May 17--The planned Broadway musical about Harry Houdini remains stalled. But the House Theatre of Chicago's intimate, illusion-filled tribute to the justly celebrated scion of Appleton, Wis., is back in town. Handcuffs, straitjacket and all.
I was a big fan of "Death and Harry Houdini" during its first Chicago run in 2013, not least because any self-respecting tribute to that incomparable master of prestidigitation must include an accurate and authentic rendering of his great illusions, especially his escape from the infamous Chinese Water Torture Cell, a feat of daring that dates back more than 100 years.
Dennis Watkins -- and, let us be honest: there could and would be no "Death and Harry Houdini" without Watkins -- offers up that aquatic deed in full, along with an assortment of card tricks, sawings-in-half, levitations and the like. Unlike, say, a casino show from David Copperfield, the House performs in an intimate setting with the audience on two sides, which makes things more difficult for any illusionist. But it's a whole lot more fun to watch this re-creation of Houdini's most famous escape with your nose almost pressed up to the glass walls.
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Frankly, I also enjoyed watching a few of the neophyte skeptics in the house Sunday night -- I was waiting for that golden moment in any magic show when the audience members realize they are in professional hands. After being convinced they were not conned out of their money, most people just relax. And a professional like Watkins can then knead them like putty in his sweaty hands.
Most magic shows are either intimate parlor entertainments or Nik Wallenda-style extravagances. Watkins, who has the help of a supporting cast of seven, is the rare magician who can keep a foot in both worlds, and -- especially now that there are a few more gray hairs on his head -- his work has the polish and the poignancy that comes with entertaining people, mostly with the same tricks, night after night after night.
The real Houdini's actual demise, of course, was a consequence of the consummate professional allowing his guard to come down and thus allow a dangerous blow to land. Watkins' hugely entertaining and crowd-pleasing show, which is co-written and directed by Nathan Allen and features the return to Chicago theater of the superb Carolyn Defrin, aptly is themed around Houdini's most audacious, and least successful, trick -- his oft-stated desire to escape from death itself.
Alas, the Grim Reaper, fists raised, still came calling. But Houdini lives on in Watkins, who tramples broken glass, unmasks cultists and embraces the audience, all in his idol's name.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@tribpub.com
'Death and Harry Houdini' -- 4 STARS
When: Through July 24
Where: Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division St.
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Tickets: $45-$49 at 773-769-3832 or www.thehousetheatre.com
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