Lynn, Houdini (Dennis Watkins) learns not just the craft of the stage and illusion, but that death is not the end of life, “just the absence of.” He meets his lovely wife and assistant Bess (Carolyn Defrin), works with his craftsman brother Theo (Shawn Pfautsch) and cares for his ailing mother (Marika Mashburn). Under the tutelage of carnival magician Dr. It begins with his father’s passing, and his vow to become a master of death. Choosing instead to briskly touch at Houdini’s major life events where he brushed with death (an imposing, wordless visage that escorts his victims off stage with a gentlemanly tip of his hat). Illusionist and escape artist extrardinaire Harry Houdini’s struggle with death’s reality, which looks like a danse macabre, becomes the launching point for a spectacle of sublime proportions.Īs written and directed by Nathan Allen, the production wisely avoids becoming a biopic. It’s a true wonder of Chicago theatre-mingling vaudeville with magic, prose with poetry. That lesson is not lost in The House Theatre of Chicago’s revival production of Death and Harry Houdini, the show that put them on the map ten years ago. The illusions become metaphors for our shared human experience, and the mystery of existence. Later in life Houdini became invested in debunking spiritualists like psychics and mediums, and even testified before a congressional subcommittee in 1926 on a bill that would ban the practice of “fortune telling” in the District of Columbia.The best magic isn’t just about spectacle, it’s about the story. He was an illusionist and escape artist but also an author, actor, aviator and inventor. Then Houdini would open the trunk to miraculously reveal Bess, now bound and handcuffed in his place.īesides stage props, the Muzeo exhibit details the many of facets of Houdini. “A curtain would go up and come down real fast and Houdini would be standing outside the trunk, free from all the handcuffs and restraints,” said Chidester. In Metamorphosis, Houdini’s wife, Bess, would put him into the trunk, also known as the substitution trunk, in a sack with handcuffs and shackles. “Just aside from it being used in an illusion, it is beautifully made, and you can see all the joints and the makers’ names on it.” “There are only a couple of trunks that remain that he used for this illusion,” said Chidester. The show also features a trunk from the 1890s used in one of Houdini’s other famous illusions, called Metamorphosis. “This is probably the crown jewel for Dr. “After Houdini’s death, Hardeen was selling quite a bit of locks and picks that he claimed were Houdini’s but were fakes,” Chidester said.Īll of the artifacts in Bell’s collection have been authenticated by auction houses, including the milk can. Theodore “Dash” Hardeen, Houdini’s younger brother, was also a magician and escape artist, and after his brother’s death, he sold many of Houdini’s stage props - and fabricated others. “There is a lot of conspiracy around the authenticity of a lot of Houdini artifacts,” Chidester said. Bell began collecting authentic memorabilia in the 1990s, and the milk can is said to have come from the basement of Houdini’s house. It is a collection Bell has gathered since reading a book about Houdini as a young boy turned him into a lifelong fan. 22, the world-premiere exhibit features first-edition books, personal letters and contracts, handcuffs, stage props and locks along with the famed milk can. Randall Bell, and everything that he owns has not been on display before.” “’Houdini Unchained: The Legacy of Harry Houdini’ is a collection from one singular collector,” said Kelly Chidester, executive director at Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |