‘The Illusionists’: Old magic back on Broadway

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Justo Thaus Jin (The Great Carlini, not pictured, operating puppet). Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

THE ILLUSIONISTS—TURN OF THE CENTURY
By Various Performers
Directed by Neil Dorward
Through January 1, 2017
Palace Theatre
1564 7th Avenue & West 47th Street
(800-714-8452), http://www.theillusionistslive.com/turnofthecentury

By Scott Harrah

Tourists and New Yorkers alike with a penchant for all things vintage and retro may find The Illusionists—Turn of the Century a tonic for troubled times this holiday season. Part of the mega-successful The Illusionists franchise that’s been on Broadway this festive time of year since 2014, this latest incarnation goes way back to the glory days of “magic” and illusionists.  While The Illusionists—Witness the Impossible that debuted two years ago was mostly a Las Vegas-style spectacle with lots of hokey special effects, Turn of the Century is a more sincere paean to an art form that is almost forgotten in this high-tech digital era. It pays tribute to the type of show popular in late Victorian England and early 20^th century New York and is noteworthy for its historical value if nothing else.

This is essentially what used to be called a “magic show,” in the far more innocent era before the Internet, YouTube and digital effects. Anyone old enough to remember TV’s “The Ed Sullivan Show” has seen this “magic” before, from card tricks to disappearing doves to “clairvoyants.”  If you watched the “Magic Secrets Explained” TV documentaries or surfed similar websites, exposing the tricks of David Copperfield, David Blaine, Criss Angel and Penn and Teller, you already know how many of the tricks and illusions work. However, there is enough entertaining “wizardry” here to make even the biggest skeptic wonder, “How’d they do that?”

The acts are hit and miss. Although Baby Boomers, Generation X and anyone over 45 may have seen most of this before, keep in mind the point of the show: Providing a forum for the type of entertainment popular more than a century ago.

We have Charlie Frye, “The Eccentric,” a man who does juggling and acrobatics. Generic stuff that isn’t so “eccentric.”

There is also Jinger Leigh, known as “The Conjuress.” She plays with a suspended “Okito” ball that’s at times visually appealing, but we’ve seen the same thing in countless Cirque du Soleil acts. She teams up with Mark Kalin, “The Showman,” for the “lady sawed in half” stunt (another familiar sight).

Spaniard Justo Thaus Jin, as “The Grand Carlini,” treats us to the long-gone art of puppetry, specifically marionettes. His act consists of manipulating a marionette “magician,” and how does the little guy do it? It’s nice to see puppetry, an archaic form of entertainment and storytelling.

Brit Jonathan Goodwin is “The Daredevil” and he treats us to such time-honored classics as inviting an audience member to lie on a bed of nails. He later removes all the nails except one and jabs himself on it to demonstrate his “pain tolerance.” At another point in the show, he pays homage to Harry Houdini by “escaping” from handcuffs while dangling from a rope that’s been set on fire.

Standouts of the show include Dana Daniels, “The Charlatan.” His “illusions” and tricks are fairly standard, from twisting balloons into wiener dogs to visual gags with doves, etc. It is the effervescent way he interacts with the audience–specifically when he invites people onstage–which sets him apart from the others. He also has plenty of witty one-liners to keep us amused.

Another audience favorite must be “The Clairvoyants,” the Austrian duo of Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass. The two were runners-up on TV’s “America’s Got Talent” earlier this year and their appeal is understandable. Most of their act focuses on audience participation. The ultra-perky Amélie is blindfolded and sits on a swing while Thommy goes into the audience and asks people to open purses and wallets and pull out common objects like lip gloss, a dollar bill, and so on. Meanwhile, the blindfolded Amélie is able to describe the objects in detail. In Act II, Amélie is able to guess the flavors of jellybeans audience members are eating while she’s again blindfolded. Pay particular attention to Amélie sitting onstage writing a letter during intermission. The letter’s contents offer a surprise twist at the show’s end.

Thrown into the mix are a “levitating” woman and “The Immortal” Rick Thomas, a longtime veteran of Las Vegas “magic,” clad in full turn-of-the-20th-century garb and doing a variety of illusions.

Two things makes this iteration of The Illusionists appealing: First, the show stays true to the nostalgic intent by not overloading us with too many special effects, so one really gets the feeling of seeing a variety show circa 1903. Other than a circular overhead projection of the onstage happenings, lighting and sound, the performers mostly do the actual illusions seen a century ago. Finally, while other editions mostly featured male illusionists, we have wonderful female performers here, too. Ms. Leigh and Ms. van Tass hold their own against the guys. Is the show groundbreaking or original? Hardly. However, as a Broadway history lesson on outdated gimmickry, it never fails to entertain.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 4, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on December 1, 2016

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Mark Kalin (The Showman). Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Rick Thomas (The Immortal). Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Jonathan Goodwin (The Daredevil). Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Jonathan Goodwin, ‘The Daredevil.’ Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Rick Thomas, “The Immortal.’ Photo: Used with Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Dana Daniels, ‘The Charlatan.’ Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Dana Daniels, ‘The Charlatan.’ Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Charlie Frye, ‘The Eccentric.’ Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Charlie Frye (The Eccentric). Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Charlie Frye (The Eccentric). Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Thommy Ten & Amélie van Tass, ‘The Clairvoyants.’ Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: Puppet Justo Thaus Jin (operated by The Grand Carlini). Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists

‘THE ILLUSIONISTS-TURN OF THE CENTURY’: The cast. Photo: Used With Permission, The Illusionists