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Smoke and Mirrors
Reviewed by Elizabeth Morgan Wachtel
The Road on Lankershim
Through Dec. 28
RECOMMENDED:
From the outset, this new incarnation of Albie Selznick’s Smoke and Mirrors, which is billed as a theatrical magic show, aims to do more than provide an evening of diversion to audiences. In an energetic 90-minute performance, Selznick shares the story of how, as a child, he turned to magic as a means of approaching the world after the sudden death of his father.
The performance’s tone is established when, upon arriving at the theater, audience members are asked to write down their greatest fear and favorite childhood toy on pieces of paper. (These slips are collected to be used within the performance.) Locked in a box and hoisted above the set, these material representations of the individual aversions and joys of each spectator remain in view throughout the course of the performance. When Selznick appears for the first time on stage and sets the ambitious goal of facing his own fears, the audience is primed to do the same.
Selznick’s approach to staging his coming-of-age journey places him within a growing cadre of performers who seek to weave together magic tricks and theatrical narrative in an effort to impart a meaningful message to audiences about the human experience. What sets Smoke and Mirrors, as directed by David Schweizer, apart from other performance pieces that make an effort to bridge the gap between theater and magic shows is the connection that Selznick is able to establish via his autobiographical story.
In the opening scene, Selznick appears to embody the stereotype of the tuxedoed parlor magician (the type who dazzles audiences by pulling a rabbit out of a hat or sawing a beautiful woman in half). Selznick wears an ill-fitting suit complete with white gloves and a frilly dress shirt. To top off the image, he is surrounded by the trappings of a traditional magic show — from red velvet curtains and glittering drapes to a vanishing birdcage and a small table draped in purple silk.
A gifted performer, Selznick lovingly reincarnates himself at a range of ages. He is most endearing as a lisping child in a patterned pajama top and oversized cape, but he’s equally at ease playing himself as a determined middle- schooler and a 20-something attempting to find his way in the world. The magic tricks throughout the play are always impressive, and, at their best, they are funny, beautiful, astounding, and even deeply touching. As Selznick recounts his story, it becomes clear that he is not only a masterful magician but also a person who has thought deeply about human psychology as it relates to magic.
Although Smoke and Mirrors is not entirely a one-man show, the play’s success depends on Selznick’s performance. Selznick has written two imagined characters into the fictionalized narrative of his life: an apparition of Bess Houdini (played by Laura Stahl or Kimberly Stebbins) and a mischievous life-size rabbit (played by either Kyle Bryan Hall, Anthony Cosmano, or Michael Helman). Neither of these figures are particularly well-developed, but they serve their respective functions in the story. The last supporting character is a disembodied psychic called the Oracle on the Hill, whose exceptionally improvised interaction with the audience energizes the show at exactly the right moment (the Oracle is played by either Rob Villalobos, Anthony Cosmano, Sia Foryoh, Michael Heiman, or Herb Mendelsohn).
The production team and cast have managed to strike a delicate balance between potentially contrasting dramatic devices. Tongue-in-cheek humor and off-the-cuff improvisation coexist with tender recollections of painful childhood memories. Demanding physical stunts stand side-by-side with quiet moments of up-close magic. At its conclusion, however, the play stumbles in this regard.
At earlier points in the performance, when either the dialogue or the dramatic structure are not at their strongest, Selznick’s gusto and dynamism keep the piece on track. Without giving too much away, the final sequence of the play, which contains an astonishing illusion, reveals the challenges of creating a symbiotic relationship between drama and magic. Ultimately, however, Smoke and Mirrors is out to recharge the childlike sense of wonder in its audiences — and it is beautifully successful in this regard.
After the show ends, as the audience files down a long stairway out of the theatre, Selznick (as if by magic) is already in the lobby shaking hands and sharing conversation. This gesture embodies precisely what makes him a great magician, actor, and storyteller. Smoke and Mirrors illustrates Selznick’s belief that the real magic is to be found in human interaction — whether in the relationship he had with his father or in the relationship he cultivates with audiences each night that he performs.
The Road on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., N. Hlywd.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through Nov. 9. (310) 450-2849, www.smokeandmirrorsmagic.com
