The Quantum Eye
nytheatre.com review by Lauren Marks
April 13, 2007
In the program for this show there is an insert called "Quantum Thoughts" in which mentalist Sam Eaton states in part, "We've all heard it: You only use 10% of your brain. Given the kind of demonstrations I perform, some audience members may attribute the evening to my use of the untapped potential hidden away in that big lazy lump of grey-matter, but I don't think so. I don't use more of my brain, I just use what I have differently." He certainly does. For over an hour, Eaton mesmerizes his audience (a full house, when I attended) with his masterful use of prediction, supernormal mentalism, memorization and calculation.
With flair and warmth, using different audience members for many demonstrations, Eaton takes us through more common parlor tricks like revealing what card is pulled from a deck (and also found folded up in his mouth!) to startling audience members by giving them sealed envelopes BEFORE the show, that reveal answers to OTHER audience members' thoughts later in the evening. Amazing! With dialogue in the show and information in his printed program, Eaton also gives us fascinating clues as to how he accomplishes his feats with lie detection, mind reading, suggestion, magic square, and mnemonics.
All this is done in a charming parlor set that is actually for another long running murder mystery show at the Snapple Theater. There is no credit in the program for lighting, which I assume is also set up for the other show, but works fine. The droning spooky original music by Scott O'Brien is played at low volume throughout to good effect, and Eaton's simple suit is credited simply to Larry the Tailor.
I must stress that this show, which plays every Saturday at 5pm, is not a clown and magic show. Some of the smaller children were squirming at bit. My guess is that their folks thought it was more of a flowers-out-of-midair or rabbit-out-of-a-hat type of magic, which it is not. It is however, great fun and most appropriate for adults and older kids. There was a boy around ten seated near me who seemed to be having the time of his life. I was having a pretty darn good time too. Go, and hopefully you will be picked from the audience to participate. My guest was, and he had a ball!
