Many years ago, I visited the V Theatre, located in the Miracle Mile Shops mall in Las Vegas. I was there to see the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater show. My expectations were low, but they had cats.

It exceeded all of my expectations.

They had cats. Cats who did tricks.

It’s a small, hybrid show, mixing animal antics with clown work and juggling. The primary star is Gregory Popovich, who commands the stage in a clown costume and is the ring-master for a large group of pets. Early in the show, we are introduced to several of the animals, who come out on a miniature train ( think of those annoying trains that drive kids around the mall). These pets, including cats, are just hanging out on the train, waiting for Popovich’s command. All different animals (dogs, birds, cats, rats, et) hanging out together in harmony, looking cute!

Most of the tricks are fairly basic, but the animals are all adorable. A video is shown regarding how the animals are all adopted from shelters and those who don’t want to perform, are not forced. The vibe is that these animals are all loved, well-cared for, and respected. The training seems to be through reward, not punishment.

If you can’t tell, I love cats. But truly, the cats are the best part of the show, simply because unlike dogs, cats don’t usually show an interest in tricks. Popovich has cats walk across a tight rope, dangle and crawl along the rope, jump on small perches, jump from great heights, et…Cats doing tricks!

This is a small show and the tickets are inexpensive. If you’re an animal lover, it is delightful. You can even meet some of the furry stars after the show for a photo-op.

So, If I saw the show many years ago, why am I writing about it now? Well, in the summer of 2017, we took the kids. At the time, my step-daughter had just turned ten and my stepson was nearly eight. It seemed like the perfect fit for their age group and there were many young children in the audience.

I may have over-sold it. I’m definitely the biggest animal lover in the family, with my husband in a close second. The kids were less interested. To be fair, most of the kids in the audience clearly loved the show, but my step kids are just less interested in animals than those kids. I also realized that compared with some of the big-budget, Vegas shows that we have seen with them, this simply does not compare. It may be in Vegas, but it is not a “Vegas” show. i knew this from my previous visit, but I didn’t latch on to how much it would let-down the family. I was too focused on the cats.

I would definitely recommend the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater to animal lovers and people who have kids that are animal- obsessed ( which has been me, my whole life), but set your expectations low. This is more cruise-ship level entertainment. Popovich has a lot of heart and the animals are wonderful, but the overall quality of the show is more equivalent to watching a street performer, than it is typical Vegas fare.

This is a long over-due review of magician Criss Angel’s show Mindfreak Live, which previously had a long-running engagement at Luxor in Las Vegas ( where we saw it), but has since moved to the Planet Hollywood Hotel. It is advertised as being a new show at Planet Hollywood, but I can’t imagine that Angel has changed some of his signature acts, such as flying in the air, and I’m sure the show still takes on a similar tone of being at a rock concert.

My husband and I had seen Angel’s previous Luxor show, Believe, in which he had created in partnership with Cirque Du Soleil. It was incredible. Angel is a very talented performer. What impressed us the most, was his high energy and gratefulness towards the audience. Even though he has been performing for decades, you still get the feeling that he loves his job and not only that, but he wants to put on the best possible show every night. We saw David Copperfield’s show at the MGM Grand and we were left disappointed at Copperfield’s lack of enthusiasm and rude behavior towards audience volunteers. Admittedly, Copperfield could have had an off-night, but it was such a left-down, that we would never pay to see him again. Two shows in and we would definitely pay to see Angel for a third time!

We took the kids to see Mindfreak Live. At the time, my step-daughter had just turned ten and my step-son was nearly eight. Parts of Mindfreak Live ( sawing a lady in half with spurting fake blood, Angel swallowing razor blades) were just creepy enough to have them squeal and bury their heads into our shoulders. Angel has a semi-devilish persona that he really plays up. It is all done in good fun and the kids were old enough to understand that it is all just an illusion. There were plenty of kids in the audience.

Speaking of kids, Angel has founded a pediatric cancer charity called Heal Every Life Possible (H.E.L.P.). During a very emotional act in his show, Angel opens up about his young son’s battle with Leukemia. He then segues into his flying act, which is nothing less than astonishing. Even knowing that it is an illusion, it is mind boggling. He soars around hoops that are suspended and gracefully “walks” in the air. The dazzle of this act combined with his emotional situation actually made me cry. I surprised myself to be overcome with emotion during the show, but I don’t think that I was the only one in the audience with tears.

We had no idea in advance, but we visited on a very special day. Earlier on the same morning, Angel had been in Los Angeles to accept his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After Mindfreak Live ended, Angel came back on the stage with his theater family to reveal this news and Luxor presented him with a cake. In the lobby, the audience was treated to Criss Angel Walk of Fame cupcakes as we exited!

As I previously mentioned. Angel gave 110% during his show. As he thanked the audience and his team for their support and spoke about the honor of receiving a star, he mentioned that he had not had much sleep in the last few days. He was utterly exhausted, running on empty. Yet, as an audience member, we would never have known. Angel is a true professional and fabulous performer.