An evening to remember

I got married two years ago. Though I had gone to Chicago with a lot of apprehensions about staying in an alien land with just my husband, I have come back to India enriched with memorable experiences and cherished memories. I would like to share one such experience with all of you.

It was just another day and just another mail from my husband. “Interested?” It said. “In what?” I was still contemplating about what interesting thing my husband had found for the weekend when I read the lines “Hold your breath, close your eyes and see yourself fly over to the Great Wall of China! It’ll be an intimate evening of grand illusions that will keep you thinking for the rest of your life “. I was suddenly interested. Two of our friends were going for a David Copperfield show. Though I decided to go, I still thought that magic shows were something you took your kids for.

Four of us met at the Rosemont Theatre, Illinois. I was surprised to see that the theatre was packed with people of all ages. It was definitely not only for children. My exhilaration was already increasing as I could hear excited whisperings all around me.
“It’s like a dream come true.”
“David Copperfield has surely revolutionized magic.”
Nick (my husband’s friend) added to my general knowledge, the various enthralling feats of David Copperfield which he had accomplished around the world. He had vanished the Statue of Liberty, walked through the Great Wall of China, flown through the air and made audience members disappear and reappear in different places. He had won several prestigious awards, had been honored a wax likeness in Madame Toussaud’s in London and also had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Finally, the moment came for which we all had gathered there. A man in cyan colored shirt and black pants appeared on the stage. My first impression of David Copperfield was that he was a very handsome and witty man with an amazing sense of humor.
He started performing his tricks and with each trick my appreciation for his hard work augmented. In between his acts he told us that it took him anywhere between one and a half to two years to prepare one act. “No wonder he is unsurpassed in his field” I thought. I had never seen a magic show at such a large scale. My only recollection of any kind of magic was in my adolescent years, in India, when I was forced to accompany my kid brother to a street performance in our lane. But this evening was not about some local magician trying to amuse kids; rather it was a display of spellbinding illusions and extraordinary theatre by none other than the greatest illusionist of the world. I was astounded by the magnanimity of the sets and the grandeur of magic. He made a Scorpio guess the card picked up by the audience. He made an antique car appear on the stage from nowhere and then made it disappear into thin air. His illusions were more intriguing because most of them were done without the aid of camera tricks and visual effects. He cut himself into 2 half’s and danced. He transported himself with a girl to Mexico and then returned from underneath the ground a few seconds later. What was amazing about this act was that he and the girl had disappeared from a panel which was protruded towards the audience and was oscillating over their heads. Even his simplest tricks (hypnotizing a girl and making her fly, some tricks with playing cards) were so engaging that I could not stop gasping out of excitement like a kid. All his acts were wonderfully packed with creativity, intelligence and humor. David Copperfield knew how to bring out the child in everyone present.
Then came the final act. He was going to disappear 13 people from the stage, all at the same time and make them reappear from somewhere else. He instructed for the music to start and started throwing balls towards the audience. Everyone in the hall was applauding and dancing to the music. Everyone was trying to catch one of the large grey balls being thrown at them randomly. I caught one of them when the music stopped. David Copperfield asked all those who had the balls to come up on the stage. Though I knew it was an illusion, still I was a little apprehensive. My friends started laughing looking at my nervousness. 15 people were called on the stage but only 13 had to be transported. So I and another person were made to inspect the stage and sit there while he performed the act. I went around the big cage which had 13 chairs in it. It appeared to be a normal cage. 1, 2, 3, the curtains came down. In about 10 seconds the curtains were raised and there was only David Copperfield, I and the other person on the stage now. We were all entranced. I was only a few feet from the center spot where the act was happening but I could not understand where those people vanished. And a few seconds later the 13 people reemerged right behind the audience.
I returned safe and sound to join my group and David Copperfield exited the stage leaving the entire audience awe struck at his brilliance. While exiting, David Copperfield had given me a personally autographed picture of him. Now I have that picture in my collectibles because watching the illusionist perform was really an incredible experience. I would strongly recommend David Copperfield’s show to anyone who gets an opportunity to watch it. It definitely is an experience of a lifetime.