The preparation of a new Criss Angel show does not mean the magician has made MINDFREAK disappear. AMYSTIKA: The Secret Revealed, a collaboration with visionary producer Franco Dragone, will follow MINDFREAK shows at Criss Angel Theater inside Planet Hollywood when it is unveiled in early spring. And although it comes later in the evening, AMYSTIKA is a prequel of sorts to MINDFREAK.
Angel is enigmatic when it comes to revealing details about the new production, but he strongly hints that it’s autobiographical. Whether or not he even stars in AMYSTIKA remains to be seen. “Who said I’m in the show?” he teases in a phone interview with Las Vegas Magazine. “I don’t know. I just know there’s this ominous character. You see him in the poster, and you’ll have to see the show to find out.”
What is promised is a firestorm that engulfs a human body, a tornado raging through the theater and a blinding snow blizzard that falls on the audience. Beyond that, the fruits of the collaboration between Angel and the man behind Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère at Treasure Island and “O” at Bellagio, Le Rêve at Wynn and Celine Dion’s A New Day… at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace will remain an intriguing mystery.
“I’m not creating this show for superfans, although they’re going to love it,” says Angel. “We’re creating this show for everyone. Anyone that loves ‘O’, anyone that loves Mystère or anybody that loves MINDFREAK is gonna die for this. It’s going to be a beautiful show that’s going to speak to all pretty much all walks of life. … A show that celebrates life, and the value of life, and how one boy named Christopher who had big dreams was able to persevere through trials and tribulations to see this dream become bigger and better than ever. I think that’s a sentiment that everyone can relate to.”
Angel has seen his share of trials and tribulations. He brought home a newborn daughter, Illusia, in time for Thanksgiving, and his family (now of five) includes son Jonny Crisstopher, whose battle with leukemia led Angel to be familiar with taking precautions for immunocompromised children long before lockdowns. He knows the value of life—and of celebrating it.
He also knows the value of enthusiasm and unclouded perception, which Dragone has in droves. Angel says he met Dragone in the ’90s, but their sparks of inspiration may never have collided were it not for circumstances that put every Strip show on temporary hold.
“What’s so wonderful about our partnership is that it really takes the best of what Franco does and the best of what I do and kind of meets in the middle,” says Angel. “And allows us to produce these spectacles in a shorter amount of time while maintaining a higher level for the final product because you have two minds, two people that have their respective disciplines. Franco doesn’t have to worry about things that I’m taking care of, and I don’t have to worry about what Franco’s doing because that’s what he does best.”
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