Defying death has become a calling card for David Blaine. In one of his first live stunts, the Brooklyn magician was buried alive under a three-ton water tank for a week without food or water. In another act, he froze himself in a block of ice for almost 65 hours.
At this point, he’s either crazy, or one of the greatest stunt-masters and illusionists (amazingly) alive. In Spades, Blaine’s debut Las Vegas residency at Resorts World Theatre, confirms it’s a bit of both.
The show begins well before Blaine actually takes the stage. He’s quite busy greeting fans from several stories in the air as a large mass of red balloons supports his weight like a real-life version of Up. It’s a whimsical and memorable start, our only wish being that he got himself off the ground sooner and not in the midst of guests trying to find their seats.
The payoff is almost as good as the setup. He concludes his hang time in the only way a daredevil like Blaine can—by climbing a scaffold to the top of the theater and diving 78 feet down into a pile of cardboard boxes in the front orchestra.
“Now that we’ve got the crazy stuff out of the way, we can do the magic,” he deadpans, moments after the incredible feat.
And that’s how In Spades begins. For roughly 90 minutes, Blaine delivers much of the man-on-the-street magic we’ve come to expect from the performer of nearly 20 years. Cards appear in the most impossible of places, rings are swallowed and miraculously returned, and live body horror drives hardened skeptics to the stage for a closer look. In perhaps the most knuckle-biting act, he submerges himself into a water tank with a crocodile, leaving the room aghast; friend and movie star Edward Norton emceed the tense nine-minute stunt on opening night September 30.
There’s a genuine variety to his performance, but we almost wish we could’ve seen it in a more intimate setting, considering how much emphasis Blaine has always put on delivering just “simple, good magic.” Still, there’s a lot to be said for the versatility of the Resorts World Theatre and its impressive scale, especially when it comes to bigger tricks like the balloon stunt.
Blaine has already added six more Las Vegas dates to his schedule for January and March 2023. If it’s magic you want, you will find it here, in spades.
DAVID BLAINE: IN SPADES October 28-29, December 16-17, January 6-7 & 27-28, March 10-11, 9 p.m., $59+. Resorts World Theatre, axs.com.
