Escape Artist

Behind every great magician is ... a woman.

Kelly Flavell went through more pantyhose last summer than most women go through in a lifetime. After 414 performances in an eye-popping, big-stage illusion show at Darien Lake, the Erie, Pa., woman has squeezed herself inside more boxes than you can shake your magic wand at, held herself together while being sliced in half, and, in the blink of an eye, traded clothes with a member of the audience with her hands tied behind her back -- four shows a day, six days a week.

This is one magician's assistant who's as passionate about the magic as she is about the magician.

Performing with her high-school sweetheart, Cliff Hopkins, in one of the hottest new shows in magic, Kelly has grown to love the audience interaction, whether they're doing an intimate close-up routine, engaging in a playful comedy bit, or mounting an elaborate theatrical illusion.

"I live to see their faces light up with amazement," says Kelly, slipping into a flashy sequined dress and touching up her makeup. "For a moment, they believe in magic. They aren't thinking about their responsibilities, their problems, their bills. They're laughing, clapping and having a good time."

The popularity of this dynamic duo, who came to Erie a few years ago from Phoenix, Ariz., has not escaped notice. Their show, entitled, "The Magic of Cliff Hopkins and Kelly," packed the house with 50,000 people at Darien Lake last summer, and the theme park resort has already renewed their contract. An agent signed on to represent Cliff and Kelly with cruise lines and they're busy with requests from theatres, clubs and corporate gigs.

Gone are the days when a magician's assistant was an ornamental prop carrier, or "tray girl," though Kelly does spend a great deal of time pre-setting tricks and diverting the audience's attention. When Cliff and Kelly take to the stage, they are a team, each with an important role to play in making their show an unforgettable experience.

So, just where do you go when you vanish into thin air?

"Well if I told you our secrets, I'd have to make you disappear!" laughs Kelly. "But I will say that when Cliff and I create a new illusion, and he's trying to explain to me what I have to do, I often think, 'how am I going to do THAT?'"

The pert prestidigitator is always willing to accept a challenge, and, after all, practice makes perfect. "I have an adventurous spirit," explains Kelly, "And besides, my audiences are worth it. If it takes us hours and hours of rehearsal to master our craft and perfect a new illusion, then that's what we do. It's my job to make you believe --truly believe."

It's not uncommon for Kelly to make five or six costume changes in a big stage show. "I love to wear glamorous gowns; it makes me feel sexy," she says, "But the heels are a different story. Doing four shows a day, six days a week, your poor feet are begging for mercy."

THE FAMOUS MAGICIAN AND HIS ASSISTANT
Lisa Gensheimer and her husband Rich are producing a documentary about Erie native Harry Kellar, the most celebrated magician of the Gilded Age. Known as the Dean of American Magicians, Kellar was a mentor to Houdini and the inspiration for the wizard in L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. The project is being funded, in part, by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities 'We the People' initiative on American history; and by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. You can preview the trailer for American Mystic: The Magical Life of Harry Kellar at www.mainstreetmedia.tv.

This article first appeared in the December 2007 issue of Her Times, a publication of the © Erie Times News.