![]() Cohan, Burns & Allen, Tony Pastor, the Nicholas Brothers, Barbette, and more. See artifacts related to some of Vaudeville's best-known performers-Harry Houdini, Mae West, W. ![]() Learn what life on the road was like for the thousands of entertainers who traveled around the country performing in theatres that were part of a vast network of venues, and witness the mid-century revival of vaudeville's relevance in musical theatre, radio, film, television, and the internet. Shows featuring immigrant acts, racial stereotypes, and frequent appeals to nationalism defined a complex and often problematic sense of American identity at the turn of the 19th century.Įxplore vaudeville's influences from Roman mimes to the saloons of the American frontier. Performances on the vaudeville stage included comic sketches, magic, acrobatics, animal tricks, blackface performance, celebrity appearances, early film, and more. Houdini and Charmian London battle Martiansįor more than a century, vaudeville was the most popular form of American entertainment and one of the country's largest cultural exports. ![]() For more on the book and upcoming events, check out Rebecca Rosenberg's official website. Ironically, next month marks the 100th anniversary of Houdini and London's alleged affair, which was first uncovered by Kenneth Silverman in his 1996 book Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss. Now torn between two of history’s most mysterious and charismatic figures, she must find the courage to forge her own path, even as she fears the loss of everything she holds dear. Suddenly, charmed by the attention Houdini pays her and entranced by his sexual magnetism, Charmian’s eyes open to a world of possibilities that could be her escape.Īs Charmian grapples with her urge to explore the forbidden, Jack’s increasingly reckless behavior threatens her dedication. Charmian longs to be viewed as an equal partner who put her own career on hold to support her husband, but Jack doesn’t see it that way…until Charmian is pulled from the audience during a magic show by escape artist Harry Houdini, a man enmeshed in his own complicated marriage. As America teeters on the brink of world war, Charmian and her husband, famed novelist Jack London, wrestle with genius and desire, politics and marital competitiveness. This debut novel mixes fact and fiction to tell the story of Houdini's affair with the vivacious Charmian London. I'm also wondering if this means we might finally see a reprint of the Meyer book.Today sees the release of The Secret Life of Mrs. If Meyer really did use this book as the main source for his Houdini miniseries script, might we expect see some of these psychological issues explored? The most recent trailer, in which Houdini speaks about "fears", suggests the movie might indeed spend at least some time inside that mind of chains. Unfortunately, the book was never published in paperback or any edition after the 1976 hardcover. Some Houdini scholars dismiss the book as too much psychobabble, but I find it interesting reading, and in 1976 it broke new ground as far as revealing new information. It was also the first book to reveal the family conflict between Houdini, his brother Leo, and Sadie Weiss (who divorced Houdini's brother Nathan to marry Leo). It's a controversial book as it puts forth some highly Freudian interpretations of Houdini's Milk Can escape (a womb), hints of bondage in his act, and even suggests that Houdini might have suffered from claustrophobia. Houdini: A Mind in Chains is a "Psychoanalytic Portrait" of Houdini. That book was written by Meyer's father, Bernard C. Abrams revealed that screenwriter Nicholas Meyer "adapted" his screenplay for the 4-hour Houdini miniseries from the 1976 book, Houdini: A Mind in Chains. In the interview posted on Screen World News last week, producer Gerald W.
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