Last night, the Master of Illusion and disputed King of Handcuffs, Harry Houdoni, performed at the Royal Palladium! If you didn't attend, you missed a crackerjack show!

The standing-room only performance began with the uproarious comic stylings of comedian Slappy Henderson. While Slappy was taking jabs at the Coolidge administration, he was distracted by a portly theater patron who was late taking her seat in the front row. Slappy was merciless in ridiculing the woman for her tardiness and took no time in commenting on her floral print dress and matching hat: "I like your dress, lady. But isn't it a little early for Halloween?"

 

After Slappy warmed the crowd, Harry Houdini took command of the stage, joined by his beautiful wife and assistant, Bess. The Houdini's pulled out all the stops astounding the crowd with amazing feats of daring and miracle, including Mr. Houdini's death-defying escape from "The Watery Grave", a custom-made aquatic tank built by J.J. Thompson, the owner of the Royal Palladium. So confident was Mr. Thompson that Houdini could not best his contraption, Thompson staked $50,000 on the challenge! Yow! What a blow to J.J.'s billfold! (Read our exclusive coverage of this story on page 5.)

Even with such spectacle, it was the last illusion of the evening, the "Houdini Transformation", that simply brought the house down!

 

The illusion began with two iron cages being lowered from the ceiling, to the stage. Bess gracefully stepped into the first cage and got lifted three feet into the air. As stagehands covered her with a cage-length curtain, Harry Houdini stepped into the adjacent iron cage. While he was lifted up, Houdini transfixed us with a penetrating stare and began a countdown. At "three", his cage came to a halt three feet above the stage. At "two", a cage-length curtain quickly enveloped the magician. But it was not Houdini's voice who shouted "one"! In less than a heartbeat after it was dropped, the curtain was instantly lifted, revealing Bess Houdini standing where her husband had been but a moment before! Harry Houdini had vanished!

 

Amid the applause, Bess gestured to the still cloaked cage suspended beside her. A stagehand removed the curtain to reveal not Harry Houdini as we all expected, but Slappy Henderson!

"You thought you had gotten rid of me, didn't you?" Slappy yelled to the woman in the floral dress. The poor woman lumbered up from her front row seat. "Someone ought to teach you some manners!" she said, wagging a pointed finger at him. She then turned to face the audience, removed her hat and wig with a flourish, and revealed her true identity: Harry Houdini! The Royal Palladium exploded with applause as the Houdinis took their bow to a standing ovation! Never before has St. Louis been treated with such unparalleled magical genius!