Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

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CraigMitchell
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Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby CraigMitchell » September 4th, 2008, 9:45 am

Criss Angel's new show is fast becoming a farce before they even open ...

For what must now be the third postponement - all shows have been cancelled - with a new opening date of Sept 26th. Out went July 30th - out went Sept 1st ... out went Sept 13th ...

If both Cirque & Criss want to look like complete fools - they are doing a fairly good job of things - and their catch-all excuse of 'technical difficulties' no longer holds water.

LA Times reports:

"Back in June Cirque moved about 14 performances in September, citing unspecified "technical difficulties." This time the problems responsible for the cancellations include "enormous complexities" and issues regarding the "technical precision required in creating the show." Is technical precision different than technical difficulties? And didn't Cirque and Angel know that the show was going to be complicated and difficult before putting the preview tickets on sale for the new dates? And the new dates were for shows that had already been rescheduled to accommodate "technical difficulties." Now, days before the Sept. 12 previews were to start, we're told they will not begin until Sept. 26.

That means this will potentially be the third time fans have been asked to rearrange their travel plans and schedules for essentially the same reason rephrased: Cirque and Angel are not ready."

LVRJ reports:

"Take your pick: The Criss Angel show is either so dull it needs a wake-up call or so groundbreaking that it needs more time to fine-tune its technical complexities.

On the other hand, a member of the show's production staff reports (through a third party) that "Believe" is "just out and out boring," and that the illusions are more of the close-up variety that don't hold up in a large theater."
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 4th, 2008, 10:08 am

Ever the provocateur, eh Craig?
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 4th, 2008, 7:23 pm

Actually, Craig made a good point in a private e-mail to me about how his airline and hotel arrangements have had to be remade twice because of the postponements. And, as we know, these days when you change an airline reservation they charge you $150!

What's particularly ironic is that the people who want to see this show the most, Angel's most loyal fans, are the ones who will suffer most because of the delays.
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 4th, 2008, 8:51 pm

The blogger in the LA Times wrote this, which is very funny: "Maybe the third time will be the charm for "Believe"? But at this point making plans to come out for the announced "Believe" previews seems a lot like being Charlie Brown and charging ahead again, expecting Lucy will hold the football in place this time for sure."
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Michael Close » September 4th, 2008, 8:53 pm

I live in Vegas, and I "believe" I'll pass on this show.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Michael Close » September 4th, 2008, 8:55 pm

I'm waiting for this headline from The Onion:

"Criss Angel show delayed two weeks. Fifty stooges put on temporary hiatus."

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Kevin Connolly » September 4th, 2008, 9:23 pm

Man, I must be old! The last time I watched, there were only The Three Stooges. ;)
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby magicman1953 » September 4th, 2008, 9:51 pm

I "believe" this is turning into a farce. 50 stooges indeed!!! I think that Craig has nailed it boring and the higher ups are trying to figure out what to do to fix it up.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Rennie » September 4th, 2008, 11:43 pm

"If both Cirque & Criss want to look like complete fools - they are doing a fairly good job of things"
Criss Angel looks like a complete fool whatever he does.
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve is not !!

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby David Thomas » September 4th, 2008, 11:51 pm

Criss may be the worst and most fake magician alive right now and he has probably used more camera tricks than any other magician alive but he is promoting the art of magic for young people everywhere.

Not to say that he's what got me into magic.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 5th, 2008, 12:23 am

He likely won't be using camera tricks onstage at the Luxor. Many of the criticisms directed at Criss for his performances on Mindfreak will not apply to the new stage show.
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Pepka » September 5th, 2008, 3:48 am

That's exactly the reason for the delay Richard. It's been so long since he's performed any decent magic without a camera, he's back to square one. Probably working his way through Tarbell and the Mark Wilson course.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Nicholas Carifo » September 5th, 2008, 4:35 am

Pepka wrote:It's been so long since he's performed any decent magic without a camera, he's back to square one. Probably working his way through Tarbell and the Mark Wilson course.


I wouldn't call the vast material in Tarbell & Wilson "square one";). More magicians should master just the material in those books alone.

As far as "Believe" being delayed, I understand the marketing predicament in dealing with fans who purchased tickets, and hopefully they will work something out.

But delays on a show of this magnitude are not unusual. Just unfortunate bad planning in the handling of tickets.

Theatrical shows I've worked behind the scenes on, shows even ten times smaller than the Cirque production of "Believe", have gone into production delays for many reasons. It's not as easy as buying some props, turning on the music and performing them. If you purchased tickets, I'm sure you are frustrated, but give Cirque du Soliel and Criss Angel some slack when it comes to delays. It's apparently a fantastically complicated show if anything like the other Cirque productions.

They would have two choices - open half-assed just to be make the deadline or stop, take a breather, and make sure the show quality is tops before moving on, whether the delay is for technical reasons, scripting, or simply to make the show more fun.

In the end, would you rather pay money to see a top notch production, or one thrown together just to meet a deadline?

I'll reserve judgement on the show until I see it. Criss Angel has wowed audiences in live theatres before, way before Mindfreak. And the Cirque team members are certainly not amateurs. Im looking forward to "Believe".

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby J.D.C. » September 5th, 2008, 4:48 am

What Criss should have done is host a sneak preview for mostly magicians before unleashing it on the public. This way, any kinks that need to be smoothed out can be done so in the presence of other people who share a deep interest in the art.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby MaxNY » September 5th, 2008, 9:10 am

Remember, he had a very successful show in the basement of a Times Square building for 2 or 3 years...Cirque brass won't let him fail. I think that either he has too much on his plate, TV show, divorce, ailing Mom....or that he is trying to throw too many illusions into too little time. Remember that video on You-Tube of him as a kid, doing a music video with 10,000 tricks during the 5 minute song? I think this may be the problem. Overcompensation for lack of punch, so just throw as many illusions at-em-as you can. It's not like a Tiger is produced, and you can steal 5 minutes introducing the beast, catch your breath, admire the cat, then move on.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 5th, 2008, 10:54 am

All the suppositions in this thread about why there are delays are just a lot of whistling in the wind: no one who really knows what's going on is saying anything publicly. We don't know what's causing the delays.
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Rennie » September 5th, 2008, 11:25 am

cardmechanic wrote:Criss may be the worst and most fake magician alive right now and he has probably used more camera tricks than any other magician alive but he is promoting the art of magic for young people everywhere.

Not to say that he's what got me into magic.


He is also setting a fine example for young people with his really neat haircut and his stylish clothes. If a young person came to me and said he wanted to look like Criss Angel, I would probably persuade him to join the Mafia, they at least know how to dress and groom themselves properly.
And lets not get into to his use of the camera. Oh yeh, he is a real fine example that only a mother could love !
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Ian Kendall » September 5th, 2008, 12:17 pm

Quoth Rennie:

And lets not get into to his use of the camera. Oh yeh, he is a real fine example that only a mother could love !
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Does anyone else see the irony of his signature?

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Pete McCabe » September 5th, 2008, 12:58 pm

J.D.C. wrote:What Criss should have done is host a sneak preview for mostly magicians before unleashing it on the public. This way, any kinks that need to be smoothed out can be done so in the presence of other people who share a deep interest in the art.


You mean, like the people posting on this thread?

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Dustin Stinett » September 5th, 2008, 2:00 pm

Rennie wrote:If a young person came to me and said he wanted to look like Criss Angel, I would probably persuade him to join the Mafia, they at least know how to dress and groom themselves properly.


Hmmmlet me see: Have my kid dress weird, have a funky haircut, and aspire to do magic or; encourage him to become an active member of an organized crime family, possibly commit murder, but at least learn to dress well. Gee; which shall I pick?

Any other completely ignorant comments youd like to make Rennie?

Do us a favor; stay away from young people.

Dustin

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Nicholas Carifo » September 5th, 2008, 3:05 pm

In the meantime... for those wanting a NEW magic fix in Vegas...

JEFF MCBRIDE, just debuted in his own new show at the Palace Station called "Magic at the Edge". It's only been up a couple weeks. I'm excited to be checking it out next week myself. I also understand Jeff has organized a friday and saturday magic nightclub in the hotel.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Dustin Stinett » September 5th, 2008, 3:17 pm

Be sure to post a review Nicholas!

Thanks,
Dustin

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Pete McCabe » September 5th, 2008, 3:55 pm

Dustin Stinett wrote:Do us a favor; stay away from young people.


Or at least stop making jokes the moderators do not understand.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Roger M. » September 5th, 2008, 4:13 pm

If anybody here actually had a clue what they were talking about rather than insulting each other and making predictions based on the shape of the clouds in the sky, this thread might have one or two posts that actually had some association with reality.

Nobody here knows how Cirque works.
Nobody here has a clue how the Cirque folks interact with Criss Angel.

I'll spare you similar histrionics as we've seen so far in this thread and suggest, as others have already, that we refrain from guessing what's happening and that we further wait to see an actual show before the naysayers bring out the torches and chainsaws.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 5th, 2008, 4:30 pm

Actually there might be some people on the Forum who do know how Cirque works, and there have been plenty of rumors from folks inside on "issues" between Criss and Cirque during the process of creating the show and getting it up and running.

But no one really wants to write about that yet for fear of getting fired, or sued, or whatever.

But having a show postpone its opening date multiple times is never a good sign.
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Dustin Stinett » September 5th, 2008, 4:49 pm

If that rabbit dance thing is any indication of the rest of the show, I'd be worried. (And I enjoy Cirque quite a lot.)

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Roger M. » September 5th, 2008, 5:18 pm

Just to put one more fact out there.

What's been delayed are the start of previews, which is very different from delaying a shows opening night.

All this means is that there will be fewer previews, which in theatre is considered a good thing as each preview costs the same as a normal show, but with reduced ticket prices doesn't generate the revenue an actual show does after opening night.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby CraigMitchell » September 5th, 2008, 5:47 pm

Roger - not in the way that Cirque operates.

They refer to the production of a show as its 'creation' with previews being a CRITICAL part of their creative process ... the majority of all recent Cirque shows have had EXTENSIVE previews with many changes coming from these much needed previews.

In fact what will happen is theatre goers will be paying top price ( vs the preview price ) for an unfinished product due to their continued delays.

As richard pointed out, those most affected by the delays are amongst criss' most loyal fans. Cirque should have handled the situation far better and after this most recent bout of cancellations should have in the very least offered discount / comps off another Cirque show along with a special offer for Believe when it does finally make it to stage. Cirque really should have made the effort to look after its patrons under the circumstances ...

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Rennie » September 5th, 2008, 6:13 pm

Dustin Stinett wrote:any other completely ignorant comments youd like to make Rennie?

Do us a favor; stay away from young people.

Dustin

Yes ,apparently you do not recognize a joke from a serious statement. So as far as ignorant comments, "get a sense of humor Mr. Stinnett"
You probably think Criss Angel is a real magician also !
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve is not !!

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 5th, 2008, 6:23 pm

Hey, Dustin's not the only one who can fail to recognize a joke.
And I also think Criss Angel is a real magician because I've seen him do good work.
Was Alfred Hitchcock no longer a film director just because the last movie he made sucked? I don't think so.
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Rennie » September 5th, 2008, 6:40 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Was Alfred Hitchcock no longer a film director just because the last movie he made sucked? I don't think so.

In defense of Alfred Hitchcock, he ALWAYS wore a dark suit and solid color necktie while directing.
Unlike Criss Angel who very strongly resembles a homeless person with his attire.
Hitch had more class in his little fingernail, than Criss has in his whole body.
By the way, do you know what the last movie he made was titled?
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 5th, 2008, 6:45 pm

Yes, of course, it starred Barbara Harris and was titled Family Plot.
neener neener.
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Dustin Stinett » September 5th, 2008, 6:55 pm

Rennnie (you get an extra 'n' as well),

I have a fine sense of humor, thank you. I cannot help it if your joke was a very piss-poor one. And in context of your constant and rabid hatred of Criss Angelthrough which you have shown little to no humor whatsoeverhow could anyone think you were joking (and, after all, isnt it just so easy to say I was just joking after the fact)?

Your dagger-like insult (You probably think Criss Angel is a real magician also!) really hurts me as well; did you write it yourself? Oh wait; was that a joke too? Just in case, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I get it!!! Im a humorless idiot who thinks Criss Angel is a real magician!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Better?

Dustin

PS:
My opinion of Criss Angel is pretty well documented on this board. In brief, I think Mr. Angel is capable of doing good magic, as I have seen him do it. But his recent work, attitude, and antics have been disappointing.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Rennie » September 5th, 2008, 7:04 pm

Richard Kaufman wrote:Yes, of course, it starred Barbara Harris and was titled Family Plot.
neener neener.

Sounds like you may be a fan of the man. Is this so, as I am probably the biggest Hitchcock fan there is.
Family plot was not too hot, partly because it was mostly comedy, Hitch is better suited for suspense.
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve is not !!

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Stuart Hooper » September 5th, 2008, 8:01 pm

I'm no huge fan of Criss Angel, but you guys with the scathing criticism are pretty amazing.

I've found that putting on even small stage shows can be a major headache fraught with delays and issues. Give the guy a break!

I also highly doubt that Cirque, which is a highly successful business venture, would invest hundreds of millions of dollars in someone that they didn't think could cut it for a live audience. I'm not very fond of Mindfreak, or his style, or his attitude but I understand that his stage work is pretty damn good. And he draws a public. And he makes them love magic.

Rennie, I'm sure Angel will be identified with magic long after the few people that stuck around to watch your performances have forgotten you.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Roger M. » September 5th, 2008, 8:38 pm

However you want to spin it to work for you Craig, but a preview is a preview is a preview.

Opening Night has not been delayed any further, and this "the sky is falling" thing really is more your personal take on things rather than what's actually happening.

Traditionally, previews are for a local audience. Traveling to a preview is a crap shoot in opera, dance, musical theatre, and most every other form of stage entertainment.
It's obviously a crap shoot in Vegas as well.

I'm far more aware of how Cirque operates than I'm inclined to share here, but suffice it to say that although Cirque gives unique names to almost everything they do, they're a production company producing shows. They produce shows with style and flair, but the methods of production are the same methods used to present shows for over a century.

Call it "creation" if you wish to use Cirque terminology, but it's a simple preview.
In the case of "Believe" there's going to be fewer previews than previously planned due to a schedule change.

That is a fact, and that is really all that's happening at this point in time.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby CraigMitchell » September 6th, 2008, 5:39 am

In the case of "Believe" there's going to be fewer previews than previously planned due to a schedule change.

--> And this is a good thing or not ?

Taken as a whole - the number of delays for this show have been very concerning ( the show was originally scheduled for July 30th don't forget ) ... and cancellation of 1 months worth of performances which have already gone on sale is alarming no matter what industry you are in. And previews here were NOT specifically targeted to locals - they were targeted to Criss Angel fans and Cirque Club members.

This show is just as important to Criss as it is to Cirque - as they too need to demonstrate that they can move beyond their circus saturation and break into new creative space.

I personally hope that Believe re-ignites magic on the strip ... and brings to Las Vegas the pure spectacle that was lost after S&R's departure ... the strip needs a show that turns magic on its ahead and once again makes it revelant to a new auduence. That's my hope. Whether this is unrealistic an expectation - only time will tell.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Irving Quant » September 6th, 2008, 11:00 am

Reasons for a show to possibly be delayed:

1. They can't get the script to work. The might have a bunch of dancers and stuff going on that makes it complicated.

2. They might not have a show to begin with. The initial idea might have sucked so bad that it was scratched off and reworked. I don't think that the show is going to be mostly close-up as the rumor mentioned here said. Criss originally is a stage guy...he sucks at close up, so he better be good on stage.

3. Technical difficulties with having the props on stage and off in regards to the flow of the show (It is Cirque, so expect some innovative ways to do this)

4. Might be some dispute over whether Angel can deliver or not. Management has had some issues with his attitude, so I wouldn't be surprised if Angel is messing up the relationship with the Luxor. This could also be any other legal dispute.

5. Injury and lack of replacements. Perhaps somebody got hurt during rehearsals and they can't go on.

6. They might have reworked the repertoire to mold the show in a different direction. Of course this means that script has to be modified, which takes a lot of time.

7. Perhaps you are all right. Maybe Angel is so rusty or his age is catching up on him (lets face it...he isn't exactly as young as I am), so it is a lot harder for him to do this kind of show now. It is Cirque, and he probrably has to follow a director's indications that might be acrobat-orientated (not saying Angel would do the things acrobats would, but the mentality of the director is towards that direction).I'd be surprised if he can do that metamorphosis thing as fast as he used to do ten years ago.


My guess is that Criss wants to pretend to be God again but he can't in a live show.
He has "raised the bar" so high that I suppose people at the Luxor expect him not to levitate, but bring the next coming of Jesus. (that is not a joke by the way...I'm serious about this). Criss thinks, as well as his team and minions apparently, that by making the visual element higher one is creating high-quality magic and "raising the bar" (with total disregard for good scripts, reasons to do the illusion, and meaning of the illusion). He began his TV career by walking on walls, walking on water, levitating, etc. Now it is getting boring, regardless of who is in his team and their talent, because its a natural law of magic that sooner or later you will exhaust the range of what is literally possible to do in magic EFFICIENTLY AND WITH INNOVATION without repeating the effects. I have stopped watching the TV shows now so I don't know if they found things to do now.I was supposed to be watching since a friend is in there and I give my support to him. But I just can't watch that without getting angry or disgusted (no joke, I really do get sick). Its a personal thing. Anyway, after "raising the bar" so high, I suppose people expect even more of him, especially the people at the Luxor and Cirque.

I feel sorry for his team to be honest. Some of them are even good friends of mine as I said before. If I was part of that team, I'd probrably quit because I wouldn't be able to make good magic in such a fast rhythm so I would feel stressed, depressed,filled with anxiety, and overall angry. A harsh opinion: neither can his current or past team come up with polished work...as far as I know, nobody in the world can make the necessary quantity of polished material in a few months or even a year. Not to mention if it is for a live show instead of TV. So in essence, perhaps Criss's live show is now competing against his own Frankenstein monster of a TV show (both horrible and of his own creation)

I know I am right in saying that Criss has drowned himself with his own ambition in magic. My proof is Derren Brown. Why does he have a very good show both on TV and on stage? Because he stays creative without trying to be God.

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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby Richard Kaufman » September 6th, 2008, 11:54 am

The rumor I heard was that there is going to be almost half an hour of close-up magic in the show.
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DrDanny
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Joined: January 22nd, 2008, 12:00 pm
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Re: Breaking news - Criss Angel Delayed Again - WHAT A FARCE !

Postby DrDanny » September 6th, 2008, 11:59 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:The rumor I heard was that there is going to be almost half an hour of close-up magic in the show.


That would jibe what I saw on his TV show recently: I don't know if it was recent or old, but he did quite a bit of card stuff, and ended by producing a "little person" while surrounded.
I wasn't particularly impressed, but give him points for trying.

I note with interest that even in close-up, he can't resist using a semi-stooge.


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