The Manipulation Show
Harlan, Dan
L&L Publishing
Harlan's attention then turns to the candelabra at center. He touches the first candle and it immediately changes into a white silk handkerchief. Dan removes a second and under cover of a handkerchief, it completely vanishes. Covering the last candle, a blue handkerchief is shown and then vanished. The cover is removed and the blue handkerchief is found to be tied around the candle. To finish the routine, Harlan removes the final candle and vanishes it just a few feet away from the amazed spectators.
The finale for the first part of the act are the classic Billiard Balls where solid red balls vanish, reappear, and multiply in a variety of startling ways.
A routine called "Tight Rope" begins the next trio of effects. A length of rope is displayed and a spectator is enlisted to help. In a series of confounding occurrences, she apparently plucks off the ends of the rope, leaving Dan with an endless circle of rope. The ends are restored and a second spectator is asked to assist. After the rope is magically cut using just the spectator's finger, the two ends are tied in a large knot and the rope is held at its ends by the two assistants. Harlan then slides the knot, eventually untying it to show that the cut has apparently moved magically to a different location.
Next is a piece Dan calls "Silken Dream," where a surprising number of silks in a rainbow of colors are produced from just a single one. Harlan then moves to the first effect in the show where the audience actually hears him speak, a piece called "Ouch." Instead of thimbles, Harlan displays a finger bandage which proceeds to invisibly jump back and forth between the tips of his index fingers. After the bandage vanishes a final time, Dan displays his left hand to show that each finger now has a bandage at its tip.
The last section consists of three magical classics. The first is an elegant and enchanting three-ring Linking Ring routine, followed by an interlude with the Zombie floating ball, and then the finale - a large Blendo apparently created from the silks produced during "Silken Dream."
Enjoy the show, then prepare to learn the secrets of a master as every nuance is revealed. Soon, you too will Pack Small, and Play Big!
Running Time Approximately: 1hr 39min
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Dan Harlan's one of those guys that I've had mixed feelings about for many years. I think he's clever, has many good ideas, and is a very innovative creator and thinker. I also think that his performances are extremely non-smooth and very choppy. At the same time, that's kind of "his thing." Further, his performances are full of (and I mean full of) puns and cheesey jokes/gags/etc. Yet on the other hand, most of his "cheese" is original - at the very least not hackneyed - "cheese."
All in all I'm a fan, but you may not be. That's your call. So here's the plan: we'll look at each one of the DVDs in this series individually. You'll find this intro at the beginning of each review of each individual DVD. It's, I think, a fantasy of a great many of us to have an act that fits entirely in small to medium sized case, yet still can dominate a room and play big. Thus, my main focus - though not my only focus - will be on how well put together the show is and whether or not it really does "Pack Small" and "Play Big."
The Manipulation Show
Well . . . if this is not the first review of mine that you've read about the Harlan Pack Small, Play Big series, you may be wondering what I was taking about when I said that his performances are non-smooth. The Trade Show and The Escape Show were relatively smooth. However, after watching The Manipulation Show, I'll just say this: I Told You So (Thank you Randy Travis). This performance set was pretty not-smooth in a few areas. I will say this, however: Harlan seems to really shine when he's not using "automatic" props. In other words, the performance of his rope routine was much better than his cane-to-silk and vanishing candles.
All in all, the show portion of this was just "ok." There were some great moments and plenty of stuff for you to learn from, but I felt the overall act had no real meaning. It felt much more like a dealer demo at more than a few places. However, this is a DVD about packing a small manipulation act that plays big. So we'll judge based on that. First, it does pack small, but unlike the past two that I've reviewed, this one takes a fair bit of pre-show preparation and set up. Whereas both The Trade Show and The Escape Show can be pretty much performed by opening your performance case and diving in.
Also, I'm not sure I would technically consider this a full manipulation act. She, he did the multiplying billiard balls and some simple thimble moves . . . but I would say most of the material was more like "classic" magic than a manipulation act. You learn the dancing cane, a color changing cane, cane to silk, candle to silk, vanishing silk, linking rings, multiplying balls, thimbles, Zombie Ball, blended silk, silk productions . . . I think that's about it.
I will say this, there were more than a few moves, sleights, techniques, etc. that I felt make this DVD worth owning. First, his rope routine is beautiful and has several incredible illusions that are highly recommended. He gets a ton of mileage out of a very simple prop. Furhter, he teaches some excellent linking ring moves that are just pure magic looking. Though his performance of the color changing cane was not overly impressive, the concept and idea taught is excellent. Additionally, he still clearly has several tips and suggestions that only come from real world experience. Definitely worth you attention.
Harlan's take on thimbles is smart. He changes the prop and presentation to be bandages wrapped around his fingers. It's clever and definitely one of the better "thimble" ideas I've seen. Harlan plays a large part of the show without speaking (sometimes with music, sometimes without). There is a lot to be learned from watching him perform this way. He also teaches a simple mime technique and a killer move that'll take your Zombie Ball into fresh and powerful territory.
All in all, there is plenty to learn from this DVD. Dan Harlan's not my favorite performer, but he's one of my favorite lecturers, teachers and thinkers. I'm "this close" to adding the rope routine on this DVD to my repertoire. One last thing, keep in mind that in order to perform many of these effects, you'll need to invest in some props (e.g., cane to silk, vanishing candles, etc.)
Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.