Houdini: A Magical Musical, the European-made show about the escape artist's final performance, will make its American debut on a national tour in 2028, with a limited Broadway engagement planned to follow. No cities or dates have been announced yet.
The musical is written and directed by Federico Bellone, with music by Giovanni Lori, whose Broadway-style score borrows color from Houdini's Hungarian roots. Paolo Carta is behind the magic and illusions, and Gillian Bruce choreographs. LetsGo, the Madrid-based producer led by Iñaki Fernandez, is producing, and Bond Theatrical is booking the tour.
The story opens on Halloween night in the present day, with a séance in a demolished Detroit theater where Houdini performed shortly before his death, and then steps back to that last show in 1926. Moving between the stage and the wings, it brings out the tensions between Houdini, his wife Bess and his brother Theo, as he keeps pushing his act through a bout of acute appendicitis. More than 20 illusions are promised, among them an elephant appearing onstage and a new take on the Chinese Water Torture Cell.
Detroit is the obvious place to begin, and Bellone has said he would be thrilled to open the tour in the city of Houdini's final show, though no routing is confirmed. The announcement comes days before the centenary of Houdini's death on October 31, 1926.
The show reaches the United States with two European lives behind it. It was tried out in Sanremo, Italy, performed in English by an American company led by Ryan Silverman as Houdini, and then settled into an open-ended run in Madrid with a Spanish cast, where it won Best New Musical at Spain's Premios de Teatro Musical. Silverman, a Drama Desk nominee for Side Show whose Broadway credits include Billy Flynn in Chicago and Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera, is listed in the title role on the production's website, with every other part still to be announced.
The production has released an official trailer on its YouTube channel:
Watch the official trailer on YouTube. The show runs about two hours with one intermission and is recommended for ages 10 and up. Tour updates will be posted on the official website.
