TheaterMania.com: In a world where CGI special effects are ubiquitous, we've become desensitized to seeing the impossible on-screen. Being in the same room where "the impossible" happens, however, is something else altogether. The Magic Play, making its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre, is a tender and engrossing play that delivers just that.
4 comments:
This sounds like a captivating show with an interesting premise but, at the heart of it, a beautifully simple plot. I think the direction of this show is interesting, because I often feel like recently shows have had to decide between spectacle and story. This is a good example of a show that seems to mix both so that neither one overpowers the other. Something that I noted in the article was that the set transition paralleled the themes of magic and illusion that the plot itself also imitated in the way the Magician interacted with the man he loved. I know set transitions are always a point of contention as to whether they should blend into the show or try to be hidden as much as possible. This seems like a happy medium that furthered the world of the play without trying to hard to disappear. I would love to be able to see this show because it sounds like a timeless story but with interesting characters and one that focuses more on the chemistry between their two personalities than a cliched love story.
I WANT TO SEE THIS SHOW!!! I’m a fan of magic and illusions. I think it is the general awe, confusion of how they did it, and the wondering possibility of magic like in fantasy novels are real that attracts me to magic shows and performances. So bringing in a theatre element is like a fantasy come true, because I have never heard a play based upon modern magicians and magic shows and bringing in the humanity of the things most people don’t completely understand. The overall synopsis sounds good too, the typical looking for oneself scenario that people, like myself, love. I also love the romance between the Diver and The Magician, it kind of makes it feel a bit more modern, and I love it when fantasy/mystical settings aren’t just the typical white straight protagonist with a few diverse side characters. It is just nice to see the inclusion, as for me, a mixed race pansexual female, I didn’t really have many characters that I was like “oh cool they look sort of like me” (of course I related in other ways, but that element I never really got). I’m really sad it is only performing Chicago right now, but if they ever travel to Pittsburgh or LA, I will definitely try go and see it.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what defines magic and illusion. I've always been an all-or-nothing type of magic-lover: it's either Harry Potter and witches and wizards and wands or it's a purely logical trick of the hand. However, the more I learn about magic and illusionists and the performances they put on, the more I realize that what makes their acts great is the fact that they walk the line. Or, at the very least, they make themselves appear to. Is there some crazy micro camera on that slip of paper you had me write a name on, or could you actually just read my mind? It's a question I try to fill in the gaps of time and time again. Where I think that need to fill in the gap can be removed, however, is in a theatrical setting. Placing that type of illusion or magic or trickery or whatever it is into the context of a story that relies on it from an emotional standpoint removes a barrier of skepticism even better than the normal suspension of disbelief. I would love to see the show in person and find out for sure, but I would imagine there is something to be said of making magic the core of the emotional conflict of the story, rather than just a gimmick. Maybe that is why I love the all-or-nothing magic of Harry Potter, or The Night Circus (a great read I have come back to three times in the past couple of years) - there's no way you could remove the magic from the story and leave the emotional core still standing. Maybe that's what theatre needs to make us all that much more invested. Maybe "The Magic Play" has it all figured out. I'd love to know where this show takes theatre.
As soon as I saw the title of the article I was drawn in. I love shows that involved magic and things of that nature. It is so thrilling seeing a magic trick or illusion happen in real life vs seeing it in the movies or on tv. Also it seems that they are creating a real plot, which is different than most shows of that nature. Most shows will have some basic plot but is just their to fill time in-between tricks. This seems like an actually show with the tricks as an added element. I hope this has a future life so I can see it in the future!
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