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Criss Angel
reaches for a new magical realm - 20081102
By Tom Wharton
The Salt Lake Tribune
Before dying on Halloween in 1926, Harry Houdini became a
legend as an escape artist, illusionist and debunker of phony
psychics and spiritualists.
He set the standard, even for modern illusionists
such as Criss Angel, who has studied Houdini since he was
a child.
Now known as a modern-day Houdini, Angel has
a Las Vegas show - it premiered Oct. 10 with Cirque du Soleil
at the Luxor - titled "Believe" after what Houdini
told his wife when he was dying.
"After my death, many people will claim they are still
able to communicate with me," Houdini said. "If
their claims are valid, they will be able to tell you a code
word. That word is 'believe.' "
In a phone interview from Las Vegas, Angel
said the fact that Houdini established an emotional connection
with the public, especially the poor who viewed his escapes
from chains and straitjackets as symbolic as they tried to
escape poverty, appealed to Angel.
He also admired the fact that Houdini spent
much of the latter part of his life exposing charlatans while
trying without success to contact his beloved mother, who
had died. Angel has offered $1 million of his own money to
anyone who can prove anything considered paranormal.
"A lot of what I do is completely real,"
Angel said. "I use my mind, body and spirit. I try to
blur . . . illusion and reality. But I have never seen anything
paranormal or anything that wasn't logical."
The show's plot has Angel playing an enigmatic Victorian noble
who encounters Kayala and Crimson, two women who represent
different aspects of femininity. He also encounters four ushers
who introduce the audience to different aspects of Angel's
mind.
Angel's illusions are part of the story.
"With 'Criss Angel Believe,' we are aiming
to bring magic into a new realm," said Serge Denoncourt,
the show's director and co-writer. "Currently in this
creation process we feel as playful and excited as children
in a gigantic toy store."
Angel called the collaboration with Cirque
du Soleil "beyond his wildest dreams."
"To see for the first time in my art
some of these incredible demonstrations, out in the open,
without boxes and with incredible characters and costuming,
writing and amazing choreography and special effects, it's
a virtual world," he said. "I'm not cocky, but there
is nothing like it."
He said Las Vegas' draw as a tourist destination
makes such a show possible. More than 250,000 new tourists
visit the city every three days. The Luxor built the theater
especially for "Believe," which Angel said is expected
to run 10 years. His contract calls for 10 performances a
week for 46 weeks a year.
"We are going to treat each performance
as its own unique event," said Angel, adding, "I
want to keep it mentally fresh . . . One of our understandings
is to keep the show fresh by periodically adding material
and doing different things."
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