A magic show on a university campus cannot be an easy thing to perform. But Sept. 25 in McCrary Theater, Kevin Spencer was up to the challenge of giving a show that surpassed the power of skepticism.
“The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion” is a husband and wife team; Kevin is the magic man and his wife, Cindy, is his lovely assistant. As a pair, they have traveled the world, from the United States to Asia to Australia, trying to bring a new kind of illusion show to global audiences. Last night, they opened to a full house of Elon students, faculty and community members.
If there is one thing that Kevin Spencer knows best, it is showmanship. The marvelous display started even before he walked on stage with rapidly changing colored spotlights and fog machines blowing wisps of dense air into the audience to create an atmosphere of intrigue for his 90-minute act. From start to finish, his act was colored with vivid backdrops, spectacles of flashing light and music that always set the mood. And none of this razzle-dazzle took away from the illusions presented to the audience.
While some of the tricks come from the classic magician’s handbook, every stunt led to audible awe and commentary from the packed audience. The illusions ranged from smaller tricks, like the yellow tubes that seemed to multiply the amount of bottles on the display table, to the more daring acts, like Houdini’s famous stunt of walking through a wall of bricks – or, in this case, a wall of cement blocks. The performance peaked with Kevin Spencer reaching his hand through a moving fan, which seemed to shock the audience more than any other stunt.
Spencer went through immense effort to prove to his audience that nothing he did had an obvious solution. He invited eager guests on stage to watch his trick up close, and would repeat the same trick from different angles, aiming to prove he was the real deal. He encouraged his volunteers to double and triple check the legitimacy of each prop before performing, therefore enhancing the impact of the illusion that followed. Spencer also provided a backstory to every segment of his act, forging an understanding bond with the audience before he dazzled them with his illusions.
It was his dedication to the audience that made the performance an audible crowd-pleaser. Spencer was upfront about his corny jokes and the fact that he was not doing real magic, simply manipulating reality. Cindy Spencer presented flowers to one female volunteer as thanks for participation. Each stunt the Spencers did aimed to evoke some kind of reaction from the audience. As Kevin Spencer told the crowd, reactions as small as puzzled expressions or a nudge to a neighbor satisfies a performer like nothing else.