Word: merlin
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...Merlin is a name to conjure with. He last appeared on Broadway in Camelot as the house magician, turning a common urchin into King Arthur. But playing the palace was nothing compared with his latest assignment. In a new show that bears his name, Merlin has been called on to change a dog into...
...Merlin, the hero is observed just before the Arthurian legend, when the world is a crystalline Stonehenge and miracles are the order of the day. His teacher is a sage (played by Edmund Lyndeck, a seasoned performer). The faun who haunts his dreams (Rebecca Wright) is a comet from American Ballet Theater. And his enemy, the wicked Queen, is Chita Rivera, a blast furnace best remembered from West Side Story. In the classic tradition, gorgon and wise man vie for the magician's soul and the privilege of influencing the unseen Arthur, the once and future king...
During weeks of sold-out preview performances, Henning bolstered the show with with more effects than he could shake a wand at. Many of them had never been seen since the days of Houdini and Blackstone; none has ever been performed so adroitly. Even fellow magicians gaped at Merlin's entrance in a five-inch bubble that mysteriously expanded to life size before the wizard emerged. The other illusions were no less astonishing. On center stage, Debby instantaneously vanished...
Henning flew through the air, turned up side down and sideways and floated under an arch, dispelling any suspicions of guy wires. Women were levitated, dismembered and recombined. As the audience watched, Merlin disappeared, leaving only his costume behind. In a narrow cage, a panther turned into a chorine. A white horse vanished into thick air and reappeared on command All the while, the plot frantically expanded to accommodate the new effects...
...million brought some rewards: audiences began giving the star standing ovations. Still, there were prestidigitations beyond even Henning's capacity: he could not hold back the press. Last week the New York Times and Daily News, weary of the chronic postponements of a formal opening night, decided to review Merlin two weeks before Feb. 13, the latest scheduled official premiere. The producers complained. True, Merlin had been trying out in New York City since Dec. 10, but only because the show was too complicated to take out of town. Repairs were still going on. Demanded Rivera: "Would [the critics] come...