etroit Symphony Or-
chestra (DSO) bassist
Robert Gladstone
knows the music of
enchantment used by
magicians as they
cast their spells, but
he does not want to
know the secrets that create the actual il-
lusions.
Even as he prepares classical and pop
renditions to set the mood for the avant-
garde trickery of the Pendragons, Mr.
Gladstone turns his curiosity toward the
polished act, not the backstage reality.
"There are some things it's better not
to know," said the instrumentalist, who
will appear with the husband-and-wife
perception masters coming to Orchestra
Hall Oct. 26-29. "If you know, the illusion
is no longer there, and a certain cynicism
sets in."
Charlotte and Jonathan Pendragon,
based in Las Vegas, are
traveling the world with
The
new approaches to staged
Pendragons:
Master
intrigue. One of their
illusionists.
unique numbers gives the
sense that Charlotte is
passing through Jonathan's chest. An-
other shows her being sawed in half while
placed in a clear, plexiglass box.
As the Pendragons mystify local audi-
ences with their routines, the DSO will be
playing noted selections by composers such
as Falla, Rossini, Mozart, Gershwin,
Mancini and Goldsmith.
"It looks like an absolutely fascinating
act," said Mr. Gladstone, who has been ac-
companying guest performers in a near-
ly 30-year career with the DSO.
"I worked at Radio City Music Hall in
New York in my freelance days, and there
were always illusionists to accompany. It's
really difficult to maintain the attention
of an audience without some kind of mu-

Meet The
World's
Fastest Illusionists

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Cr)

SUZANNE CHESSLER
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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sical background. Silence is deadly.
"Whether the sounds just put people at
ease or distract them — I don't know what
the dynamics are — you'd be hard-pressed
to find an act that didn't have some kind
of melody going on throughout the show.
The music helps project whatever is be-
ing staged."
Mr. Gladstone, who has been a mem-
ber of the New York Philharmonic and the

What isn't illusion is
the Pendragons' ability
to put on a show you
won't soon forget.

New York City Ballet Orchestra, is pleased ductor to observe and unique interpreta-
when he can play familiar pieces, which tions of performers to follow.
the DSO will be featuring with the Pen-
"With something like The Nutcracker,
dragons. Then he becomes more free to which we have all played so many times,
catch sight of the performers.
there are numbers where we can pretty
"If musicians play opera, they really well watch the stage. If there is a piece
have to be on their toes, and it's very hard that we don't know very well, we don't
for them to watch the stage," Mr. Glad- want to take too many chances."
stone explained. "There's an awful lot to
The Pendragons' program is part of the
play, many complications to handle, a con- symphony's pops series. In the past, ma-