WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Prepare to be amazed when world-class illusionist Vitaly Beckman takes the West Plains Civic Center theater stage at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 to perform his original brand of magic in “VITALY: An Evening of Wonders.”
The performance is being sponsored by the University/Community Programs (U/CP Department at Missouri State University-West Plains. Tickets are $8 each and available at the civic center box office at 110 St. Louis St., or by calling 417-256-8087. University students with a BearPass ID will be admitted free.
Known for illusions that erase a person’s face from his or her own driver’s license or causing a paintbrush to paint on its own, Vitaly’s creativity and talents have taken him around the world. Now settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, he’s known as “one of Canada’s most acclaimed and entertaining magicians,” according to the Chilliwack Progress.
Vitaly gained his reputation as a mind-blowing performer by breaking down barriers to let his audiences’ imaginations explore the realm of the impossible, according to his website, www.eveningofwonders.com. Each and every one of his illusions was created and designed by him to develop a show that is like no other. He “is literally the master of his own magical domain,” editors with The Province have said.
According to his website, Vitaly’s fascination with the artistic potential of magic was stirred at age 14 by a David Copperfield special. After wowing friends and family with his beyond imaginative and seemingly impossible illusions, Vitaly came to realize that he could conjure up a stage show unlike any other being performed. Departing from his family home and leaving behind a career in engineering, he honed his artistic approach to illusion. He has been amazing audiences in British Columbia since arriving there in 2008 and has been featured on the CBC and in the Vancouver Sun and The Province.
“I met Vitaly at a performing arts conference last year, and he stopped me and asked if he could show me something,” said Jennifer Moore, coordinator of U/CP theater and events programming. “It’s one thing for an illusionist or magician to ‘wow’ an audience from the stage. It’s much harder to stun an audience of one standing right in front of you. And he completely did. I’m still shaking my head.”
For more information about Vitaly and his illusions, visit www.eveningofwonders.com. For more information about his Sept. 29 performance in West Plains, call 417-255-7966.