I don't know how much longer I'll be able to actually do the show.
David Blaine, Las Vegas Strip Headliner
David Blaine isn’t on tour, but the magician and daredevil continues to make appearances in Las Vegas in between filming for an upcoming docuseries. He recently extended his “David Blaine: IMPOSSIBLE” residency through the end of the year at the Wynn’s Encore Theatre and shares some thoughts on performing in Vegas.
Do you adjust your shows specifically for Las Vegas?
“Well, for Vegas, you want the spectacle because people come expecting that, but you still want the interactivity of the audience … What I like about Vegas is you have a constant mixture of people from all over the world — different languages, different ages — but they're all reacting in a similar way, which is pretty amazing.
“Magic — closeup magic, interactive magic — and then (feats of) endurance are the culmination of everything I’ve worked on the majority of my life. It’s exciting, but I don't know how much longer I'll be able to actually do the show.”
Why is that? Is it the element of danger, which has been part of this business dating back to Harry Houdini?
“I think he liked to push himself, and I know that I like to push myself every night. It keeps me excited, keeps me alert … I think the fact that anything can happen and anything can go wrong makes it a unique experience for the audience.
“Before every show I can't eat for 36 hours, which means I don't have the electrolytes. So I'm holding my breath, I put a gallon of water in my stomach, I make myself into a human aquarium, a human fire hydrant [for the climax of a fireball stunt]. So there's just so many different elements that I've studied throughout the years. I’m a human pin cushion too. There’s that, plus magic. So it's a lot.”
How does the show compare to the previous residency at Resorts World? I enjoyed both, but the Wynn show seems to flow better.
“I think it's much better, based on repetition, tweaking, and tightening it up … It’s a work in progress and never the same (from night to night). It's always changing, which is fun for me, but I haven't gotten to the place yet where I'm like, ‘This is the final version.’ As soon as I have the final version, then it's done and I won't do it anymore.”
Performances for “David Blaine: IMPOSSIBLE” resume August 21. Tickets begin at $69.95
