TV version of the Broadway show that ran for 4 years and changed the face of magic (think about magic before Doug Henning and after). It was filmed a couple of years after the show closed on Broadway in Doug Henning's native Canada before a live audience. The show is set in a night club where the old magician is doing a poor job. The manager has hired a new act (Henning and Didi Conn) to fill the spot on the bill because a big time producer is coming in to look for acts. There is a battle between magicians of sorts, too many not very good songs (by Stephen Schwartz who did Godspell and Wicked) and in the final 40 minutes a great deal of magic.
This was one of the Broadway shows I always wanted to see. Being a huge fan I just wanted to see the wonders that I was sure was on the Broadway stage. I loved Doug Henning in his numerous appearances on TV and wanted to see what he did live. The show came and went, Henning tried to follow up with the show Merlin which had a painfully short life and he disappeared into the background. My desire to see the show was always there as was my jealousy at my brother who actually saw the show as school trip. Over the years the people I've talked with about the show all basically said the same thing, the magic was great the rest of it was terrible, it did nothing to change my regret.
Coming upon the show on DVD I was excited since I could at last see a version of the show I wanted to see as a child.
My reaction to seeing the show is that the music is fair, the script is awful, Henning can't act, the rest of the cast isn't much better and the only reason to see this is the magic. Unfortunately even the magic presents a problem.
The first problem with the magic is that many of the illusions are things that Henning did on his numerous TV appearances on the 70's and 80's. The result is that the show plays as a rapid fire greatest hits. The other problem is that the illusions are not quite that well done. Part of the problem is that time hasn't been kind to the presentation, Henning's version of the metamorphosis plays as almost quaintly slow when compared to versions like Criss Angel's almost instantaneous version, many other tricks have been built upon and made more exciting. The other problem with this is some of the tricks, the elephant disappearance, don't go off as they should and you can see how its done (More than once the assistants can be seen actually setting the trick up -disappearance under the blanket, the water levitation). Yes I'm aware of how many tricks are done, but at the same time I'm willing to go with the illusion if it's done well, unfortunately here its not always done well (However the girl kept cut in two for a large chunk of the show is a blast).
Still the presentation is a must see for anyone who is interested in magic, especially the history of magic. Henning is the one who changed the rules. He's the one that took away the typical tux clad magician and made it more like anyone could do magic. Yes you had other magicians doing similar things and dressing down, but Henning changed the minds of everyone who saw him. Once Henning really starts to perform in the final 40 minutes the show is worth seeing.(until then keep the remote handy since you'll want to scan from trick to trick).
The show is between 5 and 6 over all. If you scan through the exposition and the songs and just watch the magic I'd rate it closer to 7. Worth a rental, but not a purchase.
This was one of the Broadway shows I always wanted to see. Being a huge fan I just wanted to see the wonders that I was sure was on the Broadway stage. I loved Doug Henning in his numerous appearances on TV and wanted to see what he did live. The show came and went, Henning tried to follow up with the show Merlin which had a painfully short life and he disappeared into the background. My desire to see the show was always there as was my jealousy at my brother who actually saw the show as school trip. Over the years the people I've talked with about the show all basically said the same thing, the magic was great the rest of it was terrible, it did nothing to change my regret.
Coming upon the show on DVD I was excited since I could at last see a version of the show I wanted to see as a child.
My reaction to seeing the show is that the music is fair, the script is awful, Henning can't act, the rest of the cast isn't much better and the only reason to see this is the magic. Unfortunately even the magic presents a problem.
The first problem with the magic is that many of the illusions are things that Henning did on his numerous TV appearances on the 70's and 80's. The result is that the show plays as a rapid fire greatest hits. The other problem is that the illusions are not quite that well done. Part of the problem is that time hasn't been kind to the presentation, Henning's version of the metamorphosis plays as almost quaintly slow when compared to versions like Criss Angel's almost instantaneous version, many other tricks have been built upon and made more exciting. The other problem with this is some of the tricks, the elephant disappearance, don't go off as they should and you can see how its done (More than once the assistants can be seen actually setting the trick up -disappearance under the blanket, the water levitation). Yes I'm aware of how many tricks are done, but at the same time I'm willing to go with the illusion if it's done well, unfortunately here its not always done well (However the girl kept cut in two for a large chunk of the show is a blast).
Still the presentation is a must see for anyone who is interested in magic, especially the history of magic. Henning is the one who changed the rules. He's the one that took away the typical tux clad magician and made it more like anyone could do magic. Yes you had other magicians doing similar things and dressing down, but Henning changed the minds of everyone who saw him. Once Henning really starts to perform in the final 40 minutes the show is worth seeing.(until then keep the remote handy since you'll want to scan from trick to trick).
The show is between 5 and 6 over all. If you scan through the exposition and the songs and just watch the magic I'd rate it closer to 7. Worth a rental, but not a purchase.