Review: Jaw-Dropping Hocus Pocus Is The Focus Of THE ILLUSIONISTS

Magic is about deception. Trickery and distraction are at its core. It is the tantalizing and frustrating inability of the audience, try as they might, to figure out how the wizards do what they do. Yet, when the magicians come to town, for many, the urge to again observe their feats and submit to the power of illusions is irresistible.

Such is the case with THE ILLUSIONISTS, now appearing at ASU Gammage through January 22nd.

"Live from Broadway" and casting itself ~ rather accurately, I'd say ~ as "thrilling and sophisticated magic of unprecedented proportions," the show features seven practitioners of the black arts, each with equally alluring titles ~ the Anti-Conjuror, the Inventor, the Weapon Master, the Deductionist, the Escapologist, the Manipulator, the Daredevil, and the Trickster who doubles as the emcee.

The show famously smacks more of Vegas than Broadway. It is not that we haven't seen these tricks before and maybe done even better. It is the theatricality and spectacle of the production as a whole ~ Jared Sayeg's mood lighting and Evan Jolly's evocative music ~ that distinguishes it and makes for a spell-binding experience.

Jeff Hobson, the flamboyant Trickster and the perfect Master of ceremonies (attired in outfits that could have been Liberace's), is the thread that ties the showcase together, regaling the audience with antics, tricks, and suggestive humor that should fly over a child's head.

The show has it all ~ the mind-boggling mind reading, the head-scratching sawing of a body in half, the awesome pyrotechnics ~ and would not be complete without the nerve-wracking recreation by Andrew Basso of Harry Houdini's escape from the Chinese Water Torture Cell.

But, if I have to pick my favorites out of this dazzling array of wizardry, I choose The Manipulator, An Ha Lim, whose incredible handiwork with decks of cards is artistry in motion, and Dan Sperry, the goth and tatted Anti-Conjuror, whose onstage alchemy with string and coins and razor blades and birds is beyond stunning.

THE ILLUSIONISTS is a breathtaking and totally fun experience, well worth the suspension of belief and reason and the price of the ticket. The show continues through January 22nd after which the tour moves on to California and Oregon.

Photo credit to Joan Marcus