PREVIEW
Morton the Magician In: Ta Da!
By Sheldon Casavant
Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
Arden Theatre
5 St. Anne Street
Tickets: $15 adults, $12 children/seniors. Call 780-459-1542 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca
Some family shows are so magical, so captivating and beautifully orchestrated you want to see them several times.
One such show is Morton the Magician In: Ta Da!, the sleeper hit of the 2016 Edmonton Fringe Festival. This dreamy family show, that completely captures the innocence of childhood, arrives at St. Albert’s Arden Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 17.
A 45-minute blend of mask, illusion and theatre, this all-ages tale is about overcoming one’s fears to reach your goals.
Morton loves magic and practices it every spare minute, even while he should be studying. Tucked in his bedroom, he waves a wand, warms up with card tricks and rings, and makes a talking rabbit disappear and reappear across the room.
There’s a big talent show at school and Morton is keen to show off his tricks. But he’s nervous. What if he fails? Doing tricks in front of a whole school is a lot scarier than just practising in the privacy of his bedroom. Through a burst of perseverance, he sees his dreams fulfilled.
“The message here is believe in yourself. Develop the confidence to be the person you want to be, and have faith and confidence to be what you want,” said illusionist Sheldon Casavant, the show creator.
The theatrical narrative is straight off the pages from Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show, a children’s storybook Casavant wrote.
“It’s autobiographical and inspired by my discovery of magic and the struggles I went through. I started when I was 11 or 12. When you do something that sets you apart, and no one knows what the result will be, it’s quite risky and affects your confidence,” Casavant said.
While Casavant hosts the show, University of Alberta fine arts graduate Jordan Sabo, whose specialty is dance, physical theatre and juggling, plays Morton.
Morton is a silent character and Sabo wears a full-head mask with a broad grin plastered across his face. The actor’s big challenge is to seamlessly fit each body movement with Morton’s moods: fear, delight, frustration and joy.
In closing, Casavant said, “ The main thing is to come and explore the imagination and discover a unique world.”
He will host a pre-show magic workshop for children using ordinary objects from around the house in the Arden lobby at 1 p.m.
