One thing about Dallas Summer Musicals: if they are willing to bring a production back less than twenty-four months after it had a run at Music Hall at Fair Park, that truly speaks to its popularity. Add to that the fact that said production is not a musical but a show full of illusionists, escape artists, and a daredevil with a crossbow, and that is even more special, as the appropriately titled “The Illusionists: Live from Broadway” has a quick engagement in Dallas.
What is really interesting about this show is the fact that as it travels the world, they have a well of talent that they bring in and out, and in this case, we saw one new act since the last time they were here in The Deductionist, Colin Cloud. He joins The Inventor (Kevin James), The Anti-Conjuror (Dan Sperry), The Escapeologist (Andrew Basso), The Daredevil (Jonathan Goodwin), The Manipulator (An Ha Lim), and host/The Trickster (Jeff Hobson) for a two-hour plus show that works at a pace that kept me interested without my mind wandering or feeling like I missed anything. Visually, there is not much of a difference from what I remember the first time around and there were a few of the illusions that were the same from before, but I was just as excited to see them as I was when it was new.
Hobson is just as charming and funny as ever, serving as both an illusionist himself and the host for the entire show, keeping me laughing and fascinated with each and every appearance. Almost every segment had some form of audience participation with regular folks that enhanced the entertainment by its shear unpredictability of personalities. I was a bit concerned with some of the families with younger children due to some of the material being a bit more adult-oriented (especially Sperry and some of Hobson’s jokes), but everyone seemed to be okay as the show went on. The addition of Cloud brought an even more fun flavor to the show, calling upon his experiences as a criminal profiler to wow the audience with his ability to not only tell them things about their thoughts but also how those thoughts interact with others around them.
With the grand scale of a Broadway production and the effects and wonderment of a show on the Vegas strip, “The Illusionists: Live from Broadway” is just as much fun on repeated viewings as it is the first time through, so whether this is a new experience or you are bringing others with you to share it with them, don’t miss it when it comes to a city near you if you are not in Dallas to see it at Music Hall at Fair Park through March 5th!