It was one of those busy weekends in Malad, with the Horse Races starting up and the Little League Tournament filling the town during the afternoons.  For those seeking something less familiar in their weekend entertainment, the magic of Crag Campbell was featured at the Iron Door for several engagements.  Campbell, a closeup and stage magician, presented a range of skills to a captivated audience with equal degrees charm and slyness.  

Campbell stated during his act that he has been practicing magic for over thirty years, and his love of the craft showed through, as he provided some historical digressions into the rivalry between Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, as well as nods to other figures in the history of the prestidigitatory canon.  

Joining Campbell on stage was his partner Christa Hughes, who Campbell met in Utah where the two currently live.  After signing on with Campbell to head out on the magic circuit, Hughes insisted that they make Malad part of their itinerary.  Hughes’ family is the same Hughes family you may know from Samaria, and the two made a stop out at the Blue Goose as part of
their trip.

The show included both close up magic (which is done with the audience directly involved and watching the actions of the magician), as well as stage magic (done from a distance), though in a venue like the Iron Door, all the magic was to some extent close up.

Campbell’s overall theme for the performance was the “power of imagination,” which he introduced with a demonstration involving a lemon that of course turned out not to be a lemon but a yellow rag with the word “apple” (a suggestion from the audience) typed onto it.

Along with a range of card tricks, Campbell presented feats of sleight of hand involving ropes and bindings, audience participation, memorization, and a nice double-twist with a copy of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  After having his volunteer select a random page, Campbell proceeded to pull out an identical volume of the book outside of her view and read from it.  What seemed like a humorous non-trick turned into a more astounding one when Campbell revealed that his “cheat copy” was full of blank pages and he had not been reading from it after all.  Or so one imagines.

Audience participation was a big part of the act, and Campbell, who doubles as a teacher during the “normal” part of the year, clearly has a lot of experience dealing with inquisitive groups.  The younger set in the audience were perfectly attuned to both the underlying humor throughout the act, as well as the spectacles themselves as they unfolded.

The culminating act had Campbell essentially play Russian Roulette with a set of staple guns, including one “live and loaded” one.  Another volunteer from the audience was responsible for selecting the gun that Campbell would use, winnowing them down in sequence until only the final one was left, which he proved was loaded by stapling a card to the table on stage.  While not quite as dangerous as the bullet trick made famous by Chung Ling Soo (William Ellsworth Robinson), it’s worth remembering that said trick was the cause of Robinson’s premature death.  With inflation the way it is, we can’t be risking magicians like that any more.  

Good nature and good humor certainly characterized Campbell’s act, and he took the audience along with him on the ride in a very entertaining show.  Hughes made for a perfect partner, keeping the myriad pieces in motion that were required to execute
the tricks.   

The Iron Door hopes to retain the services of Campbell and Hughes as returning attractions during the year, and hopefully that comes to fruition.  If you were unable or unaware of the show at the Iron Door, keep your eyes peeled and your imagination ready for the next time the duo comes through town.