Indulgence with Lucy Darling

[Tom Stone]

Carisa Hendrix just put an 1-hour show online.

www.carisahendrix.com/indulgence/

[Richard Kaufman]

Great.

[Bill Duncan]

That might be the best stage magic show I've ever seen.

just wonderful

[Steve Bryant]

That was great fun. Nice to be diverted for an hour.

Is the pandemic over yet?

[Jim Martin]

Thanks for the post, Tom, and thanks for the fabulous performance, Carisa/Lucy!
In addition to the spectacular show, I really like the video capturing the experience of the Chicago Magic Lounge and the vibe in the room.
Congrats to all!

[Zig Zagger]

Allow me a slightly dissenting view here.

No doubt it's great to be able to watch entertainment like this for free. I enjoyed it. I think Carisa Hendrix put on a fine, creative show with a lovely stage persona. Magicwise, however, I was a bit underwhelmed; about 18 mins into the show (which is the full length of any TED talk and equals one and a half variety acts!), all I've seen are three watery drinks, a paper unfolded thrice and two big books pop out of a shopping bag. To me, that was more endurance than indulgence, and I feel it could need some trimming. (In fact, I'm surprised that performer hasn't flagged her yet for her "patter pandemic" or for "not getting on with it...")

[Richard Kaufman]

Zig Zagger, fortunately for Carisa most people strongly disagree with you.

[performer]

I saw her lecture a couple of weeks ago in Toronto. I couldn't hear her properly even though I was in the front row. I do wish lecturers would speak up when there is a chance deaf old magicians might be watching. The little I did hear made me think she was highly intelligent and I liked the way she chattered about theory more than she did about tricks. She did make one point that has stuck in my mind which I won't take up space explaining. I have no idea if she is any good or not since I haven't watched the video yet. I will try to do so and hope I don't get bored too quickly. I have a very short attention span for magic which quite frankly bores the crap out of me unless I am doing it myself.

Uh, oh! I have just seen Zig Zagger's assessment of my impending opinion. I shall try to be objective providing I am able to hear her this time. I suppose I had better watch it first though. I do find most female magicians quite good although no doubt there are a few who should be in the kitchen instead of prancing about on a public stage.

An hour is a long time though. Still, it will only take me a minute or so to judge. If I last ten minutes watching it without falling asleep that will indeed mean she is a mistress of magic.

[MagicbyAlfred]

i see Zig Zagger's point as far as the suck time. But then again, I think she can be characterized more as a comedian who does magic than a magician who does comedy. And she IS funny. A fantastic and creative entertainer.
In any event, her set design was great, and the bottle/ice cream routine finale was phenomenal.

[performer]

I watched the "patter pandemic" for the first two and a half minutes. I will try to watch more of it later. All I can do is reserve judgement for the moment. The trouble is that I STILL can't hear her properly! She talks a little too fast and in a fake voice that I can't quite hear properly. My hearing is not as good as it used to be but I still think performers should take that kind of possibility into account when they perform. I still remember sitting through an entire two hour show by Marc Salem and I couldn't hear a bloody word he said either!

I have always said that if a performer has a good voice that is half the battle. The problem is they never do the other half properly. I am not sure if this young lady has the same problem but in reverse. I will have to watch more before I find out.

With regard to Zig Zaggers point about my usually complaining about performers talking too much before they start the trick this may possibly be different because it is a good and attentive audience in a positive environment. And they know it is going to be a longer show. That can often help you get away with it especially if you are funny. I have no idea if she is funny or not since I can't hear her properly and even if I could nobody in history has ever made me laugh anyway. I expect she is funny since the audience seem to be laughing at something or other.

She did say in her lecture that just because you don't like something doesn't mean it isn't any good so I will bear this in mind when I watch another couple of minutes before tedium sets in as it always does when I watch magicians. I suspect she is quite good but I have to be able to hear her properly before I can judge the matter.

[performer]

I watched some more of her and still couldn't make out what she says. That fake voice irritates me probably because I heard her real voice when she lectured. Or should I say tried to hear her real voice. I wonder how she would go over with an audience using her real personality rather than the fake one. Bear in mind I am not saying it is wrong to use the fake personality. It is a good thing to have a distinctive character on stage. It is just that I have a preference for people who have interesting personalities off stage (as she has) to make use of it on stage. That is the trouble with those bloody acting classes (and I bet she took them). Everything comes out so scripted and unnatural. Still, the audience love her so I must be wrong. Of course it is an American audience and they give standing ovations for sneezing.

I don't really have a verdict on her. I strongly suspect that some people would find her very irritating indeed and other people would find her wonderful. A bit like Paul Daniels come to think of it. Great gobs of the British public loved him and great gobs of them hated him! I remember a television magazine conducted a poll asking the public who were the most popular television personalities in Britain and another poll asking who were the most unpopular. Paul was on both lists!

I suspect Carisa would come under that category. Anyway I dunno. I will have to watch a bit more to figure it out.

[AJM]

For goodness sake, talk about 'getting on with it' - can 'performer' not just watch the whole thing then perhaps give us his brief views afterwards?

I did see the Lucy Darling performances at Genii IV and have to admit I wasn't entirely bowled over.

Andrew

[performer]

For goodness sake, talk about 'getting on with it' - can 'performer' not just watch the whole thing then perhaps give us his brief views afterwards?

I did see the Lucy Darling performances at Genii IV and have to admit I wasn't entirely bowled over.

Andrew

I shall review things as I see fit. However, you have tended to confirm my opinion that her style may not appeal to British people who tend to rebel against inauthenticity. They really hated David Copperfield for this reason. I still remember reading reports of "an over the top American magician" and one person saying, "He is all teeth and moody". However, I had better translate the colloqualism which is actually grafter's slang. It does not mean he is "moody" in the usual sense. "Moody" is grafter's slang for "false". So the translation of the phrase means "false insincere smiling".

[Joe Lyons]

Most importantly, her paying customers enjoyed her act.

[Matthew Field]

I very much enjoyed Lucy / Carisa's act. What she has is a developed character who is entertaining to watch. Other than Rob Zabrecky, that is something I don't see enough of these days. Thank you for posting this, Tom, and Brava, Carisa!

[performer]

Most importantly, her paying customers enjoyed her act.

I agree with that. At least on that occasion anyway.

[MagicbyAlfred]

She said it was her ninth sold out show in a row at that venue...

[Richard Kaufman]

She is fabulously successful and audiences love her (and she is a pro who mostly works for non-magicians).
I've seen her work for laymen and she's a scream.

[Jack Shalom]

I thought she was great at the Genii Convention. She was quick on her feet and a wonderful host as well as a highlight worthy act.

As to "inauthenticity" --that's the whole joke. It's a great, funny character. Her audience knows she's playing this sexually suggestive character, but she does it so perfectly, and with such charisma, that it adds to the comedy. If you saw her offstage you might pass her by and not recognize her; in that way she reminded me of Marilyn Monroe who reportedly could walk down the street unrecognized if she wanted to.

I agree with those who say that her comedy is probably stronger than her magic--but I think her magic is really catching up from what it had been earlier, and she takes some old standards and makes them very entertaining. She also has a background in Carnie stunts like fire-eating, but Lucy Darling is a creation for the ages.

Oh, and one more thing--She's a real pro the way she never goes over the line with her audience. As suggestive as she is, she never lets anyone get truly embarrassed or uncomfortable; she never goes for the kill when she could easily do it.

[Chris Aguilar]

Carisa's "Lucy Darling" act was a real highlight at the recent Genii convention. Genuinely funny, clever and just plain fun.

I look forward to sharing her online show with my wife, who I think will really enjoy it.

[erdnasephile]

What I like most about this is Ms. Hendrix' well-appreciated gesture of contributing what she does best to help raise our spirits during these challenging times.

Would that even more folks would do the same!

[performer]

Aha! I see a You Tube video has been made of the performance. I can hear it much better now! I shall now watch as much as I can of it. Providing it is not too dreadfully vulgar I might even like it. In fact I have been trying to like it for a few days but haven't quite managed it yet. In her lecture she made a point that there are two types of criticisms. From memory and I may be misquoting her I think she said there is a personal like or dislike of a person's work and there is a more impersonal objective outlook. You judge the quality of the performance even if it isn't something you would personally do or even enjoy watching.

So you have a personal judgement which is a subjective thing and you have an impersonal judgement where you judge the quality only. Something like that anyway. I thought it was a very valid and intelligent point.

I haven't made a judgement yet (whether rude interruptions from Scotland like it or not) but from the little I have seen I am leaning towards saying that it is not something I would enjoy watching because I am an old misery but I certainly recognise the quality.

From the little I have seen and even littler that I have heard I don't think I personally like it but the quality is somewhat superb. Anyway the You Tube clip is a better format to watch it. At least I can hear the bloody thing now.

[Zig Zagger]

Zig Zagger, fortunately for Carisa most people strongly disagree with you.

Not that it matters, but I'm fine with that. I just shared my personal impression in a balanced way, I think, and I wish her all the best!

i see Zig Zagger's point as far as the suck time. But then again, I think she can be characterized more as a comedian who does magic than a magician who does comedy.

That's a good point, Alfred. The framing for me before watching it was "This is great / the greatest magic show ever / and it comes from the Chicago Magic Lounge." So I did expect a lot of great magic, maybe too much. A comedy show can certainly afford a much lower tricks per minute ratio.

I hate stereotypes, but along performers words on Copperfield I do wonder whether some acts or artists are actually perceived very differently in different cultures or regions--and why, precisely?

[MagicbyAlfred]

Enjoyable discussion. I think it's fair to say that very few, if any of us, can completely leave our personal biases, preconceptions, prejudices, preferences, experiences, mores, spiritual and/or religious beliefs (if any), upbringing, cultural and social background, and even gut feelings, at the door, before we watch a performer. Inevitably, we will observe through the lens of those elements, and they will color our perceptions, impressions and evaluations. What may be funny and entertaining to one, may be in poor taste and off-putting to another. That's why we're human, and not robots. Hmmm, Robot? That could be an interesting persona for a magician...

[performer]

.

I hate stereotypes, but along performers words on Copperfield I do wonder whether some acts or artists are actually perceived very differently in different cultures or regions--and why, precisely?

All I know is that David got so frustrated that I heard he took out a full page advertisement in a British newspaper (I think a theatrical newspaper) sarcastically thanking the British public for their less than enthusiastic reception. Brits are a tougher audience anyway because of their natural cynicism and dislike of pretension. I do remember one comment from someone about the flying trick that
Copperfield did involving (I think) the Grand Canyon. He said, "So what? We do that every year in Christmas Pantomime". It should also be noted that a hell of a lot more entertainment is seen in the UK than was ever seen over here.

Oh, and I also seem to remember that British audiences get drunk a little more often too. That also makes a difference.

[Ian Kendall]

There's an interesting divide in this discussion, but I think everyone is pretty much in agreement that Carisa is a very skilled character actress.

I had a chance to talk to her briefly in Orlando, and she explained some of the choices she made (for example, when I mentioned that the pronunciation of a certain word was at odds with the character, she said that it was deliberate, so that the audience would see that the character was a person pretending to be sophisticated).

As to the magic / script ratio, I am reminded of some advice (which I quote whenever I can) that was given to me about street performing; do you want to be a magician who entertains, or an entertainer who does magic? Because only one of them will make any money on the street. I believe that Carisa (and Lucy) are very much in the latter camp; it is an entertaining character show with magic.

[Bill Duncan]

I had the good fortune to see both Lucy/Carisa and RobZ at The 3 of Clubs magic convention (hi Evan!) a couple of years ago, and was blown away by how much better stage/platform magic has gotten in the past decade or so.

As far the the trick-to-presentation ratio goes, both Rob and Carisa kept me interested the whole time by being connected to their audiences in a way that was never for a moment dull. Most (real) people go to a magic show to see a show with magic in it and Lucys give them good magic wrapped in a wonderful evening of fun. (Rob Z as well).

Wasn't it Leipzig who told Vernon "If they like you they'll like your magic."? Maybe Lucy has read Vernon's Tribute to Leipzig. I would bet on it.

[TerryTerrell]

She is fabulously successful and audiences love her (and she is a pro who mostly works for non-magicians).
I've seen her work for laymen and she's a scream.

As a happy amateur, I found her character and act completely charming. Her performance of the chop cup made complete sense in the context of her act.

Definitely a show I would pay to see live.