On the red carpet for “Viva Elvis,” Perez Hilton told me he had heard Criss Angel can not be fired by contract. I have heard similar things. But any contract can be bought out. And, anyone who runs afoul of casino regulators is going to be out of a resort showroom. And, a show that is losing money can be closed and another opened. So, while it may be difficult for Cirque to rid themselves of Criss Angel nothing is impossible. “Believe” with Criss Angel remains at Luxor and as awful as the production is to experience must have one thing going for it: a star who still draws people to the theater.
I have argued for awhile that “Believe’s” mix of Cirque and magic is a failure on grounds too deep for an easy resolution including an extreme step like replacing Criss Angel with a different headliner.
The problem with “Believe” was always that magic creates wonder out of the mundane world. But there is nothing realistic about Cirque’s stages or performers. If you have a good seat and are paying close attention you may notice in one incarnation of “Believe” that the Cirque aerialists had ropes and the lighting helps make Criss Angel appear to fly. Would that impress you? Of course, not.
So, Cirque looks like they are moving “Believe” more towards a traditional magic show. Norm reports today that the dancers are being let go when their contracts are up. I have heard from numerous sources that more tricks are being added to Believe. I think this is a good move for Cirque. With “Viva Elvis” Cirque embraced Elvis Presley’s Vegas legacy by offering onstage spectacle, creating frivolous eye candy along with pure myth in place of history. This is perfectly fitting for a man who announced himself to a Vegas audience with “Thus Spoke Zarathustra:” myth and camp in equal measures. “Viva Elvis” has no inclination to experiment. Rather, “Viva Elvis” just has more of what audiences enjoy about Vegas shows.
Similarly, Cirque appears to be returning to “Believe” with a new acceptance of the lesson learned from “Viva Elvis” (and to a lesser extent “Love): each show no longer needs to carry the baggage of artistic message. This was a challenge that “Mystere” and “O” could rise to meet but seemed strained and frayed when applied to “Ka” and “Zumanity,” But more than any other show, the attempt to offer Criss Angel as as theater art rather than a celebrity magician on stage made “Believe” not only bad but ridiculous. Perhaps, looking back, we should admire Cirque’s constant ability to create beauty and entertainment, and neither they nor us should have expected to also see aesthetic development along the way. That attempt to reach for art is where “Believe” belly flopped worst.
With “Viva Elvis,” Cirque, like Cindy Lauper, has learned it is okay to just want to have fun. Having a celebrity vehicle with “Believe” is another reality Cirque now seems ready to embrace. Dial back the ambition and “Believe” can be a mindless fun magic show benefiting from Cirque’s knowledge of theater instead of the awful patchwork of mediocre trickery, MTV style dancing, and a symbolic acting out of some pathology best expressed to a psychiatrist and not in front of theater fans.
If “Believe” embraces being a magic show with some Cirque staging touches, perhaps, then, it can stand out enough to find a niche in Vegas. Angel may not be the best magician for the job compared to Lance Burton. But he is a draw at the box office and “Believe” 2.0 appears likely to be a smaller, more clearly celebrity dependent vehicle as well as a more traditional magic show.
For more on “Viva Elvis,” please check out my story on The Daily Beast.
(Photo: Lanie Crossman)
as long as his “fixation” is on me for a while when I’m in LV..it’s all good.. LMAO
This is getting ridiculous.
This “fixation” of ditching the dancers and other cast members is a clear signal that this show didn’t work. To tell the truth, I feel sorry for these soon-to-be former employees if they end up in the unemployment line.
So, it didn’t work, but they still thrown their money behind Criss Angel. Because just his name on the marquee is a draw. And I bet the changes, if there are in fact any changes, are all based on Criss Angel ideas. The show didn’t work, so why does Cirque du Soleil STILL cast their lot behind someone who failed before? And still let him make the decisions?
It don’t matter if it’s 1.0, 2.0 or 8.7, it is pretty much a lock that it will likely fail again. It is just a progression of excuses of “soft opening”, “fixation”, etc.; not to mention Cirque du Soleil everytime they turn around, they have to make an excuse for some kind of stupidity their star headliner does. And they do it knee jerk-like. They don’t even look at what happened, they just stammer around and come up with an excuse, any excuse will do, because their cash cow is more important.
I don’t understand where Cirque du Soleil learned business. Something fails, and fails badly, and the answer is to change it around, throw more money at it, continuing their bad press and loss of money even more, then stand back and wring their hands and fret about if it will work? There is too much emphasis on putting their money behind a hack that can’t entertain. The tourists will continue to pay for those douchebags at Cirque du Soleil’s poor business decision.
“Fixation.” Yeah. Right. Sure.
I feel sorry for the future tourists that will come to Las Vegas who pay tickets and have to suffer through a new show that most likely will suck like the previous one did. Doesn’t matter what version it is, it’s pretty much guaranteed “the new, improved version” still will be lacking.
If you’re right, I think the direction might actually work. It sounds like it would also make the show cheaper to stage (since they seem to be reducing payroll). Honestly though, I saw O after I saw Ka and the revised Le Reve, and I though it was the weaker of the three –but perhaps I was just judging on pure spectacle (of which Ka is on its own level).
On a more serious note… This decision makes me (and lots of other fans of Criss Angel) very happy. Criss has always been successful when given complete creative control. No disrespect to Cirque because they are amazing but I have been waiting to see more Criss and less Cirque.
Mary_Believe
Give it up! Criss is with that 15 year old girl from his show Sandra. He is going to marry her.
For Mary_Believe-get over your FAN fixation about Criss Angel, and concentrate more on your OWN marriage and raising your 2 daughters. Your behavior on CAs timeline is GROSS. You may have pretty eyes but so do MILLIONS of other girls, but you basically have NOTHING ELSE. I would rather see CA with Holly again, than with your LOW CLASS A***S!! And if CA has any bodyguards (which I never see him surrounded by anymore), they BETTER EARN THEIR PAYCHECKS when this broad comes to town in about 2-3 weeks!!
Back to the topic – Im sure most of CAs dancers will end up at Elvis Live. The last time I saw the show a few months back, the balcony was empty and people who bought those seats were upgraded to fill in seats in the first 10 rows (those poor people who actually PAID FOR THOSE GOOD SEATS, I feel bad for, they should have just bought cheap seats and been upgraded FOR FREE).
Criss is a good magician, but so are 6 other magicians who work Vegas. Personality-wise = ZERO. I like Cirque. I feel without the GLITZ that Cirque brings, CAs show may just turn into another afternoon kiddie magic show, charging HUGE prices. Except for his LOYALS (who follow him fanatically, like the Jonas Bros. fans and are about the same age, except for that psychotic Mary above)
Anyone think of moving David Copperfield to Luxor and moving Criss to the smaller theater at MGM? Since its all one big family, why not put your $$$ behind a PROVEN LEGEND – David.
What about it Luxor?? (a hotel I never stay at because its COVERED in CA loyals, who just spend their days wandering around the Luxor looking for him), and because its too far at the end of the strip to get anywhere else, without spending $$$ in cabs.
This article has no bearing to who he is involved with personally.
Who he dates is private. It seems childish and silly to have posters comment about his love life whenever Richard is posting an article of the work itself. Get over it and move on please. Better yet, focus on your own personal lives and loves and worry less about who Criss Angel is sharing his time and bed with.
So true WTF, hes already been linked with enuf LOSERS that almost DESTROYED his career. Maybe that is whats supposed to happen, the skanks destroy what is left.
Holly Madison destroyed his fan base. I used to be a fan until he paraded that bimbo around. I know for a fact that he lost alot of his fan base for banging such a whore.
Hope the bang was the best he ever had.
Just saw Believe. How unbelievable bad it was. The greatest trick of all: CA got me to believe he was actually a magician until now!
Seriously. Beautiful sets, excellent sound, and the worst magic show I’ve ever seen. Were the Cirque performers the ones who made him look bad or was it a collaborative effort? Does it matter?
It’s fair to say there was not a single illusion in the entire night because you could not only tell how every single “trick” was executed, you could see the performers screw up as they fumbled through them. Sad.
If CA couldn’t pull off the tricks in this show, then it’s easy to deduce that his illusions on TV must be the result of very clever editing. I now have the enduring joy of being free of thinking CA is cool.
Having paid to see Believe, I should feel insulted by the pedestrian and amateurish performance, but I have done nothing but laugh about it since Saturday night.
Jason you sound defensive. WTF? The only thing that Marybelieve has that you dont is a friendship with Criss. Bothers you doesnt it. I love how that spirals people into the ground. You know what they say when you leave your husband at home: when the cats away the mouse will play. Have fun Mary.
Thanks Tom… I am SURE I will have a blast “playing” in the coming weeks! hehe Viva LV….
Yes Criss is very much still involved with Sandra. She isn’t a teenager anymore she just turned 21. Expect for Sandra to be his love of his life for a long time.
Let’s move on this article is not about his love life.
Mary_Believe try to find yourself a real guy. I feel bad that you are so stuck in this fantasy.
HAHAHAHA – hear that?? That’s me having the last laugh…. I always will.
I thought Criss was dating that girl Sandra? Why was he in a club then with Carrot Top last week and it was reported that Criss was making out all night with a Party Chick?
Poor Sandra.
The first time I saw BeLIEve (2nd row) in Dec. 2008 the show was sold out and the audience was was tremendously enthusiastic. Only a few people gave Criss Angel a standing ovation, but most seemed quiet happy at the show’s end. The next night I saw David Copperfield at the smaller MGM Hollywood Theater. I was shocked to see so many empty seats, although I thought he put on a great show (I was in the front row). I’d say the two were equally matched as magicians.
Ouch why is Criss Angel dating that kid from his show Sandra? Is there any women in their 30′s that want to be with him or is he into KIDS?
Stupid me I thought that was his Niece’s girlfriend hahaha or maybe Criss’ daughter but for SURE NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND Oh my!
Truth be told that teenager Sandra is his girlfriend.
Get over it.
Richard,
I have been following the reviews of Believe since it has opened. The reviews are bad. Can you tell me how a show remains when it is obviously a flop? Will this show and Criss Angel continue for the 10 years?
Jeff
Are you kidding the show is GREAT. Criss is Great.
I notice that nobody talks much about Criss Angel these days. Why is that? Besides he turned many off by dating that SKANK HOLLY MADISON.
Not true, Soup Is Good.
The reason why most of us locals and the press don’t talk about him is because….we’re embarassed. Embarassed that a below-any-Las-Vegas-showroom-standard stage production is still running. And it’s still charging full price tickets. Tickets that are definitely not worth the price for this high school production presentation.
You don’t believe me? Go to yelp.com, type in search for “criss angel believe” and “las vegas, nv.”
This will call up comments about this show. By tourists who went and witnessed this piece of shit. Right now, as I’m typing this, there are 207 reviews. And just about 99 percent of the comments are unfavorable, complaining they were taken advantage of and ripped off by false advertising.
And of these 207 reviews, the average rating of this horrible show is one and a half stars. And this is on a scale of five (five being the best review a commenter can give).
And to prove that it is probably worse than that…ever since that show has started at the Luxor, the ratings on yelp.com only went as high as two stars and below. In other words, this show has NEVER, EVER been even considered…average.
This is a good gauge of what this show is about. It’s horrible! Plain and simple.
It’s so bad that other magicians and entertainers in Las Vegas make fun of Criss Angel. All the time. It is a consensus that show drags down the quality of entertainment in Las Vegas. Period.
But when you explain this to die hard Criss Angel fans, it’s like trying to explain the actually topography of the entire world to card carrying members of the Flat Earth Society. They disagree and circle the wagons and point at Holly Madison is to blame and delve into Criss Angel’s personal life and treat him like a rock star or what color toilet paper he uses or something idiotic like that.
This show is so bad that Mr. Richard Abowitz here has probably abandoned any and all potential future plans to go see this show. Because Criss Angel and them assholes at Cirque du Soleil keep blathering nonsense using flowery words like “fixation” and “artistic work in progress” to change this show…when Richard KNOWS they are just saying that and it’s a waste of time to go see something he pretty much knows is probably going to be the case.
In action and deed, those people at the Luxor only go through the motions and talk a good game, but they don’t do anything about this show. They let Criss Angel do what he wants. To Cirque du Soleil, to spend more money on advertising and painting a picture of this show as favorable are FAR MORE important that fixing this shipwreck. They are in cahoots. Joined at the hip. It’s a cash cow and they will do ANYTHING for Criss Angel. Even make up excuses when he cusses people out or does other stupidity.
So, I hate to say it, but we’re stuck with this idiot. And STILL the customers will suffer by the false advertisement, paying for a show that is absolutely horrible.
The only shining light in this whole story is that I have done my best. And I still continue to do my best in informing tourists to avoid this show like the plague. Keep your money in your pocket. Don’t spend it on that asshole.
And I have hurt this show. I know that other workers along the Strip also do this.
So day after day, we chip away at the stone. Telling people so they can be informed and wisely spend their money somewhere else.
We send people away.
Eventually, we’ll break this show. And break it ONLY to help tourists.
That’s how things are done in Las Vegas.
Just the way it is.
Colinfromlasvegas,
Thanks for responding. I wasn’t aware of yelp.com thanks for telling me about it. I went to that site and read the reviews. Ouch! they are bad you are so right.
I was very shocked to read them. Criss Angel seems like such a sweetheart of a man. I used to follow him all the time until he started dating Holly Madison. The neck bites going back and forth between them and Holly Madison being a walking advertisement for him made me lose total interest. When I finally decided to check up on him again I didn’t see much about him so that is why I posted asking.
I hate to see somebody fail and I do help he brings his ratings up. For him to come so far he must have talent.
In terms of his “die hard fans” as you referred to them, it has always been my opinion that because Criss Angel dates girls 20 years younger then him it gives hopes to these “die hard fans” that maybe they could have a chance with him. I think maybe just maybe if he acted like a grown up and dated real ladies over the age of 30 more adults would respect him and his following will be more of mature adults then these kids.
Although I can see you are NOT a Criss Angel fan I do wish him the best and hope to read more positive things about him in the future.
Criss I will be coming to Vegas soon for you my love. Get rid of that teenager Sandra you are dating. I will show you what a real woman has to offer.
Sandra makes you look like you can’t get a real woman just a child.
How is Criss’ show doing now?
I have seen some of CAs TV show and thought I’d check him out in Vegas over New Years 2011.
I am in 40s…went with sis in 30s and parents in 60s. The sound and stage were cool. Art direction was great.
However, we were very disappointed in the ‘magic’. You can see the wires, the doubles, and how the tricks/illusions are done. And the stripping of the art in the cirque dancers leaves teh stage bare many times.
The big trick of cutting the woman in half….? So, what… Anyone can cut someone in half..he didn’t put her back together in the act. So, he cuts a woman in half and then jokes about needing a new person. What is that? Magic..? Magic would be putting her back together again.
It was lame lame lame….we saw CarrotTop and enjoyed him much more.
Maybe CA is for kids who can’t see the tricks and are impressionable enough to beLIEve…
We saw Believe last October. I rather enjoyed the show, not being a CA fan, I did not know what to expect, nor had I read any reviews before attending.
As far as who he dates, who cares…..we all have bigger fish to fry.
After reading all these reviews, I was more concerned for the people who have found a “fixation” on this performer, spewing out venom over obvious jealousy.
You can say what you wish, but the fact remains….middle class kid with a dream, worked tirelessly to become a world famous entertainer…whether the show at the Luxor fails or gains momentum the fact remains that most of the reviewers do not stand a snowball’s chance in hell to have their name in lights and receive millions for their art and or talent, and I bet that bites the ass with reverence….
The fact remains that no matter if that show closed it’s doors tomorrow Criss Angel set out to prove to himself he could fulfill his dream and by all accounts from what I have seen thus far, he has done just that.
If he disappeared tomorrow I dare to say, he would probably look back and say “what a sweet ride it was”.