ANCHORAGE ” At Henry’s Great Alaskan Restaurant in Anchorage, hungry patrons drop by to feast upon one-pound King Crab legs and to stare up at the infamous littered ceiling. Above the dining tables, 300 signed playing cards cling magically to the roof, tossed up with ease after each Tuesday and Thursday show by local magician and illusionist Don Russell.
Russell’s live magic show, previewing at 7 p.m. tonight at the Girls and Boys Club in Wasilla, is one he said he accidentally stumbled upon one day 20 years ago while watching his dog sitting in his lounge chair.
 Photo by Don Russell The Magic Guy, Don Russell, plays with fire. |
Russell told the kids that his dog, who he referred to as “just one of the guys,” sat in chairs and ate at the table, was magical. The kids loved it. An avid storyteller with a few tricks up his sleeve, the thought came to Russell’s mind that magic combined with storytelling could entertain kids just as much as television had.
“My dog showed me I could do magical things,” he said. “Everything I’ve done since has been themed, more of a story than just flat out magic.”
Today, The Magic Guy considers his busy life as a full-time magician not only a bread winner for him and his family in Anchorage, but a unique one he said he’s always trying to top. He performs colorful effects with scarfs, flowers and balls for the younger audiences, to the more amazing feats, such as escapes, transpositions and mentalism for adults. All his shows, he said, are “G” rated and tailored for any audience.
Russell’s smooth flowing magic shows are interactive, self-taught, an all-age event and spellbinding, with audiences often walking away asking, “How’d he do that?”
As a kid, Russell watched his TV in amazement when the distinctive comedy of illusionist Doug Henning was on. Later, in the 1990s, he turned his attention to the likes of Rudy Coby, known for adding an eclectic and original comedy routine to his stage magic. He paid particular attention to Coby’s science character, Lab Man, who taught important lessons in chemistry while performing simple magic acts.
In Russell’s “Alaska’s Wildest Show,” his on-the-road magical comedy and family oriented production, Russell said he’s become somewhat of a familiar face to adults and kids in Alaska.
“Parents used to look at me when I did a show like I was a bizarre weirdo,” he said. “Now, they still do, but in a friendlier way.”
Russell’s wild show starts off with what he calls, cool manipulation ” a slight of hand routine involving wild card tricks, swords, skates, and gobs of interactive comedy. Next come the floating objects, disappearing acts, and grand finale: An audience member willingly is levitated above the crowd.
With several trunks, a rocking sound system and various bags of tricks in tote, Russell comes prepared to do whatever is asked at all of his bookings.
Russell’s barely remembers his first professional gig in 1988, at a kid’s birthday party. Even though the balloon animals and card tricks made him a star with the small cluster of kids that day, it made his family a little nervous.
His job as a juvenile counselor at the time brought in steady paychecks, but would his magic also do the trick?
“I wasn’t very good at the start, so I made it a point to do it just for fun,” he said. “My wife agreed ten years later, when I was booked solid on the calendar, that I should go full time.”
Being a magician eventually became cool for Russell’s two teenage boys, as long as he kept his flaming palms and floating objects under wraps.
“My oldest son’s friends would come over to the house to see me and not him,” Russell laughed. “My youngest does my sound and light show, so he’s okay with it, and my wife Jan is very supportive. She’s my booking agent.”
With magic now a family business, Russell began perfecting his show.
Through books and other entertainers, Russell catered his show to meet the entertainment needs of children and adults alike.
“I was surprised people would pay me,” he said. “I would cut CEOs in half at after parties and then run the next morning to a kid’s party dressed as a wizard. Craziness.”
The Magic Guy said he’s not restricted by what type of performance he’s asked to do and will perform just about anywhere, from beginner magic to the Wildest Magic in Alaska.
His grand illusion show, not meant for the easily freaked, involves various people floating, being cut in half, and hoards of special effects. His larger than life Vegas-style illusions are highlights at this show.
Russell said he occasionally pull things from hats, but refuse to use live animals, as they tend to be “too messy.”
His partner in crime on stage, known to most as Irving, is also the show’s producer who turns up sporadically during his show in different costumes to lend a helping hand. His routines have even produced a few Elvis’ over the years.
When it comes to Russell’s dangerous illusions, like sawing people in half, setting heads on fire or slicing an audience member’s hands off with a guillotine, nothing has gone horribly in performing these tricks ” yet.
“There’s always a level of danger, but that is part of the routine,” he said. “It’s all about the illusion. Myself or anyone else has ever been injured. That’s the rule.”
Russell quickly pointed out a minor mishap he remembers on stage had some of his audience members running scared.
During a card trick, where Russell is blind-folded and attempts to shish kebab playing cards held by picked audience members, Russell jabbed out his lance to nothing but air. After removing his blind-fold, Russell noticed his participants had left the stage without a trace.
“They took off,” he laughed. “It gave me the idea to tie the participants up for this trick next time.”
A common faux pas for Russell are the small mishaps and missed timings, but, he said, no one has booed him for his efforts.
“There’s always times where the trick doesn’t work,” he said. “Sometimes things go so dreadfully wrong that it’s funny.”
Card tricks are the most common mishaps, he said, with kids usually stealing the show away from him in the end.
“It’s okay to laugh at me. The stuff that I do is pretty tough, especially the silence. My aim is to get them to react.”
Russell said magic won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, despite rumors that it is outdated and too dry for today’s audiences.
“What I do will be around for a while,” he said. “It’s primarily stage entertainment with magical twists. As far as the art form itself, state or local arts councils don’t recognize it. To them it’s just some guy doing tricks. But for me, when I do perform, I do it to provide inspiration, laughter, and to get people up on stage. It lets down their guard and builds self confidence.”
For his performance tonight at the Girls and Boys Club, Russell said people should come to witness old-fashioned and new favorites to a magic show like no other.
“I never would have expected to do this,” he said. “I’m in this to have a really good time, so I hope everyone else sees it that way as well.”
Russell will be performing at 7 p.m. tonight at the Girls and Boys Club, located at 3700 Bogard Road in Wasilla. Tickets are $5 per person, or $20 per family.
Visit Alaskaswildestmagic.net for more on Don Russell’s Wildest Magic in Alaska shows.
Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife@frontiersman.com.
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