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Nicola with the late Ching Ling Foo in the latter's carriage
in front of the Fun Ming Theater in Tientsin, China
into the air and it remains suspended. The boy climbs the rope almost
to the top but not quite. Both rope and boy are out in the middle of the
stage, away from all curtains, and the top of the rope is in plain view.
At no time is there any covering of any sort. And there is no flash of
flame or smoke. At the command of the "Wizard," the boy disappears
and the rope, always completely in view, falls to the ground. That is
exactly the way it looks to the audience nothing more and nothing
less. It embodies several principles never before used by magicians.
As one of the large metropolitan newspaper reviewers exclaimed, "It
is an illusion which in all its elements has never been equalled on the
stage in this country."
After a giant "Three-card Monte" effect Nicola nears the end of his
performance by presenting his unique "Seeing through a Woman."
Although this effect has -- been attempted by some other stage
magicians, Nicola is still the only magician who allows a legitimate
committee from the audience to come up on the stage and sit behind
the sentry box before the young lady is mutilated. When the vicious
blades have been thrust through her neck and thighs, the doors are
opened to show her head and feet but the middle section of her
anatomy has disappeared. The back of this middle section is
completely removed, and the committee is asked to "look right
through the young woman" from the back. The young lady's torso is
recovered and returned to her at the conclusion so that the committee
returns to the audience relieved, but just as bewildered as those out
front.
The "Human Pincushion," or "Iron Maiden," is presented just before
the closing number. Here is another exclusive Nicola miracle which
has been victimized by various copyists, but no one has as yet
successfully duplicated the Nicola version. It is by far the most
effective and convincing spike illusion, and the various original
features of its presentation render it a classic of magic in every aspect.
The performance is brought to a conclusion by Nicola's inimitable
"Substitution Trunk Mystery." It has been many years since Nicola
first became associated with this illusion when, as a small boy, he
assisted his father in performing it. Since those early days many
magicians have used the substitution effect in one form or another. Yet
our humble opinion is that you've -- never seen this transposition done
until you've seen Nicola do it.
Now that it's all over we can say that not only did the tour come up to
what we had hoped it would be, but that it actually surpassed our
fondest expectations--and that's saying something!
It is naturally a disappointment that The Great Nicola's tour could not
have ended as he had wished it. Originally, the plans had been for the
world tour to be climaxed by a triumphal swing through the United
States.
And a fitting climax it would have been, too. For The Great
Nicola--the man who has set box-office records all over the world, the
man who has had more command performances before kings, queens,
emperors, maharajas and sultans, than any other performer on earth,
the man whose name is, in 58 countries, synonymous with magic and
all things mysterious--this quiet and unassuming standard bearer of
fine magic wanted nothing more than to conclude his greatest tour
before his fellow-countrymen in his native land.