The Magic Parlour Celebrates National Magic Week

Chicago's top magician and mentalist, Dennis Watkins, will perform his original adaptation of magic's most intriguing spiritual mystery, The Spirit Cabinet, and more in a one-night-only event at The Palmer House on Friday, October 26 to celebrate National Magic Week. The annual holiday was founded in honor of the late, great American magician Harry Houdini, who Watkins has portrayed on numerous occasions. With help from the beyond, Watkins promises to look into the minds of his audience to see what they see during his exclusive performance of Dennis Watkins' Magic, Mysteries, and Spirits, produced by The House Theatre of Chicago.

"We know that human beings are mysterious creatures who communicate in mysterious ways," says Watkins who has performed nearly 1,000 shows in his weekly production, The Magic Parlour. "While we all understand that human beings cannot teleport or fly, we secretly hope that it might be possible to be psychic," he adds.

As a lifelong magician, Watkins recalls watching the legendary Frances Willard and Glen Falkenstein perform the Spirit Cabinet as it had been passed to Frances by her father, the legendary Willard the Wizard. On this very special night, Watkins will perform his version of this spiritualist spectacular and harness the collective mental energy of everyone in the room.

A cocktail hour inside a stunning Palmer House Hilton ballroom welcomes guests before the third-generation magician takes the stage for a 90-minute premiere performance. Watkins will call upon ghosts to make themselves known to the gathered crowd, inspiring wonder as guests participate in revealing the playful connections to the beyond.

Cost: VIP Front Row table seats are $200; Regular seating is $125 - $150Tickets: Visit TheMagicParlourChicago.com or call 773-769-3832

Those unable to attend can enjoy Watkins' performance during his signature show, The Magic Parlour, scheduled five times weekly inside an elegant salon at the Palmer House Hilton.

The Magic Parlour is an intimate evening of classic magic and mind-reading starring third-generation magician Dennis Watkins. Guests to this intimate, magic-packed evening gather at Potter's in the Palmer House lobby before Watkins personally escorts them to the performance space. Once inside, the audience participates in much of the performance as Watkins wows the room with classic sleight of hand, unbelievable mind-reading and magical wisdom passed down from his grandfather.

Since opening at The Palmer House on New Year's Eve of 2011, Dennis Watkins' performance of The Magic Parlour has enjoyed phenomenal success and unimagined growth. With only 44 seats available per show, The Magic Parlour has entertained over 20,000 guests in its seven-year run. Additionally, it has hosted more than 800 ticketed audiences and dozens of private groups, facilitated three truly magical wedding proposals, and has been featured in two books (Chicago Magic: A History of Stagecraft and Spectacle and 100 Things to do in Chicago Before You Die).

Photo of Dennis Watkins courtesy of The House Theatre of Chicago.