The Magic Show
OPENING: May 28, 1974
CLOSING: December 31, 1978
Seen: March 1975
LOCATION: Cort Theatre
By 1975, the landscape of Broadway was very different from what it had been ten years earlier. The fluffy musicals that had dominated were far and few between. In their place was a type of musical that could only be described as “Experimental”. But people still wanted musicals to entertain them, and creators still wanted to create.
Also by 1975, my dad was fully engrossed in corporate America. The subscription service that his father had used was no longer an option for tickets, so his preferred method of buying tickets had become the TKTS booth which had opened three years earlier. That’s why I am fairly certain that in March of 1975, my father didn’t plan to see Stephen Schwartz’s The Magic Show, but instead bought tickets for it at the TKTS booth simply because they were available.
In 1971, Stephen Schwartz opened Off-Broadway what would become his musical theatre cult classic “Godspell.” This was a really good time for Mr. Schwartz; the following year, his second now-classic musical, Pippin, opened. Mr. Schwartz, in the course of two year, had managed to solidify his place at the Broadway table and nothing seemed to stand in his way.
But as I mentioned before, creators will always be itching to create. So, what would his next project be? It ended up being The Magic Show.
And here, Theatre Kids, is where I can give you a present: I happen to be friends with Carol de Giere, who is Mr. Schwartz’s biographer. Carol has offered some insight to this entry that I may not have been able to obtain otherwise. For more information on not just The Magic Show but all of Schwartz’s work, you can find her book, Defying Gravity, here: https://caroldegiere.com/defying-gravity/
According to Carol, the idea for The Magic Show came about when Marvin Krauss, manager of Godspell, saw famed Canadian magician Doug Henning perform in a rock musical called Spellbound in Toronto. Krauss hated the show but loved the idea of Spellbound. It was a novel idea – a musical featuring a talented illusionist. He called Joseph Beruh and Edgar Landsbury, who then traveled with Mr. Schwartz to Toronto to see Henning in the piece; shortly after, work began on The Magic Show.
As with most musicals, the progression wasn’t completely smooth sailing. The biggest issue production ran into was the fact that Henning couldn’t sing. This was handled by treating the illusions he chose for the piece as his songs. Playing his leading lady who could sing was Dale Soules, who readers of this blog will remember my dad saw in Hair four years previously and is now known for her (In my opinion) brilliant portrayal of Freida in Orange is the New Black.
Soules has been a working theater artist in New York City since 1965. She has done regional, Broadway, TV, and movies and shows no sign of stopping. Last year, she was the voice of Darby Steel in the Lightyear movie. She is truly someone I admire and I can only imagine the presence she carries on stage.
The show, which had an accelerated trip to Broadway due to Henning already having perfected which illusions he would use on stage, took off almost immediately. Henning proved to be the draw that brought audiences to the theater. Soules had two numbers – Lion Tamer and West End Avenue – which are consistently used in cabaret performances. They are the kind of songs that singers may know but may not be able to place. I myself was familiar with both songs – I experimented with both of them for a musical revue in high school before settling on a number from the next show in this blog – but did not know they were from this piece (Bad Theatre Kid, Bad.) until Carol mentioned it. The show ended up running for a solid three and a half years, closing on December 31st, 1978. It did not take home any statues at the Tony Awards, but it did snag nominations for Henning (Best Featured Actor in a Musical) and Grover Dale (Best Direction of a Musical).
Henning would appear on Broadway twice more throughout his career. However, he died in 2000 at the age of 52 from liver cancer. We will never know if he may have produced more jaw dropping illusions, but we did have him to awe and amaze us for a short period of time.
My dad may not be able to remember it. It is not revived often (If it all) due to the need to actually be performing magic on stage. And Doug Henning will never be able to recreate the spectacle that he created. But it’s a cornerstone of musical theater that we should not – and will not – forget.
CAST: REPLACEMENT
MANNY: Clifford Lipson
FELDMAN: Kenneth Kimmins
DONNA: Annie McGreevey
DINA: Cheryl Barnes
CAL: Dales Soules
DOUG: Doug Henning
MIKE: Ronald Stafford
STEVE: T. Michael Reed
CHARMIN: Anita Morris
Goldfarb: Sam Schacht
UNDERSTUDIES: Jeffrey Mylett (Doug); Bailie Gerstein (Cal, Donna); Sharron Miller (Charmin, Donna); Garnett Smith (Feldman, Goldfarb); Christopher Lucas (Mike, Steve); and Jay Fox (Manny).
Bordman, Gerald. “American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle.” New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1978.
Internet Broadway Database. “Dale Soules” www.ibdb.com. Accessed February 2023.
Internet Movie Database. “Dale Soules” www.imdb.com. Accessed March 2023.
McKinley, Jesse. “Ðoug Henning, a Superstar Of Illusion, Is Dead at 52.” New York Times, February 9, 2000. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/09/arts/doug-henning-a-superstar-of-illusion-is-dead-at-52.html#:~:text=Doug%20Henning%2C%20the%20ebullient%2C%20shaggy,according%20to%20The%20Associated%20Press.
New York Show Tickets. “TKTS Ticket Booth History.” Accessed February 2023. https://www.nytix.com/tkts/tkts-ticket-booth-history
Tony Awards. “1974.” The Tony Awards. Accessed February 2023. https://www.tonyawards.com/nominees/year/1974/category/any/show/any/
