The Magic of DeLuca

Last year in the Fall semester, I heard about Tom DeLuca--a traveling hypnotist who often visited Grounds. The whole event sounded hokey to me, so I wasn't disappointed when he didn't come my first year. This year, I wasn't planning on attending, but everyone I talked to seemed to be heading to the Amphitheater to go and see his show. I figured I had nothing to lose: the show was free, and I could easily leave if I wanted to.

An hour before the show, I headed to the Corner to grab a quick bite to eat at Bodos. This is what I saw:




This is was the crowd that had assembled an HOUR before the show even started. To remind you, this is what the Amphitheater normally looks like:


And this was the crowd by the time the show had started:

(This photo taken by a friend.)

For those who can't see it for the darkness of the setting, wherever grass used to be, there's now a person sitting there cheering. The crowd was immense. I've only ever seen events that well-attended: Rotunda Sing and The Lighting of the Lawn. Having seen the show, I can understand why. Even I who thought it would be boring found myself laughing and cheering along with the masses. My favorite part was when DeLuca told this young man (while he was sleeping hypnotized) that when he woke up, he'd realize that he was the friend of all fruit. So after about ten minutes--just when you were beginning to forget that DeLuca had mentioned the fruit at all--DeLuca draws two apples from a pocket, and the guy lunges forward, seizing the apples. The entire show was really well done. It didn't feel cheesy or like some magic show for third graders. I had a blast and would definitely recommend it.