Making Headlines with Magic of Show Biz

Dana Jensen/The Day

Kristina Dorsey, The Day - Some might call it magic. Others, a publicity stunt. Either way, it's 100 percent showbiz.

Apr 18, 2008 9:00 AM - There's nothing like a big ol' Event with a capital E to ramp up interest in an upcoming show, and even in absentia, magician Mike Super created a scene at high noon Thursday at the Garde Arts Center. A crane hoisted a newspaper vendor box 40 feet up onto the roof above the theatre marquee.

Inside the box is Super's prediction of what the lead headline will be in The Day on May 10, when he is set to perform at the Garde.

He sent, by FedEx, a cassette and a piece of paper containing what he thinks the headline will be.

He will unveil the recording that morning to see if he - shazam! - was right.

Super, who won a reality TV show for magicians, "Phenomenon," sent the taped-up FedEx package from his "Mike Super Cleveland Office." On Thursday, a gaggle of New London officials gathered in Beth Sabilia's law office next to the Garde to sign affidavits verifying the existence of the FedEx package. That package was then swaddled in bubble wrap, tucked into a large manila envelope, and taped into a plastic bag. You can never be too careful when hocus-pocus is involved.

The very protected envelope was locked inside a maroon metal Day vendor box. The box was raised onto the roof above the marquee, and chained into place. There it will sit until show day, and just in case any suspicious minds think someone could be sneaking into the box, a Web cam has been set up in the Dewart building across the way to keep a virtual eye on it.

The Garde plans to stream it live on its Web site (gardearts.org). True, it isn't quite as dramatic as seeing David Blaine encased in a huge block of ice in Times Square. And no, dear readers, there is no copy-editor collusion. It's all Super.

His show at the Garde is, however, part of the theater's Young & Fun Series, which The Day sponsors.

Super wasn't at the Garde Thursday but by phone said he's done the headline trick about 10 times. It started when a theater presenter asked Super, whose magic involves a lot of mind-reading, if he could predict the news. Super said he'd try to guess the headlines for the local newspaper.

"All I say is, make it very public, so they know I'm not in cahoots with the theater or anybody else. I had some people lock (the package) in a jail cell. Some hung it over town square. I've had a radio station dangle it out their window," he said.

To make it more interesting, Super guarantees that if he is wrong, he'll reimburse everyone who already bought a ticket for the show.

Has he ever been wrong? "I have not, to date, thank goodness," Super said. "But it's very possible. It's very nerve-wracking."

Also at the Garde show, Super promises to make a car materialize onstage. And if the last six numbers from a theatregoer's driver's license matches the VIN number of the car...that person wins the vehicle.

Which makes Mike Super sound like not just a great magician but also a promotional genius.