Friday, July 26, 2002 | 2:15 a.m.
WEEKEND EDITION: July 28, 2002
It was Sept. 15, 2000, that Steve Wyrick made his Sahara Theater debut.
At the time of the premiere, Wyrick was 30 and had just left a successful 2 1/2-year stint at the Lady Luck, for more money and a theater of his own. It was clearly the smart move for the magician.
There were local skeptics, however, who questioned the Sahara's significant investment. Wyrick was an up-and-coming illusionist, and rumors spread that the hotel-casino spent $60 to $65 million in construction on the theater alone.
Even in Las Vegas, the gamble was considered risky.
Nearly two years later, however, Wyrick is still headlining at the Sahara, where he performs nightly, Wednesdays through Mondays.
The Las Vegas Sun recently chatted with Wyrick about his early days of performing in 1989 in Branson, Mo., how his show has changed since then, and if he believes he's met expectations at the Sahara.
Sun: You began your career in Branson, Mo. ...
Steve Wyrick: Many, many years ago.
Sun: How did you get started?
SW: I was visiting a friend of mine and we were walking in downtown Branson and we walked by this theater. It was so tiny, about 300 seats. My buddy actually knew the owner of the theater, who was kind of a restaurant tycoon in Branson named Jim Gibbs. He owned the Gibbs' Ribs chain. He had just bought that theater for $96,000 as an investment.
It was a national landmark. Roy Rogers and Fred Astaire and Gene Autry used to bring their shows to this theater. It was a theater with an unbelievable history to it, but it was in dire need of repair. It had become a little rundown over the years. I told my buddy this would be a perfect opportunity for me to do a show.
I did 14 shows a week, seven days a week: 7 o'clock and 10 o'clock. I can remember that grueling schedule. I was so exhausted after that was over. But the amazing thing was, the only employees I had back then were, obviously myself, and I had one girl assistant and one guy assistant, and then a gentleman that did sound and lighting, and then a person that basically sold and took the tickets at the box office and ran the concession. It's amazing that an entire operation ran on four people, but it did. And it was one of the most successful things that I would come to do, even in my later career.
Sun: How did your show then compare to your show now?
SW: Wow ... just since the Vegas years did I come up with the concept of doing magic with large, aeronautical devices and having a show that was themed around flying.
Back then, the show was a matter of two illusions. When I say illusions, they're certainly not the size of the mega-illusions that I do today, but more along the lines of a traditional magician ... very small levitation and an illusion where I twisted a girl up. The rest of the material was stand-up magic: rope tricks, card tricks, prediction tricks. They were all just me and a microphone. The stand-up bit could be seven or eight minutes long instead of illusion, big set pieces, dancers and all the high-energy things in my new show. It was much simpler.
Sun: Do you miss those "simpler" days?
SW: What I have now, it's so completely different than what I had in those days. The other thing I can say about those days is that I just didn't have the repertoire that I do today -- the comedy, all the different things. And the ideas for the tricks weren't as creative and weren't as high-end as they are today.
For example, back then, I would have some fruit in a bowl and I would invite someone onstage. They would sign their name on a handkerchief and I would make the handkerchief disappear. I would have them pick a piece of fruit and I would core out the apple, orange or whatever piece of fruit they chose and their handkerchief would be inside this piece of fruit. Those were the ideas back then. The ideas today are light years ahead of that.
Sun: It seems most magicians on the Strip or elsewhere try to stake out a niche or angle for themselves. What's your niche?
SW: I feel that my niche is, without question, that the largest illusions on the Las Vegas Strip are in my show. Certainly Mr. (Lance) Burton has his Corvette, and Siegfried and Roy, they have their elephant. But I feel like I've brought a different level of magic to the Las Vegas Strip, what I like to call "mega-illusions," which can be done live onstage. Such as the twin-engine Beechcraft Baron airplane. The thing actually weighs 17,000 pounds. We had to have steel supports put underneath the stage just to be able to hold the size and the weight of these props.
So, I feel like the effects in this show are beyond what traditional magicians have used. It's very different, the way I perceive it, from any other magic show on the Strip because we've pushed the envelope so far. It's not just the tricks that are different, it's not just the theater that's different -- it's everything in the whole field, the environment that I've tried to create.
That's really why "Magic to the Extreme" says it all. I feel like every end of the spectrum, in terms of the show, we've pushed the envelope.
Sun: Did you come up with the ideas for all the show's illusions yourself?
SW: Not all of them (but) a lot of them. There are illusion designers and there are certainly friends of mine that have definitely helped with the ideas. One of the illusions that was in the show right when I started is my license plate trick, in which there was a prediction. And I actually pull out a license plate with the letters and the numbers stamped into a real metal license plate. That was a prediction idea that I came up with. And shortly after the show opened, David Copperfield actually called wanting to acquire the idea and buy the prop.
I'm pleased to say three or four months ago that we came to a final deal on the piece and it's currently in his show now.
Sun: Does that bother you to sell an illusion that you developed? Sort of, "This is my trick, why should I give it to another magician?"
SW: Yes and no. Some people might think that, and I guess if it was your signature piece in your show, it might not be the thing that you would want to do.
David is certainly a really great guy, and has done a lot of great things for me. He was kind of my driving force when I was a child. I would see him on television and he'd been such an inspiration. And it really fit with a new routine he was putting into his show.
Sun: You have six years remaining on your original eight-year contract with the Sahara. Have you given any thought on what you'll do after that contract expires?
SW: I absolutely love the Sahara and adore Mr. (Bill) Bennett (the hotel-casino's owner). He's the gentleman that gave me my dream when I was at the Lady Luck. We were doing capacity crowds at the Lady Luck, but the thing that I really needed was a traditional theater ... with a really large stage to be able to accommodate some of the massive ideas that I was coming up with. (Bennett) is a wonderful man and he let me live my dream, if you will. So, I would absolutely be delighted after my six years to resign at the Sahara. Of course it was built from the ground up just for me, and I don't think I could be working for a nicer man. He's wonderful.
Sun: There were a lot of expectations when you moved over to the Sahara? Do you feel like you have met them?
SW: Currently, my numbers are very strong. We're doing 10 shows a week, which is a pretty rigorous schedule. There's other magicians on the Strip right now doing five or six shows a week. And, to have the numbers as strong as they are right now, I think it shows what we've done in two years. I know everyone within the casino is pleased. And I'm certainly pleased with the reaction.
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