REVIEW: David Copperfield, "Beyond Imagination," 1995

REVIEW: David Copperfield, 'Beyond Imagination'

March 24, 1995,

It's quite a trek, but when you've got the expensive yet not wholly unwelcome virus called "a love of magic," you'd travel as we did from Baltimore to see David Copperfield's live show at the Patriot Center at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., Friday, March 24th at 8:30 p.m. Gven the fact that a DC TV special averages between 8-11 effects and contains 44 minutes of actual content, it is safe to say that the new effects in the tour that we saw that night may be the new material he debuts on TV in May. However, what we saw may or may not be what he uses at each stop on this tour, as the program (rather overpriced at $12 for a large single piece of glossy cardboard with a number of Herb Ritts photos on them) gives a list of about 30 or 40 effects and says the illusions "in tonight's show" with be selected from among them.If you want to be totally surprised when his TV special comes on in May, quit reading here and go on to another article. You Have Been Warned.

The show is billed as "Copperfield -- Beyond Imagination." Outside the arena, he had an 18-wheeler for props and two bus cruisers for staffers. I might as well let you know that one of DC's sound people told me after the show that a) he wasn't doing autographs that night or any other night of the Va. appearance because he was tired as he'd just flown in from Europe, and b) as far as the sound guy knew, DC hadn't done autographs after the show in about a year. The sound guy _was_ with DC and not with the arena -- I made sure before I asked. This, considering the man's reputation for signing autographs for all and sundry, probably was a letdown to a number of people.

The show was advertised to start at 8:30 pm, and lights dimmed (surprisingly) at 8:40. First effect was "Celestial Elevator," an effect that's been around since the Henning days, but first used on DC's 1992 special (XIV) as the opener. He acknowledged applause, yelled "Do you want to see some magic?" and went into "Head Mover" from the 1991 (XIII) special. The effect was performed exactly the way it was on the TV special. This was followed by "Cocoon (Metamorphosis)", from 1993's XV special, with a taller, darker-haired assistant than on TV. This effect features the Jonathan Pendragon handling of the Metamorphosis cloth, and was executed perfectly. All the music and choreography were the same as in the special.

Next was "Grafitti Wall," from 1992's XIV. Previously I had said that DC needs to start using a better way to pick audience assistants, like the way he used to throw a rose in his earlier days. Simply going all the way to the back, coming back up front and picking a girl in the third row that catches his eye, I said, doesn't do it. However, more professional performers than I (and there's quite a few of 'em) have correctly pointed out that this is to make sure that there are no foulups, as assistants are culled from the audience from before the show -- this explains the late starts -- to make sure the proper types are picked. Think of Henning Nelms' admonition that picking audience volunteers is like casting parts in your show. You want someone that's going to do what you want, not scream like they're on 'The Price Is Right' and most importantly, _not try to help the performer out_! ("Spare me from amateur magicians who only want to help!" this professional cried.) But I feel that if DC varied his selection of assistants, instead of just picking the good-looking babe with the rack of antlers, he'd have a teensy bit more credibity with his enlisted aides. (This he does in one of his encores, see below)

In this effect, was probably the first amount of scripted material I hadn't heard already on a special. When picking the two gentlemen's names for the bottom third of the wall, and then stripping off the cardboard to reveal XXXXX loves XXXXX, he said, "Just a joke! This isn't the Jenny Jones show!"

After that came the "After The Show (Vertical Asrah)," from 1993's XV show. It too, was almost exactly as the version on television. The back of the stage was a translucent rippling silver curtain, and the asrah vanish was superb against it, using the red cloth. If you haven't seen an asrah done in person, this is about the best you'll ever see in your life.

Up to this point, all the effects were exactly as performed on TV, and therein resides one mild complaint. As Penn Jillette is fond of noting, TV eats its young. Vaudeville artists spent years perfecting one 8 minute routine, and then they did it on television, and everyone saw it. Career over. TV requires constant creation of new material, and even then, nothing is new. I understand that given the cost of props, time and development, it makes good sense to use effects from the show in thr tour. However, it might help to put at least _some_ new spin or twist on the presentation to keep it fresh (like jokes or patter). Otherwise, it's Memorex, and the performer can phone it in. I've since spoken to some friends who went to various other of the Copperfield shows over the course of the weekend engagement, and several mentioned a definite lack of enthusiasm on the part of DC. For our part, it seemed as if the more he got into the newer material, the more energy he picked up and the better the effects seemed.

The first new effect was a variation on Slydini's Paper Balls gag. Here is a real spoiler, and I implore you, quit reading now if you feel it might diminish your enjoyment.

The Paper Balls gag, done best by Slydini, and used by others, notably Harry Anderson, is where the performer gets an audience member to sit in a chair, and tosses paper balls over the "sucker's" head, ostensibly vanishing them by sleight of hand (or so it appears to the person in the chair). Copperfield put a clever spin on this by calling it "The Vanishing ... Egg!"

At the point in time where the perfomer executes a wrist flip and tosses a ball over the person's head, DC has a stagehand (a young Asian man with marvelous facial expressions) sneak out from the curtain behind the seated person, catch the egg, and then sneak back behind the curtain. At this point, DC employs what has to be magnificent under-the-breath voice cues to his assistant, who gets a great audience laugh as she looks at both his hands for the egg, and then pulls at the waistband of his trousers to (apparently, let's hope) peer down his trousers for the now-gone egg.

Next, DC says he'll vanish _two_ eggs, leading to some wonderful mugging by the stagehand, who first feigns panic, and then manages to catch both of them, showing visible relief. DC walks over to the black-draped table and whips off the cloth revealing a mountain of eggs, and deadpans, "We've got a long way to go," and the stagehand nearly faints.

Instead, DC lifts off the top of the table, replete with eggs, and says this time, they'll try "The Vanishing ... Chicken," and pulls out a live chicken. Introducing the chicken to the audience member as "Elvis," he gets good mileage and laughter from repeatedly having the person shake hands (claws?) with the chicken. Meanwhile, the stagehand appears with a smug smile behind the person in the chair -- waving a large net on a handle.

What followed was hard to describe in print, but was a triumph of physical sleight-of-body, misdirection and stage blocking. DC, when turning away from the person in the chair, while appearing to cover the chicken with a large black cloth, passes the chicken to the stagehand, who triumphantly holds the bird aloft before heading backstage. DC then turns around to the assistant in the chair, whips the cloth away and the person is stunned.

After the person is thanked and sent back to the audience, DC produces "Elvis" from the empty black cloth, who is taken out by the same stagehand, who gets well-deserved applause.

After this came another new effect, "Spirit Table," where DC heads out into the audience and gets about 12 volunteers from all over the arena, and brings them up onstage to stand around a table. Telling them to touch the table lightly and follow his instructions, the table rises and falls, rises and then spins, and moves across the stage. The action is followed by stagehands with handheld video cameras, the output of which is displayed on a giant projection screen TV at the front of the stage.

The last new effect in the first half of the show provided what probably was the best gag of the night as DC says, "Some of my critics say that I can't do a magic trick without a lot of smoke, a pretty girl, and a big fan blowing my hair around. Well, this next effect is just to prove ... that they're right." Onstage is revealed one of his female assistants and a giant fan, which proceeds to start blowing a lot of stage smoke and fog.

Two ramps on each side of the fan are lowered, and the fan is turned sideways and one of the ramps is raised, and DC and the girl get on the ramp and walk into the fan, as if they are going to walk through it. Instead, with sparks flying out, they vanish into the fan. Seconds later, they appear on a platform in the center of the audience, lit from underneath and smoke blowing up from under them.

At this point, DC asks if anyone saw his "Building Implosion" effect (1989, XI) and if they'd like to see it now. "Too bad if you don't," he jokes, 'cause "you're gonna see it anyway." If you don't want to see it, he says, now's the time to get popcorn. (Copperfield claims the video was five minutes long, but actually it was ten, with the intermission going from 9:20 pm - 9:30)

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