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.