Review: "The Illusionists Turn of the Century" on Broadway (Palace Theater)

While in New York City, on the spur of the moment, we decided to purchase tickets to see The Illusionists -Turn of the Century. We were not planning to see it, but Inna read some fantastic reviews and was curious about this Broadway-quality magic show. Using the TodayTix app on my iPhone (extremely useful for last-minute tickets), I purchased three discounted tickets for the Christmas performance (when most other museums and venues are closed anyway).

The show is in the beautiful Palace Theater on Broadway, but we had difficulty getting in. Broadway was very crowded on Christmas, and it took us some effort to progress in the theater.

The Illusionists features many separate acts, and I list some of the highlights here:

1. The Clairvoyants - Thommy Ten & Amelie Van Tos
• Thommy and Amelie tried to show their mind-reading tricks by repeatedly being able to tell members of the audience what was in their hands or handbags - while Amelie was blindfolded. They tried to show that without hidden cameras or microphones, they could read people's minds (so to speak)
• There was one fantastic act in which an audience member randomly selected several jelly bellies in a canister, and Amile (blindfolded) could tell him that he had chosen exactly 52 candies. I don't know how she counted them blindfolded.
2. The Daredevil - Jonathan Goodwin
• In one stunt, Jonathan lay down on two large nails (that seemed preposterous) while a member of the audience broke a concrete block with a hammer. How he did not die is a mystery.
• In another stunt, Jonathan (while blindfolded) used a bullwhip to cut the flower held by an audience member with her mouth.
• In yet another stunt, Jonathan is handcuffed and raised on a burning rope above a bed of long nails. If he does not escape, the rope will break, and he will fall to his death on the nail bed. He runs (of course), but it looks very precarious.
3. The Grand Carlini - Justo Thaus
• Justo had an act with rings. He could take three rings off men and women and interlock them. Then, he was able to magically unlock them.
4. The Immortal - Rick Thomas
• Rick Thomas could float his assistant in the air (without any visible wires). How did he do that?
• The floating, glowing sphere went in all directions without any wires. How did he do that?

Cast

• The Charlatan - Dana Daniels
• The Eccentric - Charlie Frye
• The Daredevil - Jonathan Goodwin
• The Showman - Mark Kalin
• The Conjurer - Jinger Leigh
• The Grand Carlini - Justo Thaus
• The Immortal - Rick Thomas
• The Clairvoyants - Thommy Ten & Amelie Van Toss

The Illusionists Report Card

Positives

• Lots of fantastic magical illusions
• The floating, glowing ball was terrific. How did they do that?
• The floating and then vanishing lady
• Two nail beds - how did the Daredevil not get punctured?

Negatives

• Some of the card tricks were a bit lame.