Criss Angel Falters a Bit with Believe

I know the press is trying to be more than fair about what is happening with this show, but come on…the truth is coming out clear as a bell lately.

That PR person for Criss Angel is stretching the truth a bit, going left of center, about Doug Elfman’s reporting. From all indications I see, Doug Elfman, the respected, award winning Las Vegas Review Journal reporter, didn’t look for people who saw this show to say anything negative nor positive. They came up to him. He reported it. And, to add credence to his objective and unbiased reporting, after he published his contacts with Criss Angel’s BeLIEve audience, MORE AND MORE comments came in about the show. And they also were not favorable at all. Doug Elfman carries more respect and believeability in just his pinky finger than Criss Angel does in his whole body! And from all indications, about 90 percent (roughly) of the comments stated it was horrible, something not up to the standards of quality entertainment supposed to be provided by casinos along the Strip here in Las Vegas who take pride in this peculiar ability to put together shows.

Additionally, because of the sheer volume of bad reviews by the public who attended these few previews, it appears that this show don’t need fine tuning. Cirque du Soleil needs to buy a whole new radio, then fine tune again. A show of this caliber and with that much money poured into it shouldn’t have all those problems thirty days before grand opening. And these problems don’t appear to be small things. They appear basically insurmountable. If Cirque du Soleil don’t do something, they are going to be referred to as Cirque du Stupidity.

In all fairness, and from all indications, it appears that Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil don’t gel together very well. Cirque is a respected entertainment company and on the other hand, you have them working with this magician who portrays himself as a “bad boy rock star” personae, a person who ever since he has appeared in Las Vegas has proved to be difficult, arrogant, clearly self centered, manipulative and exhibits attitudes and behaviors that border on criminal behavior. Need I remind you that back in April, during the Miss America Pageant, he threatened to blind another respected Las Vegas Review Journal reporter (Norm Clarke) and proved disruptive to the pageant. To this day, and here it is five months later, Criss Angel hasn’t apologized nor even commented about it, nor even acknowledged he was in the same city and planet where it happened at. His behavior here in Las Vegas is like a slap in the face of locals who live here. They clearly see this. And if the locals see this, tourists will also. Tourists are not dumb and can see what is going on. In turn, they will avoid this show like the plague, all except a younger crowd that follows him loyally and blindly, but as you know, targeting just this audience is not going to fill the show room for his show.

It is not anyone’s problem other than Criss Angel’s that he has drawn bad press to himself. This is clear from the way he has treated reporters in the past, and carried on now because from all appearances that he has shown, he goes out of his way to avoid them. Because he has totally screwed it up. Criss Angel is doing this stuff to himself. I say he needs to take his act somewhere else. Las Vegas don’t need him.

Could it be that Criss Angel’s personae off the stage is creating all of this negative buzz about the new Cirque show? If Las Vegas already had an issue with him–perhaps Cirque never should have partnered with him on this show. I truly doubt that Cirque would pump this much money into a new project if they knew it would be a flop.

Well, of course, Cirque du Soleil never would have partnered with Criss Angel “if they knew it would be a flop.” I’m sure Cirque is just turning inside out with stress about what is going down with the Believe show. Cirque has got to be assertive and make some executive decisions that will save this thing. I don’t envy them.

I seen the Criss Angel Believe show myself opening night Friday Sept. 26th. Where was his true friends to tell him how lame it was.
I keep hearing preview and it will be tweeked. It is majorly flawed. He sings and dances!! Not much magic and the stuff he does is not very exciting.
Nothing like Mindfreak and most of his fans want to see that and not Michael Jackson dancing.
To back up the vegas reporter, some people left early and most people were barely clapping. Alot of people were complaining and his fans were dissapointed. He sold out!!!!!!! Why the rap singing and stupid clowns during the whole show giggling very annoyingly!
There is no way this will last 10 years.

Our group went to Believe on Sept 30th and we all loved it! That night there was a standing ovation for Criss Angel and cast at the end of the performance. I think it’s the best show, the coolest on the Strip! Something new and outrageous! Enough hostility from the negative doom and gloomers - we love this art and we will see it again!

I am a huge fan of Criss Angel and I will admit that he seems to have a God-complex at times, but I sincerely think that it’s all apart of the image. He’s just a guy out there, trying to get his, like the rest of us, and this show is merely one aspect of that larger picture. As serious as Criss is about his career, I can’t imagine him not giving this show his all. At this point, I am going to give it the benefit of the doubt; if Criss and company say the show is being tweaked, than it is being tweaked. As someone who undertakes artistic endeavors myself, I understand what it is like putting everything on the line in order to express yourself. If you’re having difficulties, many people around you are going to see those difficulties and criticize you for them. What others don’t seem to realize is that art is constant process; if you really want it that bad, you will get better. Criss is an illusionist, not a Cirque performer; if he and the show are experiencing difficulties, than I think of that as a natural part of the “growing process”. I am going to Vegas this weekend and will be seeing Believe this Friday night. Even with all the bad reviews, I am stoked. I am keeping an open mind because it is a preview show that is obviously experiencing very normal growing pains. Either way, taking a weekend to go to Vegas and see a Cirque show featuring Criss Angel seems like a guaranteed good time when your daily schedule consists of working two jobs and going to school full time!

Stacy E., do let us know what you think. We just bought tickets for December, even though they guaranteed refunds if we cancel.

Saw this Cirque du so Lame show, “Believe” on Sept. 30 after the previously ticketed show was canceled. Should never have repurchased for another date! There are NO cirque attributes whatsoever in this stinky so-called “franchised” production. I predict they will close before Christmas. In NYC, “Wintuk” bombed last year and when they brought it back this year for the holiday season, they are practically giving away discounted tickets on TDF.org. That was the first rip off and now “BeLIEve” which is the furtherest thing from “magic” I have ever witnessed. Don’e belive me, go watch Chris Angel lipsynch to his “MindFreak” theame song!

Yuck!

I was too embarassed to join the others and demand my money back! I regret I wasted my time sitting through that crap!

Do not waste you money on this terrible show. If you are into old school magic with criss angel pulling pigeons out of his sleeves and dancers dressed up like bunnys and moles doing simple three step moves, than this might be an OK show for you to see. Really surprised that Cirque Du Soleil actually put their name with this show. We had people leave early during our show and only 5 people (most likely family and girls in front row who have a ulterior motive) gave him a standing ovation. This is nothing like his TV show….Mindfreak. He levitates 4 times during the show and gets pulled apart once but besides that their is NO magic and only boring dances. We had 4 out of 5 of us fall to sleep during this show. We feel sorry for the people who are going to pay full price for this show. If you have a choice please see KA, O, Love or Zumanity (we have seen all of these and they are nothing less than fantastic).

This show was really bad in fact it was boring,there are not enough tricks and needs more audience interaction. The price for the tickets was too high for what little entertainment it was. Chris has made a success from Mind Freak and should stay with that material. I wanted to be entertained with material I see on his TV show not some watered down magic mixed with Cirque du Soleil. Vegas has too many Cirque du Soleil shows and i think he should stay away from that Vegas fad. I understand protecting his material but to make the whole audience check their cameras with security then go through metal detectors then have a wand scan you i think is a little excessive. After the show the mess to get your camera back is just horrible . From a 0 to 10 I give this a 1 don’t waste your money people.

I saw it October 9. It was kind of like a cross between the Nutcracker Suite on mushrooms, and Alice in Wonderland on PCP. It was too loud, bright, bizzare, and annoying. There are these hobo clowns throughout the show that are nothing but annoying. There we few magic tricks, and none that Lance Burton couldn’t do in his sleep. The dancers were very out of step with each other. It reminded me of a bad version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.

My theory is that Criss is an average magician who has resorted to CGI and stooges for the levetation tricks between buildings, walking on water, etc., got wind of people’s growing suspicion, backed off from the CGI stuff, and now doesn’t quite know where to go. http://www.flixya.com/video/175027/How_Criss_Angel__Levitates_building_to_building

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME/MONEY!!!….Unfortunately, we paid an entire $165 for the tickets, and it was the worst show I had ever seen in Vegas. It was slow, boring, and several people around me were sleeping. What an expensive NAP!!!. I dont feel they should charge ANYTHING for this show, or lack thereof. I am shocked and surprised that Criss and Cirque BOTH allowed their reputations to be on the line with this “show”. When everyone around me are looking at their watches, squirming in their seats, and when leaving, you could actually see the boredom in their faces. I would have had more fun watching moss grow. I feel bad for Criss, because I have seen the television show, and think he is a good performer, AND after all, I guess pulling doves out of your sleeve like a common street performer seems like an act, I was just utterly shocked that he would allow his talent to be wasted like this. I hope they are paying you A LOT of money at the Luxor!!! Take the money and run Criss.. QUICKLY!!!!.

Lived here since 1993…have seen every show [literally] that has come and gone since I have lived here…lots of good ones and lots of bads ones…

BELIEVE is by far one of the worse shows I have seen. And whoever stated the audience gave a standing ovation, needed to scan that audience. There might have been maybe a total of 10 people standing. The rest of us were getting out of our seats to rush to the exit. Save your money…or better yet, go see one of the true Cirque shows in town. BELIEVE SUCKS.

I saw BeLIEve on Oct. 8th. This was my first trip to Vegas and my first Vegas show. I am from Myrtle Beach, SC and we have some pretty good shows, nothing I would compare to Cirque though. He would have been booed off the stage in Myrtle Beach! What a disappointment. I was a big fan of Angel. The illusions that he does on Mindfreak are nothing less than steller, but I will not watch anymore! The dancing was so, so. The magic was elementary. I paid $129 for a ticket. I would have rather played a few more hands of Blackjack…much more entertaining! We were sitting on the 7th row, stage right. At one part of the show they put a wheelchair at the front of the stage, You could actually see Criss crawl up from a hole in the stage then…tada! He magically appears, what a crock! At the end of the show he actually had the nerve to say, “Come on everyone, you know the words”, and proceded to sing the Mindfreak theme song. In the crowd you could have heard crickets chirping. After the show the audience barely clapped. I couldn’t wait to get out and have a drink to forget spending so much money on a piece of crap show. We were staying in the Luxor and had a great time, all except going to the Believe show. Don’t waste your money or time!!!

BELIEVE NOTHING! This was absolutely the worst show I have ever seen. I saw the 10/10 show. We were 5 girls and 4 of us fell asleep! To put it in a nutshell, you take a trip to hell with Criss. It’s awful. If anyone has tickets to an upcoming show, get a refund now. It is a waste of your hard earned money. If anyone has seen the show, call Kerry Farina, cirquedusoleil manger at 702-352-0223. I am trying to get a refund. I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

Just saw this show on the 14th. This was by far the worst show I have ever seen In Las Vegas. In 25 years seeing some good and some great shows in Las Vegas this one is an absolute waist of time and a complete rip-off of your hard earned money. Four of us traveled from San Deigo to see this show in particular. We were big fans of Chris’s tv show, but he has lost us for takeing our $500 plus dollars for this poorley put together and very boreing show. No one we spoke to after the show felt any different. They pointed out where the souvineer shop was after the show, but all anyone wanted to know was where is the refund window. Luxor and Chris Angel should be ashamed for takeing our money for this mess they called a show. Just got home, but will be on the phone Monday A.M. looking for a refund.

…saw the show, and although I am a HUGE fan of CA, must admit it was awful. To say it was cheezy is an accolade. *It should be noted that the show is in the preview stage, which purpose is specifically so the producers can see how audiences react and make changes. LOTS of changes. Like tons!

Criss Angel’s Believe is quite simply the single worst thing ever committed to the stage under the banner of a “professional” theatrical production. In fact, I have seen dozens of amateur productions that are exponentially better than the atrocity unfolding on stage nightly at the Luxor. I have been in the entertainment business for more than 20 years, and in that time I have been employed to sit through hundreds of preview performances, so that I could later give notes to the director, which he or she would then consider in getting the show ready for a hard opening. I have also worked on the production of several very large and complex magic shows. 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 aren’t deluding themselves (and I know that they’re not – Cirque is very worried about how this show will affect their reputation) they will 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. Criss Angel is a mega-reality TV star; reality TV is his domain, and he dominates it well. Criss has never had experience performing in a professional, first-class theatrical setting (and don’t point to his show in the WWF theater in NY – I saw it several times, and while it was decent, it 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. Unfortunately, all of the reality TV fame in the world won’t automatically result in the ability to grace a stage in the manner needed to come off as a professional stage entertainer. 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. Why has he not? For one, he has begun to believe his own press. Second, he refuses to pay for it (Criss is notoriously frugal when it comes to this stuff – the classic case of penny wise, pound foolish). Third, the few professionals he did contact to help him with the magic in the show were asked to sign ridiculous secrecy agreements that would prevent them from ever again using principles of magic that are hundreds of years old, if they worked with Criss on Believe. (And no, I have no personal axe to grind, I never was, and never wanted to be, involved with this show – but the magic community is a very small world, and I saw this silly agreement myself).
From a financial point of view, Believe is not likely to just close and go away. With the amount of money invested in the show to this point, it makes more sense to invest some more, fix it, and run it long enough to recoup the investment. The only trick will be getting this done in a manner that doesn’t kill Cirque’s, Criss’s and the Luxor’s reputation.
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). If you want to go see a good Cirque or Cirque-like show, go see Love, Le Reve or Zumanity. If you want to go see a good magic show, go see Lance Burton, Nathan Burton or Jeff McBride at Palace Station. 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.

The show was a terrible disapointment!!!It was difficult to discern what the theme was until the very end of the show, as the acts were so disjointed and seemingly unrelated. Criss is a great illusionist as his TV and street performances attest. However, his methods were blatantly obvious: ie: trap doors, wires etc.in the show. It seems as though Cirque is in the process of taking over Vegas, and too much of a good thing is not good. Let Criss do what he does best…alone and without the big production numbers foisted upon him.

I saw the show this weekend, Saturday night at 7pm. We spent around $350 for three seats and are huge fans of the show. Cirque and CA sounds like it would be great. I even poo poo’ed the bad reviews. They must be haters! Wow, was I wrong! I love the tv show, but it was bad! The clowns have to go- they were pushy before the show to the audience. You want the show to start just so they can go away! I guess they are taking the “Cirque” theme too far. No theme at all, and the dancing was pretty poor unless you like twitching movements by oddly clothed performers. At least the Beatles love show has a theme, and the theme is the song lyrics. This show should be called “I can’t BELIEVE how bad this is.” You know it’s bad when at the end of the show, CA encouraged everyone to stand up . Without that, there would be no “standing ovation.” There was actually a Luxor worker who was asking people how the show was as they left. My response was “so so.” That was about the reaction of the people walking around as they left the show. The luxor worker handed me two free drink passes, to drink away the embarrasment I had for CA. Now, would a good show station a worker outside a show to liquor up the annoyed audience? Hell no! The stage set is beautiful but I’ve seen these stunts on TV for free. The theatrics overstaged and outshined CA and his amazing abilities. By the time he would do a stunt, it was overshadowed by all the Cirque performers and costumes and animatronic bunnies. And, a large TV screen. If I wanted to watch cool Mindfreak like stunts, I could have seen it on TV. If I wanted great Cirque du Soleil, I could have watched the other Cirque shows in Vegas. But don’t think the two together work. Sorry Luxor, seems you are out a lot of money. Sorry for me, I’m out a lot of money too.

My wife and I went to Vegas and saw Believe on October 20th and we are of course huge fans of Criss Angel as well as all the Cirque shows. We have seen 8 Cirque shows and we hated I repeat (hated) Believe. I feel that the magic was basic tricks and one other thing about the show that no one mentioned is that Criss might be able to escape from a wet paper bag, but he can’t act his way out of a wet paper bag to save his life.
The worst actor on a stage show I have ever seen in my life and I see everything and have never written a review but this show has upset me so much I couldn’t help myself. The moment he spoke I wanted to leave. He actually mentioned hey I just read the lines I don’t write them.
The last thing I would like to say is I believe I am owed as well as the thousand of people that see this show there money back $300 dollars wasted and also it was a Preview show which I was not told when I bought them.
I wish this show would just vanish.
Cirque should be very ashamed.
The only good part of the show was the midget magician clown.

James
A huge fan never again.

Saw the 10/30 show, and if you are expecting “Mind Freak” then you are misguided. How could you do that show on a Vegas stage, so your logic is off if you bitch about there being “no magic”. The show was macabre and the music and costumes were great. If you expect to see Criss performing Mind Freak, then don’t go. If you want a bit of dark, interesting theatre, then do go. Don’t listen to some Vegas critic and take his word for it, go see for yourself and stop being a lemming!

A lemming? Have you seen the reviews for the show? It is not one Vegas critic ripping this piece of @#%! show apart. It is many many people. If the show is horrible then people have their right to voice their opinion. I saw the show on the first day and was quote on a paper saying it was horrible. Why? Because it was. Criss Angel has the stage prescence of a rock on stage. So, I spoke up and said it was a horrible show. If it would have been the other way around then I would have praised it. That was the first day. If you see on the internet, bad reviews from different people are coming in daily! So, its not one person saying bad things, it is many people who paid to see that piece of crap and are voicing their opinion. Since CA doesn’t perform magic I am sure that Cirque will, they will make CA dissapear as fast as he appeared.

We saw the 7pm show on Oct 21st and it sucked. We’ve seen many Cirque shows and expected much better. We’re disgusted we spent money on the best seats available. Cirque should be ashamed to be associated with this production….

For the poster “Diane”:

You posted here on 10/23 that you “saw the 10/30″ show”

Crap packaged anyway, is still crap and stinks. ALL 85 million worth.

Sorry, this (un)BeLIEvable excuse for entertainment just does NOT work, no matter what CA blabs aboutt or how much money is thrown at it.

Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.

I am telling EVERYONE I meet about my experience and to stay the hell away from this crap….and the Luxor for aiding and abetting with this scam and rip off!

Sorry Criss - you bombed big time. I saw your show last night with my wife, spending $300 on tickets with the expectation of seeing an incredible show. After all, I told my wife, how can you go wrong with Criss Angel and Cirque du Soleil? Well, I was wrong, I admit it, and you should too - before you lose your fan base. I even felt embarrassed for your aunt and mother who were in the audience. You’ve got the skills and the talent - believe in yourself and stick to your core strengths. “Holy $*it now that’s a mind freak” is not going to work as the big finale.

Does he say, “Holy $*it now that’s a mind freak” as part of the finale? When I saw the show he said “Believe” at the end. I thought he was putting in 1 more illusion at the end, and there is still 1 more to come for the Gala.

Either way when I saw it on the 6th I thought it was great even before the changes that were put in. It was definately worth every penny of my $600.00 that is spent, and I will gladly see it again when I go back. Thanks Criss you and Cirque have made a spectacular show!

We just saw the show this on 10/20, after they said they’ve made many changes…let me tell you, they need to completely rework that show. We are avid Criss Angel fans, as well as Cirque fans, so we were so looking forward to this show. It seemed like it could be the best of both worlds. There was very little true magic in the show, and what there was of it were tricks we’ve already seen him perform or some modification of them. Cirque did very little of the contortions and high-wire acts we’ve seen of them…instead the show is trying to take a dramatic flare, lots of dancing and talking on stage. The idea behind the show, almost a ‘Wizard of Oz’ type of theme, with a dream sequence, was extremely corny and embarrassing…we couldn’t believe this is something that Criss Angel would want put out with his name on it. We were very upset we spent over $300(!) on this show and wish we could have gotten our money back. There were actually people falling asleep in the audience. Do not waste your money on this show.

Comment to Sam - yes, the “finale” of the 10/26 show started with Criss explaining what the whole show was about because no one got it. He sounded like Judy Garland at the end of the Wizard of Oz telling everyone around her about her dream - “and you were in it too” Criss yelled out to us, then saying “Holy $*it, now that’s a mind freak”. We could not believe it. If the 10/26 show was an improvement then I’m glad I didn’t see earlier performances. I feel sorry for Criss, especially with his Mom, Aunt Shirley and Craig Ferguson in the audience. I truly hope he can turn it around because I believe he’s a genuine person trying to do his best.

Rick, WOW!!! all Ican Say is WOW!!! That is not what he did at my show, and I had alreday figured it out that he was in a dream from another scene that was inthe show. I agree with you I really hope they get this figured out because he is a genuine person and I know that he has worked very hard to get this production together. Good Luck Criss I hope all goes well on Friday.

I saw Believe on Oct 25th and I cannot BELIEVE I paid money for it! My family are huge Criss Angel fans. We watch the show and this is the second time in one year that I traveled to Vegas and went to see his store at the Luxor. I thought going to his show would be the hightlight of our trip. I was actually contemplating leaving the show. I realize it was a Cirque show… but with Criss Angel as the “headliner” I thought his mindfreak stuff would be a part of the show. Well… it wasn’t. The magic he did could have been done by my five year old. The best part of the show was the first five minutes when he was interacting with the crowd. This is what average people like myself want. The true Criss being himself. Not some lame dance moves with a tease of a magic trick. Absolutely not worth the money. I would not recommend this to anyone.

I saw the show on 10-25-08. It was so bad. So so bad. The worst show I have ever seen. I had to laugh because I could not “Believe” it. They state that “The show is a fantastic journey, an out of this world roller-coaster ride into the subconscious of a man with magical powers”. Magical?? There was very little magic, he made a few birds appear - WOW! And he was cut in half - AMAZING. What type of journey are they referring to? From where I was sitting I saw a few folks making a journey out of there before the show was even half over. This show was all bout his ego. Criss tries to act and falls flat. It was so very bad I don’t know how they can recover. At the end Criss gives a speech about how you can work hard and “Believe” in yourself and you too could have a show in Vegas….Please, we all paid to see a show. Not Criss stroking his ego. MY GOD, had he really had this dream for 15 years? That’s sad…

I was tempted to demand my money back but it was not the money I was upset about, it was my time. That can never be recovered.

This show proves a few things: Criss Angel needs to fire everyone around him telling him how great he is - this show will ruin his career. WHO bombs this bad in VEGAS?? AND if your a magician, stick to what your good at.

I saw the 10:00 pm show at the Luxor on 10/13/08…This was really bad. I Idolize Criss Angel, and am a big fan of the Mind Freak. The first 15 minutes is great when Criss is himself and talks and interacts with the audience, then he prepares for a stunt where he plays with electric voltage, and gets zapped…and we enter his “mind” then this show goes down hill from there.

The problem is he only a few magic tricks like play with birds, gets sawed in half, walks down a curtain and levitates…thats about it…the rest of the time a bunch of people dressed up like rabbits are dancing around him. and those stupid fat skinny and short clowns are retarded. Its too much art, not enough magic, I wanted more Mind Freak like Stunts. Criss Angel is not an actor, a singer, or a dancer…anyone hoping to see a magic show needs to see Mac King or Nathan Burton…

And to top it off, you had to check in your camera with security, so after a very bad show, where Criss starts singing at the end, and encourages the audience to sing along (no one was singing, they were all leaving) it took me another 1/2 hr to get in the “camera line” to reclaim my camera…

I saw the 7pm show on 10/26.

This show is, hands down, the worst “professional” performance I have ever seen on stage. The only highlight that stood out were the pre-show antics of the clowns… had I known that prior to the show starting, I would have walked out and saved myself 2 hours of boredom and confusion.

My tickets were free and I still feel cheated. I can only imagine how people how paid several hundred dollars must feel.

I beg of anyone that reads this, SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY. I wish to God I had looked up reviews online before going, or I would have too.

My fiance and I went to see “beLIEve” on 10/17. We had attended Cirque’s “Zumanity” the night before and loved it. We were absolutely stunned after watching ” beLIEve” stunned at how absolutely terrible it was. The theater was impressive and you beLIEve you are going to be WOWed. Then the wierd hobo clowns start walking around the audience…they were not entertaining and i figured they were just there to warm up the audience and keep up from being bored before the show started..turns out they were part of the entire show. Criss comes out and toots his own horn talking about how great his MINDFREAK show is and actually shows a short video of clips from his MINDFREAK show,,,ok,,,I like the MINDFREAK show which is part of the reason why I spent over 200 bucks to see THIS show. And then the nightmare begins…his show includes mediocre dancing around a bloody dead rabbit…LAME magic tricks…i could not “believe” he was pulling doves out of a handkerchief..the story line was just bizarre and plainly not entertaining…in one scene he pretends to chase his “bride” into a video screen….he runs from behind one end of the screen and emerges from the other end wearing a different color suit. He does this about 5 times…I guess we were supposed to be WOWed that he somehow changes suit colors in about 7 seconds. He actually looks at the audience as he is doing this as if to say ” HOW ABOUT THAT! WOW HUH? ” Thankfully…after checking my watch…it ended…several teenage girls did stand and applaud…im sure they would have been thrilled if he came out on stage and stood there for an hour and a half. That would have been more entertaining. Fortunately, a teenage girl fan base will not keep this stinker staying on the strip for very long. Save your money and go down to Freemont st for the incredible video screen and the big party atmosphere.

I could go on and on like some of the other folks on here, but really….they’ve said it all….this show S U C K S!

My first time in Vegas for myself and my wife who decided to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary there. We spent a lot of time deciding whch show to go see. We finally decided on Criss Angel and plunked down over $200.00 of our hard earned money. After the show ( if you can call it that) we felt raped! We felt robbed! That had to be wothout a doubt the poorest excuse of a ” show” that we have ever experienced! I really want our money back! Criss and and the Luxor have insulted our intelligence by allowing this crap on stage! just because of this I will return to Vegas but will never step foot in the Luxor again! I hope someone is listening, please don’t let this gigantic waste of money and time go on any longer! Anyone and everybody who is involved with the production and promotuion of this most terrible act should truly be ashamed of themselves!

I wish I would have saw the reviews before wasting my money on this show. I was there Nov. 3. Criss was out of breath within 3 seconds of appearing. I love mind freak, but this show was horrible. As mentioned before, there was minimal magic and what there was a 12 year old could replicate. So I thought, well maybe younger kids might like it, then I realized he was swearing a lot. Criss Angel may be cool on TV, but he is no actor. When I saw the Tesla coils I was like “cool this show is going to be awesome”, then the fake injury and him humping the ground (supposedly he was electricuted and shaking on the ground, but it really looked like he was having an affair with the stage). It was bad from the get go and I was hoping someone would say lets get out of here, but we stayed till the dismal end. The choreography was great …Wade Robson is the shit, and the backgrounds were awesome. You know a show sucks when someone asks how it was and you say, “Well, the sets were cool.” I’m sorry, but I don’t know how this will last for 10 years. I was left with a headache and an empty wallet…Wow! That’s magic.

This show is by far one of the worst I have seen. As concierge of the Luxor, I have seen everything on the strip. This show was ridiculous. I would watch Hans Klok again, before I would sit through this mess again. I hate that I have to reccommend this garbage as it is in my own hotel.

I have tickets for 2 weeks from now… was anyone able to get a refund?

DISASTER!
The best illusion was seperating me from my $300 and two hours of my life that I will never get back.

His magic was full of holes…. body doubles who would hide their face (at least use someone who actually looks like him), lighting which cast shadows on the theatre side walls exposing the apparatus used to allow Criss to walk down a fabric wall; an audience plant who was “randomly” picked to reveal a word that Criss had dreamed of and sealed in a box weeks before (the wrist band he threw into the crowd had a wire attached to it); The use of trap doors to disappear, at one point the curtain dropped and you could clearly see his head disappearing under the stage; and worst of all… the fake rubber torso he put on for the cut in half stunt….. I was 15 rows back and it was so obvious that people around me were laughing.

This show needs a serious retooling….. my prediction, gone by the end of the year.