About this Event
The year is 1924, and the Great Houdini is taking his crusade against Spiritualism straight to the public in a series of lectures filled with theatrical magic- and seance-debunking. At the same time, his close friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, is lecturing on behalf of Spiritualism, believing this movement to represent “a great Philosophy” that will usher in a new age for mankind.
Watch these two legends battle out the true nature of magic through a historically-based, largely verbatim play from writer-director Beth Burns and writer-performer Patrick Terry, using original materials from University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center archives. The result is a 75-minute performance complete with spell-binding magic and potent reflections on the afterlife in a sharp debate from these iconic figures. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the creative team.
Photo Credit: Poster made by Jennymarie Jemison
SEATING POLICY | Programs are free and open to all, but registration is requested. Check-in line forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. Five minutes before the advertised start time, all seats are released, regardless of registration, to our patrons in the stand-by line. If you arrive after the program starts, you will be seated at the discretion of our front-of-house staff.
STANDBY LINE | If registration is sold out or has ended, do not fret! We welcome you to come to the Library regardless of registration status and wait in our standby line, which forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Five minutes before the program starts, all remaining seats are released. While this is not guaranteed, we will do our best to get you into any of our programs.
ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing [email protected].
BRUNO WALTER POLICY | Please note that any unoccupied seat will be released five minutes before the show begins and holding seats for anyone beyond that is prohibited. There is no food or drink allowed inside the venue.
AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs may be photographed and recorded by and at the discretion of the Library for the Performing Arts and will post signs indicating as such. If you would prefer your image not be captured, please let us know and we can seat you accordingly. Attending any program indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any and all purposes of the New York Public Library.
PRESS | Please send all press inquiries to Alex Teplitzky at [email protected]. Please note that all recording, including professional video recordings, are prohibited without expressed consent from the Library.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts -Bruno Walter Auditorium, Enter via 111 Amsterdam Ave. between West 64th and 65th Street, New York, United States
USD 0.00
