The audience typically raises the roof when magician Kevin Spencer walks through a wall.
"That
is usually the showstopper," he said. "It’s a favorite. We bring
someone up from the audience to make sure that I really did it."
The
Spencers: Theatre of Illusion, which stops Saturday at the Count Basie
Theatre, features the husband-and-wife team of Kevin and Cindy Spencer.
The duo leads the second-largest illusion company in America (behind
David Copperfield’s organization), and delivers an eclectic brand of
prestidigitation.
The Spencers’ show shifts from the dramatic to the lighthearted to the emotional.
"We
try to bring it all," Kevin Spencer said. "We want the audience to feel
what we do. What we’re about is edge of your seat entertainment."
Kevin and Cindy Spencer view their approach to Magic as uniquely tied to the proud history of our art.
Spencer
and his wife, who appears for parts of the show and works behind the
scenes during the rest of the production, are old-school magicians
unlike David Blaine and Criss Angel, who deliver epic tricks such as
floating between buildings.
"We’re turning into a rare breed,"
Spencer said. "The younger generation is limited to people like David
Blaine and Criss Angel. They’re not as familiar with our type of
illusion. But when families do come out, they can’t believe what
they’ve been missing."
After witnessing magician Doug Henning’s ’70s television specials, Kevin Spencer, who grew up in Western Indiana, was hooked.
"I knew from when I was a child that magic was for me," he said. "There was never a doubt about it."
Tonight, Wednesday, January 23rd, at precisely 8:00 PM, ABC Television’s Wife Swap features a magician from the Toledo, Ohio area.
We have on very good authority brother magician Martin is a funny guy and outstanding magician. We have no idea how he does with a brand-new, less relaxed wife.
According to ABC, Mr. Martin swapped his "easy-going Melissa, for the micro-managing Jennifer Galvan from California.
Mr. Martin’s wife was required to live with Jennifer’s hubby, Richard out in California.
Andrew is a full-time magician for 25 years, and Melissa, his wife of eleven years, manages his career.
Their children, Eli and Emma, also perform; Eli has an act that his sister Emma assists him with.
Apparently things do not go so well.
Watch for the magic.
Magicians Dani Marco, Apollo Robbins and Ryan Oakes star in the first new series for TruTV, the former Court TV.
The cable outlet changed its name to move their focus from the courtroom to reality-based crime shows.
The Real Hustle premiers tonight on TruTV.
Briefly described "A trio of photogenic faux con artists, some with
background as magicians, execute cons on unsuspecting New Yorkers and
then reveal their deceptions to their marks."
Yes, the stars expose the secrets to their heists but it is okay, says the network. The reveal methods as "a good warning for viewers but it might also
show would-be cons how to get in the game."
Congratulations to the trio for the new show and best of luck.
We stumbled across a web site called The Vapor Trail and are delighted.
Melissa Bellanta’s article, "Putting the Dark Back into the Ritz and Patter" offers a well-written history of the magician from the 1800′s to present day.
Melissa Bellanta has her has a post doctorate degree at the University of Queensland in Australia. She works as a cultural historian based at the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies in Queensland and the blog is her research home.
The blog is absolutely fascinating.
Dr. Bellanta "wants to find out what popular theatre has to tell us about belief
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."
The About page for the blog continues:
What did ordinary people
think about religion, science, the afterlife, and the nature of reality
in Anglo society? She?s especially interested in ?mystic theatre?:
public seances, magic shows, displays of mental telepathy and
mesmerism, popular lectures on spiritualism and paranormal phenomena.
Dr. BalIanta’s most current article evaluates the role of 19th Century magic acts in forming and informing "Western reality."
The Hollywood
Reporter and several press releases
tell us the cable outlet VH1 "greenlighted Celebracadabra, in which seven TV and film stars vie for the title
of "Best Celebrity Magician" when they gather at the Magic Castle in Los
Angeles, the world’s most famous club for magicians.
"Contestants attempt to learn and
perform tricks normally left to the professionals. Guided by veteran magicians,
one of them being 2 time FISM Award Winner Rocco Silano, the competitors face
tough crowds and a master panel of judges who determine which celebrities get to
advance to the next round and a shot at a grand prize."
The new
series will be one of the first for former VH1 boss, Michael
Hirschorn.
Mr.
Hirschorn is stepping down from his post as Executive Vice President in VH1′s
programming department to launch his own company, Ish Entertainment.
Magicians Dani Marco, Apollo Robbins and Ryan Oakes star in the first new series for 
We stumbled across a web site called 
The Hollywood
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