Las Vegas Weekly

November 6, 2008 · 8:16 AM

Tweaks to Believe are ‘totally normal and standard operating procedure’

By Robin Leach

Criss Angel with Serge Denoncourt.

Photo: Scott Doctor

Let’s end the rumors before they race out of control and do any damage that’s not intended.

No sooner had theater critics pounced on some aspects of the Cirque du Soleil show Believe, starring Criss Angel, than the rumors started, built up momentum and, before you knew it, everybody was predicting mass executions, death by firing squads and a whole series of Halloween horrors.

It was quite laughable, because they were fueled by people who don’t have the slightest understanding of the entire creative process of such a massive production and undertaking. To marry every element from music to magic, from costumes to choreography, from wardrobe to wizardry, from aerialists to acrobats, from dancers to designers, is a two-year, nonstop process. Take a look at the Cirque/Beatles production of Love DVD to understand all the behind-the-scenes, technical processes.

From blank page to curtain up is an incredible journey involving hundreds of talented people. You can’t just simply and quickly edit something out like I do on my Mac’s Word program and slug in the change. In theater, if you change just one element, it means the entire computer system has to be reprogrammed from start to finish to keep the timing correct for all the other elements in order. Little wonder then that when one of our hotel-casinos opens a new resort -- such as Encore or the upcoming CityCenter -- there will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of last-minute and after-the-doors-open changes that are called “the punch list.”

At Cirque, it’s called “The Fixation,” a play on words from the team known as “The Creation.” It’s been the same for every one of the six Cirque shows that have landed on the Strip, plus the two shows that former Cirque co-founder Franco Dragone built for Celine Dion and Steve Wynn’s original Le Reve. The Creation team departs after a show is mounted and premiered and in comes The Fixation team.

For Believe, it will be absolutely no different. “Totally normal and standard operating procedure,” as one Cirque topper told me this week as the teams began the switchover.

So when director Serge Denencourt leaves town over the next week, it’s not because anything is any different. “He was always going off to Italy to rest, recuperate and regenerate there. Remember he’s had two straight years of putting the show together like a monstrous jigsaw puzzle with a schedule of no vacation breaks, just 20 hours a day of work seven days a week,” his friend told me. Click HERE for our interviews with Serge.

“It was always the plan for him to head off to his farmhouse in Italy and get rest after the opening. Nothing has changed or is different. He and the creative team brought the baby into the world successfully, and now they all move on to the next projects to get them started and up,” said one of my high-up Cirque sources. “Now in comes the group we affectionately call The Fixation team.

“It’s been the same way of working for every Cirque show, and Believe is no different. The director leaves after the premiere and then returns twice a year, maybe every third month, to see that all is well with the new set of eyes. It will be the same here with Serge. He might return every two months, three or four months, but he’ll be around. He has a tremendous friendship with Criss, so they’re not being separated.”

Both Cirque founder Guy Laliberte and Luxor President Felix Rappaport have said previously that as in all Cirque shows, elements may be changed, restaged, dropped and new segments added over the first six months of life for a new show until Cirque, at its expense, pronounces it totally complete. Even then, Cirque continues the process to ensure fresh life for every show.

“It’s identical to what has been done with every Cirque show on the Strip. Believe is no different. They still do that at Mystere, and that’s been a phenomenally successful 15-year run as a result,” I was told.

“Shows like these are totally unique, unlike any other stage show produced anywhere in the world. These are complicated spectaculars, and every part of them is worked on until we’re satisfied. It’s impossible to make changes overnight and instantly with such technical features. So it’s really a minimum four-month, subtle process of change. Go see any show six months after its opening, and you’ll find it very different from the first night.”

So now you know the true story before any outrageous, untrue headlines break loose!

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