Dennis Watkins created “The Magic Parlour,” which began Chicago's the Palmer House Hilton on New Year's Eve in 2011. It has since changed venues. (Photo by Kyle Flubacker)
Miami audiences know Dennis Watkins from his portrayal of Harry Houdini in his shows here, but summer, he is leaving the ropes, chains, and “Water Torture Cell Chamber” behind to appear as himself: a master magician who is one of Chicago’s most well-known entertainers.
For the next two weeks, Watkins will be presiding over Teatro restaurant, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, which will be transformed into “The Magic Parlour,” where audiences can dine, drink, and be entertained by Watkins’ special brand of close-up magic, mind reading, and storytelling.
Watkins, who is 48 years old, has honed his skills over about four decades, when his grandfather, Ed Watkins, used to show him magic tricks at his downtown Dallas magic shop.
Dennis Watkins honed his skills over about four decades, when his grandfather, Ed Watkins, used to show him magic tricks at his downtown Dallas magic shop. (Photo by Kyle Flubacker)
“I was introduced to magic at a very, very young age and I just clung to it. It was just the perfect thing for a little kid who had a big imagination,” he told MiamiArtzine in an interview.
It was there that young Watkins was also introduced to people who would become magic’s royalty, including Mark Wilson, “who my grandfather hired to work behind the counter,” and went on to become America’s first television magician, and John Gaughan, renowned as one of magic’s greatest illusion builders, who has worked for Harry Blackstone, Sr., David Blaine, and David Copperfield.
Choosing the life of a magician might have worried some parents, but not Watkins’, he says.
“I don’t know that my parents were that excited about magic as a career trajectory, but they were committed to empowering all their children to do what they wanted to do. In my case, they pushed me into studying theater, so I could become more comfortable on stage, and this helped me make my way into this weird realm.”
Miami audiences know Dennis Watkins from his portrayal of Harry Houdini in his original "Death and Harry Houdini," which played at the Arsht Center. (Photo by Kyle Flubacker)
Watkins graduated South Methodist University in Dallas, then earned a bachelor in fine arts degree from the Meadows School of the Arts there, and then he went to London, to train at the British American Drama School in London.
Along the way, he learned, he says, quoting acclaimed magician Eugene Berger: “There are many rooms in the house of magic.”
In magic, you can be a performer, but there are also other jobs needed, including writers, directors, engineers and technicians.
“I learned that I am more on the side of performing and storytelling. Magic can carry a story in a really strong way
After school, Watkins and some of his theater friends from Texas and London, moved to Chicago, where they launched the House Theatre of Chicago, a non-profit theater company founded in 2001, which was devoted to using storytelling as a way of creating community, and which garnered both prestige and a truck full of awards during its 21-year run.
Magician Dennis Watkins outside the marquee at his current “Magic Parlour” in Chicago.
The fledgling theatre company launched in 2001, with its first production, “Death and Harry Houdini,” starring its artistic director and star, Watkins, and he performed several runs of the show. The company also forged a relationship with the Arsht Center, where Watkins mounted two productions of the show in the Arsht’s Carnival theater.
At the same time, Watkins created “The Magic Parlour,” which began at the Palmer House Hilton on New Year’s Eve in 2011, and, although it has changed venues since, has consistently garnered top reviews and awards, including ranked as the #1 magic show in Chicago, five-star ratings on Tripadvisor, and it also earned the “Travellers’ Choice award, ranking it in the top 10 percent of attractions globally.
“The Magic Parlour” provides Watkins with the opportunity to do what he loves most, which is perform his show almost nightly I front of a live audience. .
“I love the rehearsing and crafting the piece, but the performance is where the excitement and magic live.”
Mind-reading is part of the show at Dennis Watkins' “Magic Parlour.” (Photo by Kyle Flubacker)
It also brings to life his favorite memory from childhood, which was when people gathered in his grandfather’s store, to watch him demonstrate magic.
Like Watkins’ “Magic Parlour” in Chicago, the Teatro, which seats 70, is larger than a magic shop, but Watkins has crafted the show so that it feels intimate, with audience members getting involved in the show.
But, unlike other performers, Watkins does not use projection screens; instead, he relies on audience participation, and that’s what drives the show, he says.
“I like to have the audience participate. When I call on an audience member, it isn’t to make them feel foolish, my goal is to make the audience member feel like a magician, and make astonishing things happen.”
Dennis Watkins is a master of the sleight of hand and mentalism and has wowed crowds in his regular shows in Chicago. Now he's coming to impress with his magic in Miami. (Photo by Kyle Flubacker)
“Imagine I borrow your wedding ring, and wedding ring from the person next to you and suddenly they are joined together. Or I ask you to think of the first girl you kissed, and then I tell you her name. It’s magic, and it’s exciting.”
And, if the audience leaves shaking its head, and collectively wondering, “how did he do that,” well, that’s Watkins’ goal.
“All of us have large AI language models, like ChatGBT, available to us at all times to answer all of our questions. But when we get answers to all our questions, we stop thinking. It’s the questions that are the fun part. So, in this room, I get to say, ‘Put away your phone and live in the area of the question, and let magic spark your imagination in a way that nothing else does.”’
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Dennis Watkins’ The Magic Parlour
WHEN: July 9-July 19, Sunday through Thursday, with matinees, late afternoon and evening performances at varying times across the run.
WHERE: Teatro at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, 33132
TICKETS: $75 general admission, $125 for show and VIP experience, limited to 20 people, for an additional 30 minutes with Watkins, includes close up magic and chance to ask the magician questions. Food available for purchase.
INFORMATION: (305) 949-6722, www.arshtcenter.org
