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Criss Angel and Franco Dragone celebrate the opening of “Amystika” at Planet Hollywood on April 2.
Monday, April 11, 2022 | 2 a.m.
“Amystika,” the new production show from Las Vegas entertainment legends Criss Angel and Franco Dragone, opened at the Planet Hollywood Resort on April 2, billed as the prequel to Angel’s “Mindfreak” magic show that’s been running in the same venue since 2018.
Both creators have said they were inspired during the pandemic to collaborate on this new project in order to get different performers back onstage in Las Vegas, as well as seize an opportunity to contribute further innovation to live entertainment on the Strip. Angel is one of the most celebrated illusionists in the world and has headlined his own Vegas show since 2006; Dragone is the acclaimed stage director behind some of Cirque du Soleil’s greatest shows as well as Celine Dion’s first residency and the former “Le Reve” aquatic spectacular at Wynn.
After just a handful of performances of “Amystika,” it’s clear the daring duo has already delivered by hitting the mark on their collective goal of sparking the audience’s imagination. While there’s plenty of magic, hard-edged music, and some of the dark, spooky undertones Angel has always employed onstage, there’s also a balance of humor, positivity, and the ethereal elements Dragone is known to incorporate.
And there are a few things Las Vegas audiences have never seen before, such as a tornado effect that sweeps through the entire theater, showering everyone in the room in confetti debris. It’s one of the most memorable moments of the ambitious production, which is clearly still in its early stages.
“To create theater is creating emotion,” Angel said at a media event prior to the show’s opening. “You have tools in order to create that engagement with the audience, and here those tools happen to be over 2,000 lights, over 31 different flame effects, half a billion pixels of video, 165 speakers of surround sound, and probably the most sophisticated theater not only in Vegas but in the world.
“We started off with the latest and greatest technologies to innovate an experience that is truly immersive and one of a kind, but it all starts with the emotional connection.”
It was also imperative that “Amystika” distinguish itself from “Mindfreak,” even though the shows are very closely connected. Angel—who has effectively become the first headlining artist to simultaneously run two different productions on the Strip—said he knew his followers would latch onto the new show, but he and Dragone wanted more.
“Even though we’re still dealing with illusion and escapism and comedy and these avant-garde acts, we need to do something that … represented what Franco is a master at, and what I’m pretty good at doing,” he said. “If you want to see what a new Cirque du Soleil show is, you have to see ‘Amystika,’ because this is the man that created the Cirque du Soleil language, look and feel. Together, I think we have something special.”
Indeed, much of “Amystika” has familiar dream-like qualities that may remind audiences of “O” or “Mystere,” two Cirque shows Dragone created, and there is plenty of dramatic space during and between its various acts that heighten theatricality. The opening features a full-scale number that combines dance and special effects with impressive video content across the many screens that wrap the theater, telling the story of a young Angel aspiring to greatness and battling nightmarish visions.
Specialty acts including a fantastic card manipulator, a delicate aerial dancer, a Houdini-style water chamber escape artist and the charming comic magician Mike Hammer (who stars in his own show downtown at the Four Queens) are layered on top of each other, with the mood alternating between darkness and light. Angel’s voiceover guides the narrative, an abstract telling of his experiences growing up, until he arrives onstage to perform versions of some of his most celebrated illusions.
At the same pre-opening gathering, Dragone spoke of collaborating with Angel and maximizing each other’s strengths.
“A friend of mine said the most visual media is the radio, because when you listen to the radio, you are with you, in your imagination,” he said. “What has been challenging here is to do two shows with the same [tools], to go between each effect he does in ‘Mindfreak’ and reverse it and do something else.
“Before opening, we are in creation. After opening, we are rehearsing the show. It starts at the opening. For me [working] with Criss, what was fantastic was I saw this show as strong but vulnerable. When a show is too fixed, I would always go and shake it [up] to find that fragility and vulnerability that makes you feel something.”
With “Amystika,” these collaborators are well on their way to making audiences feel something new and unexpected. The show continues performances at 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday at the Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood. Tickets are at ticketmaster.com/amystika.
