Criss Angel delays ‘Mindfreak’ opening at Planet Hollywood

Criss Angel has outpaced the permit process.

Video engineering and Clark County permitting delays have forced the star and creator of “Criss Angel Mindfreak” to delay the opening of the production show at Planet Hollywood. Angel’s previews are now set for Dec. 26. He’d hoped and planned to debut the show on Dec. 19, marking his 51st birthday.

“We are creating a live experience on a scale that’s never been attempted before and delivering a show to fans they’ll never forget,” Angel said in a statement. “I don’t want to begin with anything less than the absolute best show we can produce. My fans mean so much to me, so I apologize to those who held tickets for our first few shows but I promise ‘Mindfreak’ will be worth the wait.”

In a video clip at the theater last week, Angel joked about his manic schedule in attempting to open the show to celebrate his birthday. “I thought it would be a wise idea to give myself a birthday present I’ve dreamt of for 20 years, but it was the stupidest thing that I could have ever have thought of! I won’t be able to enjoy my birthday because I’ll be working here all of the time!”

In all, five performances are affected by the date change. Tickets to those shows will be exchanged or refunded through their original point of purchase.

As a release promoting the show explains, Angel’s new show features more surface area of video than any other production in the world, with 500 million pixels of content displayed on more than 90 surfaces. The state of the art 10.3 high fidelity enveloping hybrid EDM and theatrical surround sound system features more than 150 speakers.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.