An evening of magic and fun with Blaine

MANILA, Philippines - All roads lead to the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City tomorrow, Sept. 12, for what is expected to be an enchanting evening of magic, illusion and entertainment featuring one of the world’s hottest magicians.

David Blaine will treat the audience to the allure, excitement and spectacle of magic tricks and endurance tests when he makes his local debut in the Manila leg of his first-ever Asian tour that culminates his top-rated US television special.

Dubbed Real or Magic, the show is expected to draw an impressive crowd of magic fans who have followed Blaine’s TV program and are anxious to watch him  perform his stunts and illusions up close and personal. 

The live presentation from Ovation Productions brings to the stage an awesome extravaganza that will showcase the talent of the magic celebrity acclaimed as “the most exciting and most creative magician since Houdini.”

For 90 thrilling minutes,  Blaine will blow his audience away as he executes a breathtaking array of tricks and stunts that will test the limits of his physical strength and capability.

Real or Magic aptly describes the saga of Blaine who started to develop an interest in magic at the age of four when he saw a magician performing his stunts in the subway in Brooklyn, New York City, where he was born and raised by his half-Puerto Rican and half-Italian father and Russian mother.

He has never looked back since then on his journey to the top as he conquered millions throughout the world with his magic acts.

He made his TV debut on NBC on May 19, 1997 with a special, David Blaine: Street Magic, where his performance earned him rave reviews from the New York Daily News, Time Magazine and The New York Times.

The next few years saw Blaine becoming more creative as he demonstrated mastery of his craft in a series of bolder and more death-defying performances.

Most notable of these acts were those featuring Blaine inside a sealed coffin-like box submerged at the bottom of a three-ton tank of water for a week, encased in a huge block of ice for 63 hours, standing unsecured on top of a 36-meter high narrow pillar for 53 hours, and dangled in a plastic cube above the Thames River for 44 hours with only water to sustain and keep him alive.

Blaine broke a Guinness Book of World Record in 2008 during a live performance in The Oprah Winfrey Show, when he held his breath underwater for 17 minutes and 44 seconds.

His ultimate spectacle featured him being zapped by a million volts of electricity produced by eight Tesla coil towers for 72 hours.

In his show tomorrow, Blaine will hold his audience spellbound with less daring but still breathtaking acts ranging from card tricks and sleight of hand to pushing needles through his arm to the twisting of a chicken’s head and putting it back on.

(David Blaine: Asia Tour 2014 Live In Manila! is presented by Ovation Productions in association with AXN and Air21, Makati Shangri-La and Showbiz Mansion. The Philippine STAR is one of the media partners. Ticket prices are P6,865, P5,810, P4,755, P3,700, P2,115 and P1,060 and are available at Ticketnet outlets and online at www.ticketnet.com.ph. For details, call 911-5555.)