This wonderful question has rarely bothered magicians for decades. It should. Some possible answers might include:•He is getting married today. •He just got off work as a waiter. •He is going to
prom.
Wait! The man is about to do magic. Surely anyone doing great magic wears a tux. It logically follows that a person dressed in attire not worn generally by
public in nearly sixty years must be a well trained and entertaining artist.
I encounter responses such as:
“People won’t know we’re magicians if don’t wear our uniform,” bemoan penguin-like prestidigitators.
“Real magicians must wear tuxes,” cries
part-time professional in his ill fitted and second hand attire.
The question of what magicians should wear has been around for more than a century. The correct answer has been around just as long. Unfortunately, many magicians don’t get it.
Jean Robert-Houdin,
father of modern magic, looked around at how his fellow magicians dressed. The common uniform for a “real magician” was to dress up like a wizard complete with a conical hat. Robert-Houdin chose to view magic as an art. He devised many wonderful effects. He would go out on a bare stage to present his magic dressed in formal evening attire. The attire was appropriate and commonly worn for evening theatrical productions. Instead of dressing in way completely different from his audience, Robert-Houdin dressed just like his audience.
The point being made is simple. If you want magic to be viewed as a fine art, take your performance and dress seriously. Let
quality of your magic performance speak to
level of your magic artistry. If you want to be a magic clown, then dress like a penguin.
What about Lance Burton? Great question, thanks for asking. Lance’s performing personality makes wearing a tuxedo appropriate for his performance. Mr. Burton consciously links back to magic’s historical roots. Figuratively speaking, he wears
mantel of magic passed down through
ages. He portrays
great magician out of our past. Lance performs classical magic effects while donning
classical magical attire.