The beauty of the "cabaret" show that Creation Entertainment has started offering in addition to the regular con activities is that it will be a bit different each time. It might even be vastly different, depending on the circumstances - compare the show put on in Minneapolis to what we got in Mesa for example. Bruce Campbell couldn't be in MN, so Ted Raimi ended up doing a lot of singing, etc. People said it was a great show. In Mesa, Bruce and Ted were able to perform the magic act/comedy routine that they had worked up together. And this was a great show, too.

By previous arrangement with Bruce, Ted, and Creation, we had a camera crew on hand to film the show in Mesa. The guys were holding a last minute rehearsal as we were setting up to shoot. This rehearsal wasn't a line by line thing - it was a very quick sketch of Ted saying things like, "Now you'll go down there and I'll be back here like this..." And Bruce was like, "Yeah, ok, uh... I'll go... like this."

They seemed much more focused on who was going to be where than on who would say what. Then, because of the improvisational nature of the show, what they ended up doing was rather different than what they'd blocked out in rehearsal anyway. They were definitely thinking on their feet throughout the performance, but I never would have realized just how much they were winging it without having seen the rehearsal. Everything ran so smoothly it seemed perfectly planned - even the minor screw-ups fit beautifully into the act to add to the entertainment value.

While the show was in progress I didn't have much of a chance to watch because my mind was too busy thinking about camera position, lighting, sound and other details. But later, while replaying the performances from various angles thanks to the videotapes, I noticed a lot more.

For example, Ted was clearly the director of the show he and Bruce put on for Saturday night. I'd noticed that he was really setting the routines up in the rehearsal before the show, but I didn't think much about it at the time because I was setting up too. (By the way, it was really cute to see how excited Ted was when he saw that Sheri Morrison - his fan club president - was there to film him. He literally bounded off of the stage in the middle of rehearsal to grab her up into a big hug, kissed her on the cheek and rattled on about how good it was to see her. Poor Bruce was standing bemused and forgotten on the stage while Ted talked to Sheri. It was pretty funny.) So anyway, I later realized that this was the first time I've ever seen Ted direct Bruce. Seems like it's usually the other way around. I'd sometimes wondered how it would go if Ted were the director - and now there's no doubt it works out quite well.

Bruce was looking to Ted for cues throughout the performance. Ted was the one moving them both around the stage and timing the action for the most part. There were nice stretches where Ted would sort of take a back seat and let Bruce just follow his instincts as an entertainer - again, it was like watching the way a director sets up a shot and then disappears as everything focuses on the actor. The sense of partnership between the two of them was as much fun to watch as anything. They clearly enjoy working together - and messing with each other. In studying the videotapes I could see the signals flashing between them - nothing more than a meeting of eyes and a bit of body language now and then was needed to indicate what was meant as they worked through their act. But there was a definite flow of communication in which Bruce was looking to Ted to call the shots. Ted was smooth and comfortable with this - as natural a director as he is an actor.

They are both very strong, confident performers who play an audience to the hilt. It looked like they were having a ball with the crowd at the show. There were some really funny people there, especially this one woman who could NOT stop laughing at something Bruce had said. Bruce worked her into the show as if it had been pre-arranged. Whoever she was, she had great comedic timing and it was obvious that Bruce and Ted thought she was hysterical. Bruce was messing with this woman, and Ted was on stage giggling to himself, and everyone else was laughing out loud. They finally got back into their routine, but they kept making comments about that funny woman throughout the evening, and of course that made her laugh all the harder.

The show itself was a fast-paced combination of little dance gigs mixed in with lots of jokes and gags pulled on the audience and each other. The guys made an impressive entrance, handsome gentlemen in their black dress suits jazzing up the stage with a lively dance number right off the bat. They set up the storyline about how Adam Malin of Creation had talked them into taking their backstage banter and endless pranking out on stage so the fans could enjoy them, and how that progressed into their quest to bring this other character, a magician or "mentalist" named "The Great Svengarlic" into the act.

This turned into a big lead-in for the Great Svengarlic's debut... but he didn't come out on cue. Bruce and Ted tried a couple of times, with the charged up audience clapping and cheering a welcome to the star who mysteriously didn't appear. After a bit of apparent confusion, Ted ran offstage to see what was up while Bruce played with the audience. Then Ted returned, looking quite distressed and trying to tell Bruce something without letting the audience know. This of course turned into a nice little game of charades with the audience yelling out guesses as to what Ted was trying to communicate - and at the end of it Bruce blew the whole point of Ted's charade by shouting out the entire message in front of everyone. The look on Ted's face was precious.

Poor Ted was dispatched once again to bring the Great Svengarlic out one way or another, and again, Mr. Campbell took to messing with the crowd. Eventually the Great Svengarlic did stumble out onstage - an obviously drunken mess with hair ratting out in all directions as though he'd been rolling around on his head in whatever gutter he'd spent the past few hours sleeping in. He was wearing this bright, canary yellow suit jacket and a cumberbund that looked like it had been made from a kilt. Those few who managed to catch a glimpse of the BACK of his head were treated to a mysterious sight: was it a skullcap - or an actual bald spot? It looked like the opposite of a comb-over - all the hair had been purposely teased away to reveal this huge shiny... bald spot. What kills me is I never noticed it at all during the show - it was only later, in looking at the tapes that I saw this... whatever it was. Wow. Be looking for it in the future!

The Great Svengarlic bore a remarkable resemblence to Mr. Ted Raimi, which allowed for a number of jabs between the guys about who was better looking, more talented, etc - Bruce or Ted. The act shifted to the doubtful Bruce Campbell testing the powers of the supposed "mentalist" by having him answer questions from the audience. Ted managed to take every question and come up with a funny answer, mostly because of the accent, his sense of timing, the body language, and the faces accompanying his replies.

In another part of the act, the Great Svengarlic was blindfolded and had to mentally visualize or "mentalize" various objects that Bruce would pick out from members of the audience. Ted was able to identify most of the objects from a few simple clues in what Bruce was saying, like if he said something about "time" Ted would guess that Bruce was holding a watch, etc.

Watching a close-up of Ted's face during this part of the performance is hilarious, because he was stricken with a major case of the giggles in mid-act. He was standing there with this blindfold on, trying to imagine what Bruce was holding out in the middle of the audience, and Bruce said something about "Red blood cells" which was supposed to be a clue, apparently. Ted had no idea what this off the wall comment was all about, and he had a hard time keeping his composure. Then the tail of the blindfold kept getting in his mouth as he snickered to himself, so he would blow it away from his lips, and that seemed to amuse him too.

He seemed genuinely puzzled at Bruce's clues for this one thing, like, "Wasn't Ted Raimi just showing you something he bought recently, something new and useful that he's very proud of?" Ted just giggled behind his mask, completely at a loss as he answered slowly, "Yeaaaaaaaaaa...s." He didn't get it until Bruce said something like, "If you can't mentalize this pretty soon you're gonna have to SPRINT outta here." Then the Great Svengarlic triumphantly held his hands in the air and howled, "You have a telephone!" The audience was in hysterics by this time.

Another classic gag they couldn't resist was to pull a pair of handcuffs from some lady's purse - and with that one little prop they took off in a whole new direction.

The Great Svengarlic hypnotized Bruce with the handcuffs, and made a series of "hypnotic suggestions" like, "You are now in New York..." or Canada, California, etc. Bruce would respond by acting like he was in these various regions - NY and CA were easy for him to play, but he couldn't think of how to act like he was in Canada, which was hilarious. He was trying to stay in this supposed trance and keep his voice flat and dreamy - but he was cracking up, too. "Svengarlic" also used the hypnosis session to tell Bruce, "You are now Xena, Warrior Princess..." (and I refuse to divulge Bruce's answer because if you ever get the chance to see this you deserve the SURPRISE of what he says.) It was great! The Great Svengarlic tried to pull a fast one on Bruce at the end of this hypnosis session by saying, "You are now a BAD actor..." Bruce stood there with his head lolling around loosely and answered in a deadpan monotone, "I am now... Ted... Raimi." Perfect.

In another audience participation moment, a gal from the crowd was selected to test the cuffs and make sure they were real and secure. Of course the Great Svengarlic managed to handcuff the pretty girl to Bruce while they were at it. Eventually they got it straightened out, and Bruce ended up with his hands neatly cuffed behind his back while the Great Svengarlic attempted to "mentalize" the release of the handcuffs without touching them. Bruce, meanwhile, was in and out of those handcuffs slick as you please, waving at the audience one second and then turning around to show everyone that the handcuffs were still on. Even with various camera angles I can't see how he did that so smoothly and quickly.

Besides the numerous pranks and jokes that were constantly flying back and forth between the guys and the audience, Bruce and Ted did several short but very entertaining dance numbers. At one point they each pulled a member of the audience up to dance with them, which was fun to watch. Something I couldn't help noticing while they were dancing is the amazing switch that took place in confidence and ability between Bruce and Ted when it came to dancing.

In general, Bruce carries himself with more self-assurance and a little bit of swagger when he's onstage, whereas Ted always seems to look like he's not sure how long his legs are or which direction his feet are going to go at any given moment. But as soon as they started dancing, suddenly TED became the confident one and Bruce was sort of awkward. It was amazing - Ted is a very fluid and coordinated dancer, quick of foot and perfectly in tune with the music. Bruce occasionally looked like he was having an attack of some sort, with his long legs stabbing out at funny angles as he kept trying to follow what Ted was doing on the other side of the stage. This was a sight worth every penny!

There was one special moment, probably unique to Mesa, that most of the crowd may have missed. However, I know it happened because it is recorded on film for evermore - and it's too good not to mention here. What happened was that while the guys were dancing up a storm, and seriously, Ted was kicking butt up there, it was like all of a sudden he had a Joxer moment... somehow Ted tripped in midstep on stage, stumbled forward a pace or two, and as a matter of pure human instinct yelped out, "OH SH*T!!!" He was back in step and dancing away again in the blink of an eye, and I doubt many people realized what had happened and what Ted gasped on the spur of the moment. But Bruce definitely caught it because HE then nearly fell on his face from laughing so hard! How they got through the rest of that dance number without collapsing from laughter is a credit to their craft, no doubt about it.

From beginning to end, one thing that was perfectly clear was that these guys were having a ball - and the audience was swept along with them the whole way. Everyone seemed to totally enjoy the evening, and left smiling and thoroughly entertained. This "cabaret" show might turn out a bit differently each time - you never know what you're going to get with a live show and especially with live wires like Bruce Campbell and Ted Raimi, but the sheer joy they get out of stirring up a crowd guarantees they will deliver a performance worth seeing every time they get a chance.

Video clips of this performance are being processed and when they are ready they will be posted to:

www.bruce-campbell.com
www.fakeshemps.com
www.tedraimifan.com

If there isn't a cabaret show scheduled along with a convention in your area, it wouldn't hurt to write to Creation Entertainment and express your desire to see it. Check it out - and if you get the opportunity to go, don't miss this show!