:13 p.m.

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Criss Angel's Believe is quite simply the single worst thing ever committed to the stage under the banner of a "professional" theatrical production. After watching Believe, I sadly concluded that there was no simple way to salvage this awful show. All I could think is that they should keep the set, the costumes and the choreography and start from scratch. If Cirque and the Luxor should close down the show, give it a complete overhaul, and reschedule the opening for some time in the first quarter of next year.
The show has many flaws, but the two most unforgiving flaws are its star and the magic (what little there is) that he performs. Reality TV is Criss's domain, and he dominates it well, but he has never had experience performing in a professional, first-class theatrical setting (his previous show in the WWF theater in NY was small, and by no means could it be considered a "professional" theatrical endeavor), as a result, the "star" of this show sticks out like a sore thumb when it comes to stage presence, movement, and just the basic ability to look like a professional performer. Criss needs to spend months in daily, intensive training with theater professionals, who can teach him how to stand, move and talk like a professional entertainer. The Cirque elements of the show are of the highest professional caliber, which only contributes to just how amateurish Criss comes across as a performer.
We could forgive Criss's lack of professionalism, if the magic were stunning. But it's not. In fact, it is some of the most poorly conceived and uninspired magic I have ever seen. This is Criss's fault. First, he painted himself into a corner with his TV show. Anyone with even a modest understanding of magic realizes that Criss can't do in public what he does on TV. Criss uses the camera in a masterful way to assist him in the illusions he performs, but without the audiences point of view being limited by the camera, Criss simply can't do live on stage the things he does on TV (he can do things similar to what he does on TV, but they will look less miraculous than what he does on TV). That being said, there is a world of incredible magic and illusions out there and dozens of professional magic consultants that could breathe life into this pitiful show, but Criss has not availed himself of them.
If you have tickets to the show, get a refund. If you've been a victim of this show, demand your money back. Letting the show open -- even in previews -- was, in my view, a negligent act by Cirque and the Luxor, and they should not be allowed to profit from their own negligence (I understand that the Luxor has given refunds to angry patrons). Don't spend your hard earned money on Believe, until Criss, Cirque and the Luxor show their fans and patrons the respect they deserve and reconstruct this theatrical atrocity from the top down
By inaquest

10/22/08 at 1:37 a.m.

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I just saw the show this evening (10/22). I must tell you that this was the most horrific show i have ever attended. i don't just mean most horrific vegas show. i mean even more horrific than grade school plays and dance recitals i have attended for family and friends.

There is NO WAY to salvage this show. I enjoy Criss's TV show. I enjoy other Cirque shows. However Criss and Cirque are a terrible combination. The music was so loud I had to cover my ears. The performers were positioned in odd places that blocked some of the audience's view of illusions.

I found myself checking my watch to see how soon the show would be over.

On the ride home our driver told us that he has heard many people report the same horrible reviews. He said he is curious to see Believe just to see how horrible it really is.

Bottom line...you only want to see this show if your truly want to see how horrificly terrible it really is.
By Peter67

11/4/08 at 5:35 a.m.

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This show was sad. We went to see the show on 10/26. The effects were lame. We were looking forward to seeing the show since we are fans of the show. He tried the man holecover trick. When he jumped into the hole he came out on a prefilmed movie on a big screen. We were in section 203 we had full view of the stage.
I believe he introduced his Mom and Aunt to make us feel bad and not boo him. I think this is the only trick that did work. If you look on the ticket he spelled believe.
BeLIEve
By goodhood

11/6/08 at 3:28 p.m.

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Any of the above reviews that were positive, had to have come from people with the show or Chris Angel. Check other reviews! This show is doo doo, and I am complementing by even saying that. Cirque holds up their end of the deal well enough, but not in a great way. The stage is beautiful, costumes good, clowns funny, imaginative well crafted video pieces. But I could throw a 10 year old a magic book from the library and in a week the kid could do the tripe Angel passes off as magic. Angel and friends should be ashamed, for taking people's money. I'm not being mean here. People have traveled from all over the world to see this drivel, spent their hard earned money, and walk out of the show feeling completely raped financially. I don't know how a show can, in good conscious, take peoples money like this. It's truly tragic. If it's magic you are looking for see ANYTHING other than this. Penn and Teller rock, so does Jeff Mc Bride, Lance Burton, heck, pick a C or D list magician, I promise you will be more entertained. If you want Cirque, see ANY one of their other shows. "Believe" is legally stealing your hard earned cash, they should hang their heads in guilt, for the robbery they are performing each night. Other than that, I thought it was great! ;-)