Behind the Scene – An Evening of Wonders

The crowd in the lobby was brimming with excitement for Vitaly Beckman’s “An Evening of Wonders”. The buzz continued to grow as showtime drew near, and people rushed to their seats. Nearly 500 people filled the Sanderson Centre, the lights dimmed and as the show began with Vitaly taking the stage, the theater erupted in applause.

“Tonight we’re all going to speak the same language, the language of wonder”
-Vitaly Beckman

The illusions began immediately, and the showgoers were bewildered at the first act. Vitaly’s set is a blend of comedy and illusion, and next he welcomed a young couple to the stage to partake in the wonder. One young fan, Phillip, was so excited that he joined them on stage, and after a brief exchange with Vitaly he disappeared back into the crowd to enjoy the show. This reporter doesn’t want to spoil the magic, but the couple, along with the audience, was clearly entranced and they even left with a souvenir of their participation. For his next act, he invited three lucky audience members to play customers in a reenactment of a restaurant scene on stage. Tea, water, wine, and a blindfold were involved; what happened next, left the audience in awe.

Another illusion again involved some eager participants who joined Vitaly on his ‘yacht’. After some interesting math, the illusion was completed with a surprise twist. Then we saw Vitaly enter the crowd with a deck of cards. A young boy, Alexander, was brought on stage to assist in completing the routine, but Vitaly still had some tricks up his sleeve before the illusion completed, and the audience was speechless.

Vitaly then showed us all just how real a drawing can be, and left the audience with many more questions than answers. The next act of wonder involved a young woman named Tiana, as Vitaly told us of a recent trip he had made. He thrilled the attendees with his ‘trip through photos’, and again there was no understanding of how it could be possible.

During a brief intermission, the murmurs from the lobby were, “How does he do it?” and, “I can’t wait to see more.” The show resumed and Vitaly wasted no time getting right back into it with more illusions. Displaying his talent with a brush and paint to the captivation of the crowd.

“I love to make things real, and come to life”
-Vitaly Beckman

Stepping back into the audience, Vitaly had volunteers write the name of someone famous who had passed. This was put on hold as he moved into another illusion. This one involved a gentleman, Stan, from the audience and a grocery list. Amazed and confused, Stan left with groceries he didn’t know he had even bought. Vitaly then reflected on an earlier illusion involving his trip. With the help of another audience member, named Kristine, and a deck of cards he showed us one more picture of his wondrous trip.

The next act involved an audience member, Lindsay, a bottle of water, and some keen coordination; then a pillow, a marker, and a deck of cards. What happened next was no less than impossible. It was then time for one of Vitaly’s best known illusions, it involved many audience members’ driver’s licenses. “Ladies and Gentlemen, license and registration please” Do you remember the illusion that was put on hold, the one with the names of late famous people? Well, it wasn’t forgotten, and more amazement was in store for the audience this evening.

The final illusion of the night Vitaly announced as one of his favourites. It involved a green corrugated piece of paper and Vitaly once again displaying his talents in bringing art to life. The theatre exploded in applause and the show came to a close.

Vitaly could then Be Seen in the lobby to meet and greet with his fans, sign memorabilia, answer questions, and take photos. If you ever have another opportunity to see Vitaly perform, I suggest you take it. It’s truly is an “Evening of Wonders”.

Submitted by Joshua Wall
Photography: Dean Ellis

To see more of Dean’s work, please visit:https://www.facebook.com/DellisartPhotographix/?fref=ts