When David Copperfield floats into town Sunday for “An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion,” 13 randomly selected people in his audience will step onto the Hult Center stage and vanish. When they reappear, it will be in the strangest of places. This illusion and others like it are the crux of Copperfield’s new show, which is, as the title states, more intimate than some of his more grandiose performances of the past.
“I find that audiences seem to be pretty evenly split 50/50 on what they like – the grand and the intimate. So I like to balance my stage shows,” Copperfield wrote in a recent e-mail interview with the Emerald. “Without giving away any secrets … participants (in the disappearance trick) are as amazed as the audiences!”
Despite nearly three decades of touring, Copperfield said that it is easy to keep his shows fresh because of how much he loves his work. Audience interest in his performances has not waned either, as Copperfield is the seventh-highest paid entertainer in the world, according to a press release. And there are still things Copperfield would like to do, he said, such as putting a woman’s face on Mt. Rushmore, straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa and making the moon disappear.
“More than anything, it’s the audience participation that keeps things (as) fresh as ever – I never know what is going to happen with the people that get randomly selected to participate in the show. Oftentimes, those are also some of the funniest moments in the evening.”
Copperfield will perform twice at the Hult Center at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Tickets range from $25.75 to $45.75 and are available at the Hult Center box office or online at www.hultcenter.org.
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