He has?been called the greatest?magician of all time. He has walked through the Great Wall of China, flown through the air, and made the Statue of Liberty disappear. Now he?s taking his magic one step further? on a much smaller stage?with his latest show, ?David Copperfield: An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion.?
Vrooming his motorcycle across a stage so small he was practically in the audience?s lap, Copperfield?s entrance designated him not just as our entertainer for the evening, but as a part of the crowd. The intimacy promised in the title of his show was certainly evident, and not just because his costume was a casually unbuttoned blue shirt over a white T-shirt. It was because Copperfield involved the audience at every turn, something many magicians might not risk, throwing out Frisbees and beach balls to further demonstrate the pure randomness of it all. This only added to the mystery and amazement of the experience, because how can you control the illusion when your partner has no idea about what?s going on?
His grandfather?s dream was realized in the mind-bending routine, ?The Lottery.?? Taking a more personal turn, Copperfield revealed how it was his grandfather?s life-long wish to win the lottery so that he could buy the car of his dreams. Every week he would use the same numbers?from his license plates?to play the game. Using randomly picked audience members to select the winning lottery numbers, Copperfield then revealed a locked and sealed box containing his previously conceived predictions as to what the winning number combination would be. And yes, as you can guess, the numbers chosen by the audience and the numbers inside the box were identical! He then revealed his grandfather?s keepsakes?the license plates?which contained the same numbers as the predictions. Copperfield won the lottery for his grandfather.
Besides these miraculous feats, the evening also had a few old-fashioned, abra-cadabra gems. In “Killer” two nervous female audience members and one large, lethal African scorpion pulled off the old sleight-of-hand, “this is your card” trick. A more vaudevillian routine with his side-kick Webster, a duck with a fondness for spraying the audience with water, concluded in the adorable fowl being magically transported from one wooden bucket to another. The 90-minute show ended with “Thirteen,” a daring illusion involving audience members. Thirteen?people sat on chairs in a sheet-covered cage?that hovered?over the stage. All were given flashlights to illuminate the inside of the contraption. Copperfield then whipped off the silky cloth and all 13 had disappeared. Seconds later we found them grinning and waving?flashlights and all?from the back of the theater!
“David Copperfield: An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion” was an affecting display of magic, a night of humor and amazement with ?how did he do that?!? moments around every corner. Copperfield once again proved himself to be the greatest magician of them all, once again taking the art to new heights. The night will not soon be forgotten. Now if only he could teach me to win the lottery!
Copperfield will continue his magic at the Hollywood Theater in the MGM Grand from November 9 to 29, 2006 and December 21, 2006 to January 3, 2007.