DE TROIT JEW IS H NE WS

JAT Entertainment

LU

02

ver find yourself sitting on a
sofa wishing you could just
float away?
If you go to see David
Copperfield this weekend at
the Palace of Auburn Hills,
your wish just might be grant-
ed.
His new illusion "Sofa" asks
members of the audience to
have a seat and then experience the ef-
fects of his levitating them into the
air.
"This is one of the few new illusions
which I have recently added to Dreams
and Nightmares," Copperfield said.
"In another new illusion, I get sliced
in half by a high-tech, deadly laser
beam, and then there is a seductive il-
lusion with me, two female dancers
and a bed."
The show people see on the road is
similar to the production Copperfield
originally performed on Broadway.
"It is somewhat autobiographical
and weaves together what could be con-

sidered a series of personal life expe- feats, always performed before a live
riences," he explained. "Some illusions audience.
represent pleasant 'Dreams,' and oth-
"I practice and develop new illusions
ers represent the darker side of life, or on the road," said the performer, who
`Nightmares,' as the show's title im- works at balancing grand and close-up
plies."
special effects.
Copperfield, 40, be-
"Sometimes
gan his professional
these new illusions
life experiences in
take more than
his hometown of
seven years to de-
Metuchin, N.J., when
velop, as was the
he was 12. While in
case with 'Flying,'
college, he was cast as
which is not only
the lead in the Chica-
my favorite but also
go musical The Mag-
the most difficult to
ic Man, and he
create.
changed his last
"The average
name from Kotkin to
time for illusion de-
Copperfield.
velopment is two
As a result of that
SUZANNE CHESSLER
years. Therefore,
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
show, he was chosen
the show is con-
to host a network
stantly evolving,
program, "The Magic of ABC," and and 80 percent of it changes every two
went on to CBS specials, "The Magic years."
of David Copperfield." With each new
Patients at William Beaumont Hos-
broadcast, he introduced more complex pital have firsthand knowledge of the

David Coppeifield
brings his world
of illusions to
the Palace
this weekend.

positive physical effects of Copperfield's
evolving magic. They've been shown
how to perform sleight-of-hand as part
of their physical therapy.
The illusory exercises were intend-
ed for stroke victims and children with
learning disabilities or motor coordi-
nation deficiencies.
"I always have felt my greatest feat
is Project Magic, a program I started
in 1982 to help strengthen muscle con-
trol and coordination in disabled pa-
tients by having them learn simple
magic tricks," Copperfield said.
"Now the program is being used in
over 1,000 hospitals in more than 30
countries.
"Last year, I introduced the program
into Mexico through Mexico's official
National Hospital and its health
minister. I held a seminar in a 500-seat
auditorium with therapists who fol-
lowed along with me at the front of the
room and from my manual, learning
the magic to teach their peers and pa-
tients.