By Timothy Ruppert
“It’s the Cultural Trust,” magician David Williamson reminded the audience on the opening night of his delightfully ebullient show, Ridiculous. “It’s supposed to be art!” His legerdemain satisfies that qualification from the very first trick, proving card after card that Williamson is a Dalí of light-speed sleight-of-hand. Yet his act has great dimensionality beyond clocking decks and tracking shuffles. As a humorist, Williamson puts one in mind of Phil Silvers, with a faux exasperation that never quite conceals the very real heart behind every gag. Williamson’s flawless intermingling of illusion and levity renders this show terrifically impressive, a joyful mélange of distractions.
Williamson himself possesses a likeably avuncular air equally suited to brash mischief or quiet wisdom. Blue-suited and yellow-vested, Williamson has the look of the great Ian Richardson as he appeared in the 1990s British series House of Cards—Francis Urquhart with a benevolent soul and several wicked packs of cards. All the evening’s tricks are performed with help from audience volunteers, older and younger people alike, contributing to a show designed like a Fibonacci sequence, progressing in scope and complexity without ever losing the semblance of natural, logical progression. Taken together, these qualities of Ridiculous and its star make the show ideal for families and fellow travelers, especially those who appreciate the mirth and adventure afforded by Williamson’s interactive wizardry.
While Ridiculous offers numerous tricks that evolve in complexity and intensity over the course of the evening, ranging from sealed envelopes to a magic paper shredder to citrus fruits, the show frames its wonders decisively within an intellectual context. Williamson cites the importance of “793.8,” the Dewey Decimal designation for books, such as S. W. Erdnase’s 1902 The Expert at the Card Table, on performing magic. At another point, he quotes speculative-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s remark that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”—a maxim that places the enigmatic within orbit of science and art. Williamson rarely misses a chance to philosophize about his craft, encouraging us to consider the liminal spaces between mirage and reality without diminishing the mystique of his act. And so, when he urges one young assistant from the audience to “treat this as a think piece,” Williamson strives after far more than comedic effect. For all its heart-lifting entertainment, Ridiculous serves too as an open course in the psychology of theatricality, a thoughtfully structured and lovingly presented seminar in spectacle that reflects Williamson’s many years as an inestimable performer and indefatigable advocate for the creative spirit.
And there one finds the true magic in Ridiculous. Williamson’s love for his art and for those who share in its expression carries the freight of a lifetime devoted to both the theory and the practice of amazement. Like any memorable piece of theatre, Ridiculous has a past, a present, and a future, reflecting years of training and research manifest in the here and now to inspire a new generation to seek out astonishment. For an evening of incredible magic rendered with talent, thought, and heart, make sure not to miss David Williamson and this hilarious and edifying schoolhouse of cards.
-TR
Ridiculous” plays through Sunday, May 3, at Liberty Magic, 811 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Visit here or contact the Liberty Magic box office at 412-456-6666.
