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 Greg Frewin performs a levitation trick. |
Magicians are creepy. At least, that’s the general conclusion many of us came to during our childhoods.
We were kind of kidding when we said that. But Greg Frewin answered the question seriously.
“I think magic has gone through a lot of changes over the past 15 or 20 years,” said the Canadian and world-renowned magician, whose special Greg Frewin Magic Man: Home for the Holidays debuts Wednesday, Dec. 9 on CBC.
“I think through the media, magicians like David Blaine and David Copperfield have weaved it into a cooler art form than it used to be.”
Magic Man is part stage show, part reality show, part biography and part Christmas special. The 42-year-old Frewin — who has his own dinner theatre in Niagara Falls, Ont. — intended the TV show to be suitable for the whole family, and his own family is featured prominently.
“Years ago I had an idea to bring stage magic, close-up magic, and kind of an American Chopper feel to a TV show,” said Frewin, who recently was named magician of the year at the 2009 World Magic Awards.
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“About 70 or 80% of my illusions, I build myself. There’s a lot of hands-on, so I thought it would be a great concept to let people see what it takes to put an illusion and a routine into a show.”
There obviously is a danger element to what Frewin does. In fact, Magic Man reveals moments where his wife expresses legitimate nervousness about the illusion he performs at the conclusion of the show, adjacent to the falls.
So with a wife and a young family, how does Frewin justify or resolve the danger?
“Wow, that’s an interesting question, I’ve never had that,” Frewin said.
“I don’t think you really come up with anything. But for me, I have to feel as if I’m in as much control of the illusion as I can be.
“Being really hands-on with the building process helps, because I know every nuance of that prop. I do all my own welding. If someone else has built it, there’s always that question there. This way, if there are danger factors, it’s a little easier for me to handle.”
And here’s something to think about:
“If you buy a car, you have no idea who built it and no sense of what’s inside that engine,” Frewin said.
Still, magicians are a breed apart.
At one point during Magic Man, Frewin proclaims that it always was his childhood dream to “defy the falls.” Sheesh, our childhood dream was to see Victoria Principal naked.
“Well, I didn’t say that I didn’t have any other dreams,” Frewin said with a laugh. “I’m kind of with you on that one.
“I started with magic very young, though. For a while, I got into standup comedy. But the magic still stuck with me.
“I was just drawn to it.”
And now Greg Frewin hopes TV viewers will be drawn to Magic Man.
He actually doesn’t seem all that creepy. Really.