Disappearing acts bewitch Copperfield crowd

“Knighted by the French government.”

“Entertainer of the year.”

“Highest total national TV audience.”

“Living legend.”

The projector at the IU Auditorium read the many achievements of David Copperfield, the world-famous, Grammy-winning magician who began performing professionally at the age of 12.

Copperfield performed in Bloomington on Sunday as part of his international tour “An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion.” The show was his first stop at IU since his previous performance in town in 2004.

Nine-year-old Dylan Moore said before the show that he wanted to see Copperfield transport himself to Hawaii. Copperfield didn’t get himself quite that far during the show, but he still managed to amaze the audience with his tricks.

The performance began with a series of video clips playing from the projector.

Celebrities including David Letterman and Oprah and shows such as Family Guy all incorporated David Copperfield either into their plot or the show’s theme.

Stage hands dressed in black took the stage and began turning around an empty box.

Smoke and adrenaline-inducing music from rap artist Nelly pumped up the audience as Copperfield appeared through the mist with a motorcycle.

The crowd cheered, and he told everybody to raise their hands and lean forward and backward – essentially making the audience bow to him. He also brought out his duck, Webster, who was used in a variety of tricks.

Copperfield then performed his first trick. He lay down in a closed metal box and managed to get through it. Next, he addressed the female audience members.
“Ladies, get your hands up,” he said.

He took a volunteer’s wedding ring from her hand and made it disappear. He then turned around and the ring was tied to a small shoe in his back pocket.

A video played about Copperfield’s experience with his grandfather disapproving of his career in the arts. Copperfield said his grandfather’s dream was to win the lottery and to buy a 1948 green convertible.

Copperfield had a box on the stage, which he said had six numbers in it. He then called on three volunteers, asking each of them different questions involving different numbers as answers. He asked one male volunteer a controversial question.

“When was the last time you got busy?” Copperfield asked him.

The volunteer paused. “Eight hours ago,” he responded.

Copperfield wrote down the numbers for each volunteer, and when he was finished, he opened up the box, which had in it the exact numbers that the volunteers had said, and a voice recording predicting what each of the volunteers would say.

He then made the previously mentioned green convertible appear on stage. Afterward he performed a series of short tricks, including making Webster disappear, making a piece of tissue float in thin air and using fire to turn the tissue paper into a real rose.

Copperfield shocked the audience when he walked through a metal fan on stage, disappeared, and reappeared in the audience. The crowd went wild.

“Do you want more?” he asked.

Copperfield’s final trick involved 13 audience members. They were each escorted to a platform on the stage with two benches. They all sat down and received a flashlight that had to be kept turned on. Sheets were then drawn over them.

“Don’t worry, we’re gonna send you straight to Hell,” Copperfield said. “It’s like vacation with familiar faces.”

The audience waited while eerie music played through the auditorium loudspeaker. All 13 audience members vanished. The show abruptly ended, leaving the audience stunned.

Audience member Debbie Baker said the performance was “mind-boggling.”

“I would love to find out how he did his tricks,” she said. “He’s a funny guy, too.”

Fellow audience member Karen Haldeman said the crowd could have been “jaded because it’s 2009 and people are skeptical.”

However, Haldeman said she thought the show was sensational.

“I was in awe of his capabilities,” she said. “Some of his magic, he takes it to another
level.”