Criss Angel Believe was the sixth Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, which premiered at the 1,600-capacity Believe Theatre inside the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas in 2008. It is a theatrical production created in partnership of Cirque du Soleil and magician Criss Angel, who was billed as the "co-writer, illusions creator and designer, original concept creator and star" of the show. The show had its final performance on April 17, 2016, being replaced by Criss Angel Mindfreak Live on May 11 of the same year.
History Development
Angel claimed to have been developing aspects of the show for over 15 years. He originally tried to develop the show for a Broadway run, as well as other casinos, but nothing came to fruition. Eventually, Believe came together when he entered a partnership with Cirque du Soleil and the Luxor's parent company, MGM Mirage Resorts, which financed the show with $100 million. The partnership marked the first time Cirque built a show around an individual performer.
After the failure of the musical Hairspray at Luxor, MGM Mirage signed with Cirque to install a new show for the theater by 2008, the sixth Cirque show on The Strip.Richard Abowitz, Criss Angel's Vegas Magic, LATimes.com, March 20, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008. That show became the partnership with Angel, which was formally announced on March 22, 2008, in a press conference with MGM Mirage and Cirque executives, and Angel that included an awkward speech by the latter.Norm Clarke, NORM: Puck menu caters to animal lovers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 23, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Richard Abowitz, Angel's illusion of corporate bonding, LATimes.com, June 15, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008. The title was announced in a press release on April 17.Richard Abowitz, Cirque announces Criss Angel's Believe, LATimes.com, April 17, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008. During this period, Angel received bad press from incidents during the Miss USA 2008 contest. After his then-girlfriend, Miss Nevada, was eliminated, Angel was filmed on NBC giving the finger; afterward he threatened Las Vegas Review-Journal gossip columnist Norm Clarke over negative press regarding his actions earlier in the competition: Angel told Clarke, who had an eye removed and wears an eyepatch, "Don't ever write another word about me, or you'll need an eyepatch over your other eye."Norm Clarke, NORM: So, that's why it's titled 'Mindfreak', Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 13, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Richard Abowitz, Criss Angel freaks on one-eyed journalist after Miss USA pageant, LATimes.com, April 14, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008. Angel refused to apologize and later denied the incident ever occurred, despite an assertions from several including the Review-Journals publisher.Richard Abowitz, Criss Angel ignores chance to retract threat, LATimes.com, April 15, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Sherman Frederick, Threats from Criss Angel, Las Vegas Review-Journal Blogs, April 18, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Richard Abowitz, Local scribe predicts problems for Cirque over Criss Angel, LATimes.com, April 24, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Steve Friess, Criss Angel: I Didn't Threaten Norm, Vegas Happens Here, May 19, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.
Angel described the show as "[A]bout my life. It's Alice in Wonderland. It's The Wizard of Oz. Mindfreak. It's about the demons in my head, the good that's out there, the angels and love and lust—all that stuff mixed up." Cirque selected Serge Denoncourt as director and co-writer, a somewhat counterintuitive selection since he explicitly disliked magic. Denoncourt stated that he was "trying to direct a show for people who love it but also for people like me who hate magic".
Originally planned for a summer 2008 opening, more than $5 million in advance tickets were sold. After several delays, the show had was set for a gala opening on October 31, 2008 with preview shows in late September.Richard Abowitz, Cirque and Angel's 'Believe' delayed , LATimes.com, June 30, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Richard Abowitz, Previews of Criss Angel's 'Believe' delayed again , LATimes.com, September 2, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Richard Abowitz, Breaking news: More delays for Angel's 'Believe' , LATimes.com, September 13, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.
Reception Audience reactions to the initial preview performance were thoroughly negative.Richard Abowitz, Sneak at Criss Angel's 'Believe' , LATimes.com, September 29, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Doug Elfman, Angel's 'Believe' magic: Miffed fans disappear, Las Vegas Review-Journal, September 29, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008. The show opened to equally harsh reviews, citing a lack of the magic Angel is known for as well as a confusing and uninteresting theme; reviewers felt neither Angel nor Cirque du Soleil were able to perform their capabilities.Richard Abowitz, Criss Angel's 'Believe' hard to believe , LATimes.com, October 31, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Joe Brown, Illusion is elusive in Angel’s ‘Believe’, Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Doug Elfman, New Criss Angel show is unbelievably bad, sad, Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 3, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008.Reed Johnson, Criss Angel, in a word: unbelievable, Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2008, Accessed November 4, 2008. By December 17, two months into the show's run, the Luxor was offering a 40% discount on show tickets.Richard Abowitz, Enter the Discount, LATimes.com, December 19, 2008, Accessed December 20, 2008. In lieu of quotes from theater critics, by January 2009 the Believe website used quotes from celebrities, including Angel's then-girlfriend, Holly Madison.Richard Abowitz, "Criss Angel Believe" has a fan , LATimes.com, January 6, 2009, Accessed January 7, 2009.
Perez Hilton After Cirque du Soleil spent some months altering the show, blogger and television personality Perez Hilton attended a performance on April 17, 2009. During the show, Hilton tweeted to his half-million Twitter followers: "We are 20 minutes in and Criss Angel's Vegas show, Believe, is unbelievably BAD!", followed by other criticism.Richard Abowitz, Perez Hilton's excellent Vegas adventure, from Criss Angel to Miss USA , LATimes.com, April 20, 2009, Accessed April 22, 2009. As the show was ending, Angel singled out Hilton, asked him to stand up, and told the audience, "We have the world's biggest douchebag asshole in the house!"Norm Clarke, NORM: Coarse shout-out stirs up Tweeters, Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 19, 2009, Accessed April 22, 2009. To which Hilton replied, "Thanks for the free tickets." Hilton, who was a fan of Cirque du Soleil's other Vegas shows, later noted that "until 'Believe', Cirque has had an incredible track record of excellence. I have seen all of their Vegas shows and loved them all."
Afterwards, Cirque du Soleil, but not Angel, apologized to Hilton and the rest of the audience. Speaking also on behalf of hotel owner MGM Mirage, Cirque du Soleil called Angel's remarks "inappropriate and disrespectful", noting that "Cirque du Soleil does not condone disrespectful behavior towards any audience member at any time. Cirque management will address such behavior privately with any of its artists to ensure it will not happen again."Richard Abowitz, Perez Hiton gets apology from Cirque; Angel remains silent , LATimes.com, April 20, 2009, Accessed April 22, 2009. The Vegas media reaction was strongly against Angel, who was viewed as having broken a taboo among casino employees in the largely tourist economy by insulting a guest, notably during an economic downturn.Norm Clarke, NORM: The devil to pay for Angel tantrum, Las Vegas Review-Journal, April 19, 2009, Accessed April 20, 2009.John Katsilometes, Cirque, Vegas no longer need Criss Angel’s ready-shoot-aim act, Las Vegas Sun, April 21, 2009, Accessed April 22, 2009.
Additional illusions added After many reviews cited the disappointing lack of magic in the show, officials announced in April 2010 that they would add some 30 illusions to the performance by May 2010.Robin Leach, , Las Vegas Weekly, March 29, 2010, Accessed April 15, 2010. — twice the number of illusions in any other show then on the Las Vegas Strip. This was the second major change to the show; the first was in April 2009.
Cast Criss Angel: Criss acts as the protagonist of his show, as a Victorian Noble who is on a quest for love and to find his existence in this surreal world. Crimson: The antagonist of Believe, Crimson is often dressed in reds and blacks to symbolize her evil nature. She fights desperately for both Criss' love and to destroy his life. Crimson acts as the evil force in the show.Kayala: A foil to Crimson, Kayala is Criss' reciprocating love. She was born out of a large poppy, and acts as the force of good in the show. Ushers: Maestro, Luigi, Slim and Lars are the four bumbling assistants to Criss, acting as his link between the real world and the world of Believe. Maestro acts as the leader of the four, controlling them, along with performing mediocre magic tricks. Lucky: Lucky is a white rabbit, appearing during the show only for a short period of time. He is the mascot of Believe, and much of the show's merchandise features him.
Acts