ARCHIVES

ARCHIVES

Pendragons open Clark Center season

By Steve Fairchild

Buy this photo now
OPENING ACT -- Charlotte and Jonathan Pendragon will perform at the Clark Center this weekend. Adobe file photo

While they are world famous magicians who have performed at the White House on three occasions, The Pendragons say they are glad to be back in their hometown for a Sept. 24 show at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts.

"Give me rural people any day of the week," Jonathan Pendragon said from his home in Arroyo Grande. "A lot of people here are kind to us and have accepted us, even though we are artists and we're odd. We would never want to live anywhere else. We love Arroyo Grande."

Jonathan and his partner and wife, Charlotte, who just celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary together, will be in town to help kick off the Clark Center's fourth anniversary season.

The Pendragons are scheduled for one show Saturday night but could add another show depending on ticket sales, Jonathan said.

The Pendragons hold the world's record for the fastest illusion with their lightning-fast version of Houdini's famous "Metamorphosis." The trick was featured earlier this year on ABC television in "A Gala for the President," a show to honor the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pendragons performed for 15 minutes in a star-filled night that included Hillary Duff. Their segment was cut to one trick for the television show, but soldiers overseas where treated to their entire taped performance, Jonathan said.

The couple has performed in theaters and on television in more than 50 different countries and have starred in 14 prime-time network specials. In addition, they have performed for the queen of England and the prince of Wales.

Jonathan said performing for President George W. Bush and his cabinet, which included Vice President Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice, at the gala was an honor. He especially liked meeting first lady Laura Bush in person.

"She has an aura about her," he said. "Laura Bush is a very pretty lady, very sweet. No matter what you think of the president, Laura Bush is a sweet person."

He said he felt more at ease performing for President Bill Clinton, and the pair performed for him on two occasions. First lady Hillary Clinton even spoke to him on a first-name basis. But, he said, President Bush also loosened up for the event.

"When we went to the White House, we took pictures with the first lady, and Charlotte took one with president. I said 'You are more beautiful in person' to Laura Bush, and President Bush said 'Thanks a lot.'"

The Pendragons perform a ring trick that is considered quite astonishing. Jonathan scours the audience for different rings volunteered by the audience -- class rings, wedding rings, whatever is offered. Then he takes the three rings, magically links them together and holds them up for all to see.

At the presidential gala, he had Laura Bush help with the trick.

"I approached her and said, 'To break the spell requires a woman's touch. Squeeze my hands and blow a kiss.' I opened my hands and the three rings were separate. Her eyes just lit up."

That trick, along with "Metamorphosis," is one of the illusions folks can expect to see at the Clark Center show. The Pendragons will also bring their enchanted evening-style set, which includes a full moon and magician's tent.

"We do the tricks that if we don't do people get mad at us," he said. "We'll have a combination of new material and stuff that is considered 'greatest hits.'"

Jonathan said people won't want to miss the magic basket illusion, in which he jabs flaming swords through a basket containing his wife, a trick that has sent her to the hospital before for third-degree burns.

In addition, Jonathan will perform a funny piece in honor of Musashi Miyamoto, the greatest samurai who ever lived. In the sleight-of-hand trick, he will use chopsticks to catch a firefly in midair.

Asked if it is any more difficult to perform locally than it is at the White House, he said: "We always say that, if you're not nervous before the performance, you should get out of the business because you don't care. The second you walk on stage, performers take the nervous energy and change it into performance energy. If you don't, you get stage fright. Those who have done it long enough know how to change it."

While the Pendragons have been making an annual showing at the Clark Center recently, Jonathan said he would like to one day get a magic celebration going in the South County.

"What I would like to do is make a yearly event with a magic festival with other magicians performing around it," he said. "We could bring in magicians from China, Japan and Europe."

September 23, 2005