'Sideshow' mixes magic, music
Chico Cabaret transforms into creepy circus with magician Wayne Houchin's gross-out gags
By: Sarah Worrell
Issue date: 5/7/08 Section: Entertainment
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Watch a video of Wayne Houchin at the bottom of this page.
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Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and see the sideshow - full of the weird and the wonderful, the surprising and bizarre, the peculiar and unimaginable.
But bearded ladies, extra limbs and alligator skin are not on the program. Magician Wayne Houchin and songwriter Josh Funk took the stage Friday and Saturday at Chico Cabaret, creating a circus-like mesh of magic and music to produce "Sideshow," a benefit performance for the theater.
"These guys are so generous and donated 100 percent of the proceeds to us," said Phil Ruttenburg, vice-president of the cabaret's board of directors. "That has never happened before, and it is a huge, huge gift."
Houchin and Funk met their freshmen year at Pleasant Valley High School when they tied for first place at the school's talent show, Houchin said. Friends ever since, the pair has performed together multiple times, but have never integrated like "Sideshow."
"It's nice to mix (Funk's) tone and style with the magic I do because it meshes in an interesting way," Houchin said. "With all the different elements of the band, magic and comedy, the only thing we could equate it to was a circus."
The smell of popcorn wafted from the old-fashioned stand outside the door, as a smiling man handed free bags to guests. A woman in a red, velvet coat standing outside the door offered a friendly hello as her dog, Domino, hopped through the hoops she held out for him.
Inside, guests' continual trips to the bar made for a rambunctious, cheerful audience that filled almost every seat. As the lights dimmed, the theater became almost pitch black except for a small circle of pale white light on stage, and the mellow sound and heartfelt lyrics of Funk drifted through the room and started out the show.
"His music is cool and soothing," said Renee Boyd, a member of the Chico Cabaret Company and guest at the show. "And there's a little bit of creepiness that makes it very interesting."
As Funk finished his set, Houchin took over the stage to perform some mind-boggling illusions. The two took turns in the spotlight, and even shared the stage when Funk helped out with a trick and Houchin played keyboard with Funk's band.
"This wasn't about the money or anything," Houchin said. "We just wanted to come together and do an awesome show."
Houchin's illusions consisted of swallowing 40 sewing needles and a piece of thread and coughing them out strung perfectly together, pushing a quarter through a soda can with no hole and slamming his hands onto covered knives, hoping to not get stabbed.
"If I told you how I did it, you'd be really disappointed," Houchin said to one of his volunteers asking how he did a trick. "Or you'd remember how to do it."
A casual and comedic performance, Houchin involved the audience members, joked around onstage and made the performance both enjoyable and fascinating.
"I've seen these tricks hundreds of times," Ruttenburg said, who has known Houchin since he started performing in high school. "But it's always exciting, and I can't figure out how he does it."
Having made a career out of the power of illusion and teaching other magicians tricks of the trade, Houchin said he is doing what he loves and plans to continue on the same path.
"It's all about interacting with the audience," Houchin said. "My goal is to let people experience something that they will remember for the rest of their life - and have a hell of a lot of fun watching."
Sarah Worrell can be reached at
sworrell@theorion.com
Indecent by Wayne Houchin
Video from YouTube
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