The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini

See it if You enjoy immersive theater, Prohibition-era stories, magic.

Don't see it if You don't like immersive theater and have no interest in Prohibition, speakeasies, or magic. Also if you dislike nudity.

Also I'm baffled by the negative reviews. I reviewed both Speakeasy Dollhouse: The Bloody Beginning and the Illuminati Ball, both Cynthia Von Buhler productions. Of the three, this is the most tightly scripted and plot-driven of the three.

The addition of "handlers"--people who move you from scene to scene--greatly enhances flow and clarity.

Pearls Daily is outstanding as Minky Woodcock, a strong, funny, sexy, and zany private detective. As with other Von Buhler productions, you are assigned to a character. Houdini, deftly played by Vincent Cinque (Pig King in Illuminati Ball) looks quite like Houdini and his charisma nicely complements Daily's screwball comedic presence.
Smaller players new to Von Buhler's team enhance the overall effect. The seance, and storyline about Minky's nemesis (a Canadian "spiritualist") is less compelling than the rest of the show.
But this play, based on Von Buhler's graphic novel, is clever, entertaining, and well-executed.... Read more Read less

See it if You like immersive experiences. Different segments are of different quality. Fun overall story.

Don't see it if Not the tightest direction/choreography of the different scenes.

Also It was cute but needed to be tighter. Saw in early previews.
Reading the comic book really helps comprehension.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy immersive/interactive theater. Good concept and there are some fun parts like the seance scene.

Don't see it if The execution was not always the best. Uneven performances and some scenes were not as interesting as others.

Also The venue was not the best. The best scenes took place in the non traditional and more intimate settings, such as the rooms above the theater.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy "immersive" theatre, although this wasn't super immersive. You have an interest in Houdini and the drama surrounding his death.

Don't see it if You want to know what is happening all the time.

Also You're assigned a character to follow and often don't see other characters, so certain group scenes are confusing. There's too many people in tight spaces and it's easy to lose your chaperone.... Read more Read less

See it if A great concept but a flawed execution of an immersive show (and I LOVE immersive). Odd group movement and choppy story cause a miss.

Don't see it if You don’t like to walk around a building to see a show. You don’t like interacting with cast members. Or are uncomfortable with nudity.

See it if You enjoy immersive theater experiences that allow audience interaction.

Don't see it if You expect polished acting, a coherent plot, or you hate nudity.

Also I wanted to like this so badly. Houdini? Immersive theater? Fun costumes in an array of settings? Getting to be a pragmatist and facing off against spiritualists? Sign me up!

Unfortunately, my $85 got me 2 hours of actors scrambling around, talking over each other, improvising when things should have been scripted, and packing as much nudity as possible into every scene for, essentially, no reason. I don't even mind nudity in shows where it makes sense. But in this case, it seemed a gratuitous choice (much like in the comic it was based on).

There were timing and location issues, and the amount of audience involvement was just enough to be irritating. If the actors had let the audience watch quietly like in Sleep No More, I believe this could have been a fluid performance that reached some narrative depths. But by dragging the audience in (encouraging them to make farting noises during the seance, having them write lines), it was just distracting and amateurish. So disappointing.... Read more Read less

See it if You are interested in Houdini, You are looking for a beginner immersive experience - this show is immersive but not really too immersive.

Don't see it if You want a true immersive, you are looking for good acting or a good story with a point - this show was lacking and disappointing.

See it if you want to see one of the worst immersive theater experiences of all time. You want to get bored.

Don't see it if you want to save your money. there are many better options for immersive theatre.

Also Everything in this play was a mistake. There wasn't a single enjoyable moment. The nudity was too much, the acting was bad. The venue was uncomfortable. What a disappointment! If felt dated, boring, without a real interesting story. The seances were meaningless and repetitive. There are scenes that we couldn't see anything. There wasn't any mystery. Immersive shows people must be really sad after experiencing this play.... Read more Read less