When Penn & Teller arrived on the scene in the early 1980s they quickly earned a reputation as magical vandals. It wasn’t just the brash attitude, the violence and the sick sense of humor they employed (remember the thousands of cockroaches skittering across David Letterman’s desk?) Penn & Teller did what other magicians believed was unthinkable; they gleefully exposed the inner workings of magic tricks. Many magicians were horrified (some still are), but Penn & Teller did not let this affect them at all. And deep down, beneath the blasé, aggressive, even destructive veneer of this oddball team was genuine performance art. There were surprises aplenty whenever they performed (Teller was killed many times over) and they managed to create a kind of gothic poetry with their unorthodox, occasionally ghoulish magic. They were unpredictable and managed to make other magicians look quaint, often downright cheesy by comparison. Now they are celebrating their fortieth year performing together with a show simply called Penn & Teller on Broadway, currently running at The Marquis Theater, and they are better than ever.
Having seen the duo’s act at The Rio in Las Vegas in 2007 I was amazed at how much new material there is in this show. Or at least, how much of it was new to me. According to Penn, whose stage persona has mellowed somewhat over the years, the show is a presentation of many of the best pieces they have done over the span of their decades-long career, including some that are brand-new. Many of the routines Teller does are remarkable reinventions of magic classics: the floating ball, swallowing needles, and the venerable “Miser’s Dream”, a sleight-of-hand routine in which silver coins are made to appear at the magician’s fingertips. With each of these tricks Teller has attacked and reinvented the illusion to create something new and surprising. And each of them, without exception, is the best version I have ever seen.
They are unorthodox still; this show includes the exposing of a few magic secrets. Penn, during the opening routine, actually tells the audience how to find the secret of this remarkable illusion on YouTube. And even when the method of a trick isn’t actually revealed, Penn constantly reminds the audience that everything they are seeing is merely theatrical hokum. Does this destroy the illusion? Does it take away the mystery? Oddly enough, it does not. In what can only be described as a feat of theatrical irony, it makes what Penn & Teller do appear even more surprising, lovely and yes, magical.
There is a rather astonishing moment when Penn actually transforms someone from the audience into someone else, generating gasps the likes of which I have only heard a few times in my magic-going life. I figured out how this was done within minutes of having seen it, and I know I wasn’t the only one. Some, I am sure, actually saw it coming. Instead of destroying the power of the illusion, this actually made the feat seem more impressive.
A trick made more impressive when one figures out the secret? Does this not go against several centuries of magical tradition? Yes it does, and it is largely because of this that I believe Penn & Teller have moved the art of magic ahead about a hundred years. Penn & Teller are magicians for the skeptical age. Penn is on a mission to hit us over the head with the understanding that psychic phenomena, ESP, and talking to the dead are as phony as what they do. And yet, what they do is nothing short of astonishing. I must not be alone in thinking so, as there were a couple of magical luminaries in the crowd when I saw the show on Sunday, including Steve Cohen and Penn & Teller’s long time magic consultant, the legendary Johnny Thompson.
With the possible exception of one gruesome bit, I would say the show is perfectly fine for kids (I took my six-year-old and she thoroughly enjoyed it). Jazz pianist Mike Jones provides marvelous accompaniment to the duo's routines, and the entire show is skillfully directed by John Rando. If swearing bothers you, there is an absence of that, which is surprising considering Penn’s loudmouthed antics on TV. There are a couple of playful jabs at religion and a brief dose of libertarian politics. But there is not a trace of nastiness or mean-spiritedness. Penn & Teller have become a true class act.
There are those magic fans who disagree with me about Penn & Teller, just as there are those who believe magic is not really theatre or indeed an art form at all. But those are not the kind of people who will enjoy Penn & Teller on Broadway. For everyone else, prepare to have your mind blown. And after you have figured out a trick or two, blown again.
