Theatre Blogger: THE ILLUSIONISTS: Show Review by Nancie Steinberg
That’s entertainment!
If you enjoy magic and illusion, this is the Broadway show for you. It’s a limited engagement through the end of the month, so don’t wait.
THE ILLUSIONISTS is set in the 1920s… a bygone golden age of magic and vaudeville.
There are 8 Acts of wonder plucked from around the globe including a juggler, puppeteer, psychics, and magicians demonstrating dexterity and skill. There is a fair amount of audience engagement, and live music from both sides of the balcony accompanies the acts on stage. Who doesn’t love a live orchestra?
Some of the performers and performances are very comical and amusing, which one might not have expected.
There is a large screen above the stage that projects the action so the audience gets the best view of the magic tricks. which might otherwise be difficult to fully appreciate if seated a distance from the stage.
The audience for the performance we attended was mostly adults probably because it was the 8pm evening show, but this show is appropriate for all ages above 8 or 9. Younger children can also attend but might not have the patience to sit through the more sophisticated and longer tricks.
The cast of THE ILLUSIONISTS – TURN OF THE CENTURY™ features Dana Daniels (The Charlatan),Charlie Frye (The Eccentric), Mark Kalin (The Showman), Jinger Leigh (The Conjuress), Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass (The Clairvoyants), Justo Thaus Jin (The Grand Carlini), and Rick Thomas (The Immortal), joined by returning audience favorite Jonathan Goodwin (The Daredevil).
The performers were all very interesting and unique.
These are a few of our favorites:
The Grand Carlini, aka Justo Thaus is a well-known Spanish Illusionist who works his magic with a puppet who performs magic tricks. It is simply mesmerizing and something I have never seen done before.
The Charlatan, aka Dana Daniels is a hoot. He works his magic with comedy and psychic parrot Luigi as his sidekick. He howls repeatedly, “It’s a bird!” when Luigi doesn’t successfully complete tasks or come through on his part of the act. He ask for volunteers from the audience and incorporates them in a very hilarious fashion into the tricks.The woman behind us was howling with laughter-it was truly infectious!
The Immortal, aka Rick Thomas is a world renowned illusionist who makes lots of things disappear and float in air. He is a true showman and has a larger than life presence. You can see why he was named “Magician of the Year” by the Academy of Magical Arts and “Stage Magician of the Year” by the World Magic Awards.
The Daredevil, aka Jonathan Goodwin is a British born performer and escape artist considered the greatest theatrical daredevil in the world. Unlike the other performers in the show, Jonathan is not a magician or illusionist and everything you see him do is real, cringe worthy and unbelievable!
Tickets are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 877-250-2929, or in person at the Palace Theatre box office through January 1, 2017.
