Terry Roses' Wonder-Filled Box of Wonders

Terry offers a peek inside the box.

This weekend the much anticipated opening of the Alhambra Theater in West Duluth finally arrived with a vibrant and lively debut featuring magician Terry Roses and his "Box of Wonders." Preceding the Friday evening show, an effusive Bob Boone hosted a special celebration for supporters and contributors, without whom this project would likely never have happened. 

During these weeks before the opening the flurry of activity reminded me of runners making a final kick in a marathon, or race horses galloping down the stretch, hooves pounding and eyes blazing. 

Then suddenly it was here. 

Many of those present at the opening had been here numerous times over the past several years, observing the progress or lending a hand in myriad creative ways. Finally, it was time to take a seat and enjoy this first show of a new era.

THE BOX OF WONDERS

The story, like many tales, begins with a dream. Terry's dream is about a rainbow. We've all heard about the pot of gold that can be found at the rainbow's end, but Terry wondered what might lie at the other end of the rainbow. As it turns out, this is where he discovered the Box of Wonders.

To his great surprise, when he woke from the dream, the Box was sitting there next to his bed. Once he found the Key, he was able to open the box and thereby share the magic he found in the dream.  

Props. The Alhambra, a renovated Vaudeville-era theater, 
added a measure of magical wonderment to the experience.

Ah, how beautiful rainbows can be.

Roses is a master of card wizardly.

One of the tricks performed involved this talking bird (above) 
which predicted what an audience member would roll with a pair of dice.
The bird told us that on the fourth roll Misisipi Mike would role a 12. 

Sure enough, on the Fourth Time Around, he rolled a 12.

Magicians enjoy bringing people up from the audience. This young lady

was asked to select a card without revealing it. Roses spread the cards

on a table, held her wrist and used her own hand to lead him to the card.

Another trick involved a marked coin that would disappear and then 

re-appear inside of what looked like a large ball of string.

Roses showed us "the fastest trick in the world" which involved two 

volunteers selecting cards from a pair of decks which he cocked to

emulate six-shooters. The two chosen cards flew out like bullets. 

Naturally they were the cards we selected.

One of my favorite tricks was a mind-boggler in which two volunteers--

Mary and Frank--were each dealt ten playing cards. They were then 

instructed to re-count and affirm that they each had ten cards.

Terry Roses then said he would remove three cads from Mary's pile 

and transfer them to Frank's. He never touched any of the cards, but

made a "pfffft" type of noise to indicate the sound of cards flitting 

into Frank's pile. When they counted their cards, Mary only had seven 

and Frank had thirteen. This occurred three feet from my eyes. 

Impossible, but it happened. So simple yet so amazing.

Terry showed Misisipi Mike some of the tricks poker cheats use.

Roses used storytelling to knit his disparate parts of his show together.
Part two included scenes about The Quest, Never Enough Time,
the Sands of Time and the Oracle of the Rose. In the end I would say
that everyone present witnessed things they'd never seen before.

Afterwords, much of the audience was welcomed to the stage
for photographs and more.

 

For more:

An Interview with Terry Roses and His Box of Wonders

Introducing Terry Roses and His Box of Wonders

Terry Roses as The Honest Cheat

I met Terry Roses through the late John Bushey, host of the Dylan-themed radio hour Highway 61 Revisited. Bushey had many passions beyond his well-publicized Dylan fascinations. A former school teacher and naturalist, he was also a Houdini aficianado, professional and handcuffs collector, this latter a direct off-shoot of his escape artist hero Houdini, and his mentor Terry Roses.

Like Houdini, Roses was much more than an escape artist. Magic, illusions and inventing new tricks opened doors for Terry Roses around the world.

 

Besides escape tricks, another facet of Houdini's career was disproving mediums and revealing frauds. In this, Terry Roses also emulated the great master magician. Terry's contemporary application of this was to become The Honest Cheat. Roses became an expert in identifying the ways gamblers cheat, and the variety of ways they mark cards, "load" dice, etc.

During the past several years Roses has worked on a new act which he calls The Box of Wonders. Here's a brief interview we conducted that will give a glimpse of this new show which he is unveiling at the Alhambra this weekend.

 

EN: Your career mirrors Houdini’s in many ways, from escape artistry to exposing frauds as ‘The Honest Cheat.’ How has Houdini’s legacy inspired you, and how does Box of Wonder reflect that influence?
 

TR: I have been fascinated with illusions for 65 years. When I moved from Cloquet, MN. to Orange County, California I decided to emulate Harry Houdini. My Challenge escapes obtained national media attention, resulting in obtaining a LOT of free publicity for my magic shows. THE BOX OF WONDERS is my way of expressing my dreams in the format of a playlet.

 

EN: The Alhambra’s Vaudeville-era stage is a unique setting for your Box of Wonders. What is it about this historic venue that excites you, and how does its atmosphere enhance the storytelling and illusions in the show?

 

TR: The cozy atmosphere of the Alhambra Vaudeville Theater will provide an intimate connection with the audience. I love having audience members participate throughout the performance.

 

EN: You’ve described Box of Wonders as ‘storytelling with illusions.’ Can you share what the ‘Box’ represents in the show and how it ties into the narrative you’re crafting for the audience?

 

TR: THE BOX OF WONDERS brings to life a dream of the end of the rainbow and what I found there. 

 

EN: As an inventor of new tricks, what’s one innovative illusion or escape in your Box of Wonders that you’re particularly excited about, and what inspired its creation?

 

TR: Animatronics bring to life, children's stories--such as the Hare and the Tortise, The Enchanted Garden and Olympic Dreams. (I’ve spent ) Five years, creating many special effects.

 

EN: Your work as ‘The Honest Cheat’ exposes the mechanics of deception in gambling. Will  The Box of Wonders incorporate elements of this expertise?

 

TR: I have worn many hats. Magician, Escape Artist, Balloon Pilot, Master Locksmith & Safecracker, Inventor, Entrepreneur of Fragments of History, specializing in rare books, coins and gems. Up until Covid I owned a secret lab where I developed special effects for magicians. One of my discoveries allowed a person to see through things. I marketed the trick to many of the world's leading magicians under the alias of Dr. X. The discovery was called THE Dr. X RAY Vision System. 

 

Eventually the casino industry reached out to me to address the WORLD GAME PROTECTION CONFERENCE. This is because Ray Vision allowed a person to see through playing cards. One discovery led to another. High profile government agencies suddenly became interested. That's a story for another time.To answer your question, all of these adventures have played a part in developing THE BOX OF WONDERS.

 

EN: You’ve traveled the world performing and inventing magic. What personal experiences or passions have shaped your Box of Wonders, and what do you hope audiences take away from the show?

 

TR: Audiences will be delighted, amazed, have many laughs, suspend their imagination, and once again recall what it was like growing up in a world filled with wonder.

 

Related Links
Escape Artist, Magician, Inventor, Honest Cheat: How Following His Passion Unlocked Terry Roses' Career

The Handcuff Kings

TICKETS for The Box of Wonders