INTERVIEW: Rick Thomas works his magic in ‘The Illusionists: Turn of the Century’

Rick Thomas is magic personified. The star of the new Broadway show The Illusionists: Turn of the Century is dazzling audiences nightly at the Palace Theatre in Times Square. His character on stage is called the Immortal, and his wife, Tara, assists and takes part in the breathtaking magic-making.

He’s accompanied by other award-winning performers, including Dana Daniels (The Charlatan), Charlie Frye (The Eccentric), Mark Kalin (The Showman), Jinger Leigh (The Conjuress), Thommy Ten and Amélie van Tass (The Clairvoyants), Justo Thaus Jin (The Grand Carlini) and Illusionists alumnus Jonathan Goodwin (The Daredevil).

Thomas is a tried-and-true mainstay on the magic scene. He performed in a successful Las Vegas show for 15 years, and when he’s not on Broadway, he offers his routines nightly at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri.

His style of magic in the Broadway show is billed as “Turn of the Century Grandeur.” He gives homage to the classic routines that have elicited oohs and aahs for decades, but he puts a modern twist on these mind-busting acts on the Palace stage.

Audiences will see Thomas make birds seemingly appear out of thin air and a grand finale that is truly soaring. “I’ve had my own show in Las Vegas for 15 straight years and actually was one of the most successful magical entertainers in Vegas,” Thomas said recently in a phone interview. “I’ve had the opportunity of touring the world and the pleasure of performing my show for many, many years.”

Although The Illusionists has played Broadway before, each holiday incarnation brings in a mostly different set of performers. This Turn of the Century show is Thomas’s first time on Broadway, although he has performed aboard cruise ships, in casinos and on stages across the world.

“I’m just glad we got through it,” he said of his Broadway debut. “There are a lot of things that go into it that are quite challenging. Illusions and everything that we do and create is a difficult process, and so I think there’s a lot of people who are in theater who have done every show you can think of under the sun. But when it came to a magic show, and it walks into the doors of the theater, they’re like, oh my God. It takes a little bit more effort here and there just to make things look magical, so we’re excited about that. That first show we were just glad to be able to get up and running.”

Backstage at the Palace Theatre can become a little cramped with all of the magicians, their assistants and the enormous props for the larger-than-life routines. “Getting the crew and we as entertainers to work together and pull it off in just a couple of days was magic in its own right,” he said.

Selecting Thomas’s routines for The Illusionists was a partnership between the show’s creative team and Thomas himself. “They had come and actually seen my show, and they felt that there were certain pieces that fit the style of the production we were creating and then others that I knew would be beneficial to the production as well,” he said. “I’m very pleased with the options we were able to tie into the show. I begin by being the dramatic illusionist, the Immortal, that everybody imagines maybe as an illusionist was in years gone by, and then halfway through the show, I get to break out of that shell, so to speak, and do a comical number in the parlor and make people laugh. And then I go into my award-winning bird act right after that, which shows versatility, and then at the end of the show, we do the grand finale illusion.”

When Thomas performs — either in New York, Las Vegas or Branson, Missouri — he loves looking down into the orchestra seats and seeing so many smiles. “I live for it,” he said. “That’s what I do. I don’t perform magic to per say fool people. I perform magic to entertain people, and my communication, my way I interact with the audience, I think you would agree is quite personable. There’s a camaraderie that I have that I establish very quickly with the audience for them to realize that we’re there just to have a good time.”

As far as magic credibility, Thomas has all the cards in his deck. He was named Magician of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts and Stage Magician of the Year by the World Magic Awards. He has headlined such Vegas resorts and hotels as the Tropicana, Bally’s, Planet Hollywood, Mandalay Bay, Mirage, Bellagio, Orleans, SunCoast, Sahara and Stardust.

“I started magic when I was about 7 years of age,” he said. “I went professional at age 17 and never looked back. It was my passion. I grew up next to Disneyland, and my greatest thing going out there was not maybe the outward appearance of everything but how everything worked. I was fascinated by [the] behind the scenes, and magic was my passion. And everything I did, everything in my life wrapped around figuring out how these amazing effects were created. Magic is a very ancient art form, and I think what’s wonderful about it is we still use many of the ancient concepts. I think that’s why the show in this situation works so well. As illusionists we are doing something alive. It’s not television editing. It’s not post-production. It’s live, and we are literally recreating a style of presentation that was done a 100 years ago and still today blows your mind.”

For younger magicians trying to replicate his success, Thomas recommends establishing a reputation and developing a routine outside the scrutinizing lights of Las Vegas or New York. Those two entertainment capitals are not the best places to begin. Instead, one should work hard outside the spotlight and work toward the Big Apple or the iconic neon city in the desert.

“I had a successful career, and I already had a show before I hit Las Vegas,” he said. “Las Vegas is not the place to go to create a show. It’s not a place to become famous. It’s a place you go after you’ve accomplished something in your life, and I think that would be the same for New York. You don’t come to New York to try to become a magician. You come to New York because you are a magician, and you have established a repertoire that’s quite strong and can hold its own. It’s not a testing ground out here. It’s the real deal.”

Up on the Palace stage with Thomas is his wife and collaborator, Tara, who comes from Zimbabwe. They represent the classic magic duo of two people who know each other’s every move and can dazzle with breathtaking magic that seems to be impossible. Thomas calls Tara the cornerstone of their production and the elegance that’s found in Turn of the Century.

Recently the two performers made a substantial change in their lives. After spending so many years in Vegas, they decided to head for an opportunity in Branson, Missouri.

“I was performing in Vegas, and I was given a call by Jimmy Osmond on behalf of the Andy Williams family and the Andy Williams Theater in Branson, Missouri,” Thomas said. “Andy had passed on about four years ago, and they asked me if I would bring my production from Vegas to Andy Williams’ theater. This is a gorgeous 2,000-seat theater in Branson, Missouri. It’s the greatest of all theaters in Branson, and I was actually thinking to myself, are you serious? Do you really want me to go out there and do this? And I moved my show out there, and after the first season, it went so well, they asked if I would residence the theater. And that means move, so I had a big think about it. And I moved everything from Las Vegas to Branson, and my wife is amazing. I have the opportunity to present a beautiful grand production and at the same time live in a wonderful part of the country, and I’m having a blast.”

As far as the audience members who take in a performance of The Illusionists: Turn of the Century, Thomas hopes they leave the dimmed lights of the Palace Theatre for the neon glow of Times Square with an idea that anything is possible.

“I feel like I’ve never grown up,” he said. “It’s an inspiration. It’s fantasy. It’s believing in the unbelievable, or the things that people can’t imagine you can accomplish. … I think that that’s what I would want these children to walk away with is follow your dreams. Make it a reality. Everything is possible. I know life is tough. It’s tough for all of us. Don’t think for a minute that my life has just been one simple magical moment. It hasn’t. I worked my tail off my entire life to get where I’m at, but at the same time, follow your dreams. And do what makes you happy. Have a blast doing it. Enjoy the ride.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

The Illusionists: Turn of the Century, with Rick Thomas as the Immortal, plays the Palace Theatre through Jan. 1. Click here for more information on the show. Click here for more information on Thomas.