Three people were randomly selected from the audience and brought onstage at the "Theatre of Illusion" at the Arts Place in Portland Saturday.
One was thinking of a place he wanted to go, one was thinking of a singer and the last was holding a card he selected from a deck. Kevin Spencer stared thoughtfully at each one of them for a few moments and wrote down his guesses for what would be each person's choice: Holland, Billy Joel and the king of hearts. He guessed all three correctly.
In may seem like a lame trick that many magicians do, but to have been sitting there in person you would have been just as amazed as the rest of the crowd.
This wasn't the only wonder of the night, but it was one of the most convincing ones.
There were, however, eight different people used from the audience. If it was fixed, then these people did a really good job of faking it.
Husband and wife magicians Kevin and Cindy Spencer presented their "Theatre of Illusion" to a near-capacity crowd of about 250 people.
One of the most thought-provoking illusions was also the simplest. Kevin Spencer ripped a newspaper up in front of our eyes, but it remained intact when it was held up again.
One volunteer was asked to come on stage, sign a release form and was then thrown on a table where spikes were put through her whole body. While still in the box with the "Spikes of Doom," she got a Polaroid to take home and a copy of the newspaper full of holes she had draped over her body in the box.
By far the most impressive illusion of the night was a performance of Harry Houdini's milk canister escape. Chains bound Kevin Spencer's hands and he was locked in a milk canister that was barely big enough for him to fit in. But, the canister was filled to the top with water as well. The only air he had was in his lungs.
A curtain was pulled up in front of a canister while eerie music played loudly. After about two and a half minutes, he was out and gasping for breath, but the canister was still locked.
It occurs to me now that with the loud music playing, no one would have heard another person letting him out of the canister behind the curtain.
Some of the show was similar to David Copperfield's material and you would have a tough time figuring any of it out. One that I had my particular doubts about involved Spencer's wife. Cindy Spencer was twisted up inside of a box. Her legs were set back much farther than her "twisted" middle.
At any rate, it was a great show. Sometimes a little mind-bending illusion is a very good thing. You have not seen a magic show until you have been there in person, and it is very much worth the time.
"It was fabulous," said Fort Recovery resident Toni DeBruin. They were seated in the front row. "It was really good and we didn't see anything (that would give the tricks away.)"
DeBruin's son, Luke, copied the sentiment. "It was awesome; it was amazing. The milk can was my favorite."
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