The Illusionists bring magic to Fox Theater
– By Cate Marquis –
“The Illusionists” brought a little night magic to Fabulous Fox Theater, Oct. 5-7. “The Illusionists Live from Broadway” was a delightfully entertaining combination of comedy, magic, illusions and stunts conjured up by an international cast of five performers.
“The Illusionists” are not the usual magic show – far from it. There is no magician in top hat and tailcoat, with a scantily clad assistant, but there is a more updated show of stunts, illusions, and comedy. The magicians often have a more punk rock look, in black leather and skinny jeans. All the performers have nicknames that give the audience a hint about what to expect from each. There are assistants, two men and two women, but there are as much acrobatic back-up dancers, again in black leather, as magician’s assistants.
The Illusionists were a hit when they played the Fox in April 2017. That tour had seven magicians, but this one features a slightly different cast of five performers. Las Vegas-based comedian/magician Jeff Hobson, the Trickster, returns as the comic master of ceremonies, along with British-born stunt artist Jonathan Goodwin, the Daredevil, and renowned Korean sleight-of-hand master An Ha Lim, the Manipulator. Joining them are Chris Cox, the Mentalist, an award-winning comic “mind reader” who stars on the BBC’s “Three’s Killer Magic,” and Darcy Oakes, the Grand Illusionist, whose combination of sleight-of-hand and mystifying illusions wowed Simon Cowell on “Britain’s Got Talent.”
Seeing a magic show live is much more impressive than on screen, where you can never be sure if there are camera tricks or cuts. The Illusionists up the wow factor by adding cameras on stage and streaming video to a screen suspending above the stage. The video allow those further back in the theater to see in detail what is happening on stage but the cameras also sometimes add another angle or close-up to better see what the magicians are doing. With Hobson as host, the performers each had their sets in turns, and sometimes two, in a show with one intermission.
As the show’s host, Jeff Hobson was the ultimate showman warming up the crowd before the show and between the acts. Decked out in sequined jacket and even more sparkly shoes, the comedian/magician kept the audience amused with his combination of snappy patter, slightly ribald jokes and magic tricks with a campy Liberace-flavored persona. The Trickster’s skills as an all-round entertainer made him a one of the delights of the evening, far beyond the usual MC role.
A winner of multiple international magic competitions, An Ha Lim, the Manipulator, is known as South Korea’s best card manipulator. Decked out in a long black jacket on a dark stage, he dazzled with his fast-paced routine in which multi-colored cards appeared at his figure tips and flew across the stage.
Jonathan Goodwin, The Daredevil, pointed out that he is not actually a magician but a performer of daring stunts. Daring, and amazing, stunts indeed they were, among the most impressive demonstrations of skill and surprise that wowed the audience. Particularly gasp-inducing was one that demonstrated his skill with a crossbow, in a clever variation on the knife throwing stunt. Darcy Oakes, a tattooed iron-jawed guy billed as the Grand Illusionist, performed a series of illusions in which he appeared or disappeared from the stage, with a particularly good one involving a cameraman on stage during the trick.
While those three performed dressed in all black with a moody smoke-and-mirrors background, Chris Cox, the Mentalist, went with a colorful, comic, and kid-friendly approach. Dressed in a nerdy mishmash of plaids and polka dots, and sporting bow tie and suspenders, the rail-thin young Cox cracked jokes as he bounced about the stage in his skinny pants. With frenetic energy, he engaged in a series of mind-reading tricks that left the audience amused, and mystified as to how he did that.
Periodically the magician’s assistants would dance, cartwheel or do flips across the stage, to supplement Hobson’s ribald comic magic between the main magic acts. As the whole, the program was very well designed, moving smoothly between acts and maintaining a high level of energy, even during intermission, when Hobson moved through the crowd engaging in banter. The show wrapped up with all the performers on stage for a finale illusion.
“The Illusionists” gave the audience more than they expected in this wonderfully entertaining show.
© Cate Marquis
