A Tour-de-force of Illusion

The Magic Parlor — Palmer House

Until it’s safe for the historic Palmer House Hilton Hotel to reopen its doors again, and it’s safe to return to live performances, Master Magician Dennis Watkins will be performing his shows live on Zoom. His appreciative audiences come from every age group and from all over the world. Each performance is slightly different because of the makeup of his audience and the choices and manipulations created by his interactive viewers. And that’s what makes this viral production so unusual and spectacular: Mr. Watkins has only so much control over his magic show; it’s primarily how each audience member reacts to his tour-de-force of illusion that makes each show so unique and memorable.

Once a patron has secured his ticket for this exciting  performance, he will be sent a link to log into the show. At fifteen minutes prior to the show he’ll be greeted by the host. All the ground rules will be laid out and then a finely-produced slide show will commence, giving the patron a sampling of what he can expect that evening. The anticipation must be experienced to be truly appreciated.

Then Dennis Watkins appears. He’s a talented, third generation Chicago magician, who greets everyone virtually. He explains that during the next 75 minutes, he will be performing several spellbinding feats of sleight of hand and charismatic tricks of conjuring and clairvoyance, that will mystify and astound. What makes the performance so special is how genial and friendly Mr. Watkins seems to be with each and every audience member. He goes out of his way to make everyone feel comfortable and at home (which they are!) The first thing Watkins does is give a behind-the-scenes tour of his homemade Palour, showing the high tech mechanics of how the magician will be able to constantly keep in touch with his viewers. 

And then the show begins.

Dennis calls out to his audience members by name, asking them to participate. Know now that no patron will be left behind. Each and every spectator, young and old, will have an opportunity to take part in one or more of the magic tricks. Every uncanny feat of magic will involve either playing cards, the old walnut shell and pea game and even a few  demonstrations of mind-reading. The grand finale involves each audience member following Dennis’ clear directions in  manipulating his own deck of playing cards, which the spectator has been asked to provide ahead of time. Without giving away any of  Mr. Watkins’ tricks, suffice it to say that he will leave every audience member spellbound and asking, “How the heck did he do that?” It’s an incredibly creative use of the Zoom Meeting format, and it’s the next best thing to actually attending a live show at the Palmer House. This show is a mind-blowing hour of entertainment that audiences will be talking about for years to come. 

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented live on Saturday evenings at the Palmer House May 1-June 30, via Zoom Meeting.

Tickets are available by going to www.themagicparlourchicago.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.