Cant wait to see the show

This is on my "hope to see someday" list, I hope it runs a long time.

My wife and I attended the April 10th Friday evening show and were absolutely captivated. The scripting was tight, tight, tight, and the magic was beautifully executed. What a pleasure this was. A real San Francisco treat; better than Rice-a-Roni. We will be going back again in the future. Don't miss it!
--Steve Bosque

In the Tradition of Victorian Parlor Entertainments and Salons…

The Victorian Parlor was a formal room set aside for entertainments (or Salons) to treat guests invited to the home.

While many wealthy families amused themselves during their evenings home, there was always the temptation to venture into the domain of paid entertainments. In Victorian days the families who could afford distinguished performers increased to a point where polite society supported thousands of skilled professional entertainers.

Victorian Parlor divertissements consisted of: solo or small chamber performances of classical and light music, popular entertainments such as magic and conjuring, readings of poetry and literature, dramatic storytelling, topical or travel lectures, demonstrations of mesmerism or hypnosis, various psychic phenomena including séances, variety entertainments such as juggling, pantomime, and magic-lantern shows.

Light beverages, teas, or wines were served along with anything from a light repast of finger-foods to a full buffet of savory and sweet delicacies.

The Parlor (also spelled as “parlour,” in its French roots) or Sitting Room was reserved specifically for guests during the Victorian era, and was often closed during the week and opened on weekends for more formal entertaining. The room was kept especially tidy and featured cushioned chairs or couches and side-tables for comfort, along with an assortment of things which guests would find enjoyable such as board games, novelties, and books.

Many talented artists (especially women who were not allowed to perform in public theatres or halls) are known today only because of the reputations they made entertaining at these Salons and Parlor gatherings.

The Victorian Salon is once again gaining a foothold in popular culture, due to the expense and limitations inherit in performing in and filling public theatres and larger venues.

It is this friendly mood and relaxed environment of yesteryear we have recreated at our “San Francisco Magic Parlor” bringing our audiences topical storytelling and magical happenings with “Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast” every Friday and Saturday evening, beginning at 7:30 with light refreshments available in the lounge during seating, and an 8:00pm curtain time.

INFO: www.SanFranciscoMagicParlor.com
BLOG: http://sanfranciscomagicparlor.blogspot.com

I Was given the fabulous opportunity of reading several portions of a script; for a routine/ work in progress at the time. I am certain Walt used his creative wizardry to translate the words into pure magic. HIs routines go above and beyond the pale. YOu will be entertained, educated and enlightened in a most delightful way.



The very best of luck to you Walt, and every success.

Kotah

Walt,

I enjoyed your wonderful description of the history of the Victorian salon. And how good it is to learn that the tradition is re-emerging in modern times, which are all but erased of the elegance and refinement of that golden era.
Continued success!

Mark

Great Walt!!!

Great Press!
The San Francisco Examiner just published a wonderful article on our San Francisco Magic Parlor, you’ll find it at:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/44028047.html
'Eccentrics' celebrates San Francisco's mavericks By: Christina Troup

Magically,
Walt

Very nice write-up Walt. I can't wait to see the show.

REVIEW: 'Eccentrics of Barbary Coast' takes a magical tour through S.F. history

Saturday, May 9 2009

By Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times

With a part of the restaurant at San Francisco's Chancellor Hotel turned into a Victorian-era parlor, the characters in "Eccentrics of the Barbary Coast" have a cozy place for a homecoming.
The low-key 90-minute show, designed as much for Bay Areans as for tourists, blends tales of legendary local figures, from Emperor Norton and Alma Spreckels to Jim Jones and Anton LaVey, with a parlor magic show. The result is a delightful nightcap following a busy day in the city or a nice theatrical after-dinner mint for those not quite ready to call it a night.

The performers, magicians Walt Anthony, David Miller and Brian Scott, along with storyteller Ruth Fraser, take the stage with an elegant charm, spinning their yarns about the historical figures with magic tricks that are somehow keyed to the characters they are presenting.

Spirits are summoned, for example, when they tell the story of Mary Ellen Pleasant, a wealthy San Francisco woman who was a leading abolitionist and supporter of the Underground Railroad, and later rumored to be one of the leading practitioners of Voodoo in the city.
When Anton LaVey's story is told, an impossibly heavy wooden box said to contain the souls of those lost to LaVey's Satanist church, is lightened following incantations.

For those who grew up and grew gray in the Bay Area, stories of more contemporary figures like Jones and LaVey seem a bit out of place on the same bill as the bull-goose loonies of the 19th century, such as Emperor Norton and Oofty Goofty (who made his living by allowing people to kick him or hit him with a baseball bat for a price). It doesn't help that memories of the Jonestown tragedy at Jones' compound, still feel fresh.

For newcomers and out-of-towners, though, those two are just more cogs in the amazing wheel of eccentricity that has spun San Francisco into a magical town of fog, food and foolishness.
If nothing else, the show gives hosts another destination to take visitors — and, except for those unusually well-versed in San Francisco lore, the "Eccentrics" show will offer surprises and new information to those who live here.

Anthony, Miller, Scott and Fraser are all seasoned performers who put their audiences at ease and gently lead them into the tales, just as they might do with guests in their own homes. The small venue has a charmingly intimate feel that really does seem like a comfortable parlor. The show is still in its early stages and could use some additional visual elements — slides, perhaps, of locations mentioned in the stories — to help flesh out the theatrical nature of the performance.

Theater Review
• WHAT: "Eccentrics of the Barbary Coast"
• WHERE: Chancellor Hotel, 433 Powell St., San Francisco
• WHEN: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, open-ended
• RUNNING TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes
• TICKETS: $30; 1-800-838-3006,
http://www.brownpapertickets.com, http://www.sanfranciscomagicparlor.com/

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER - Entertainment

'Eccentrics' celebrates San Francisco's mavericks
By: Christina Troup
04/29/09

Walt Anthony absolutely adores The City. He jumps at the opportunity to play the role of tour guide when friends and family come to visit.

About six years ago, Anthony, who has more than 25 years of experience in stage magic and acting, began to experiment with the idea of blending theater and magic in a way that would take audiences on an emotional journey as well as highlight the place he’s proud to call home.
With the help of David Miller, Brian Scott and Ruth Fraser, he created “Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast,” a colorful chronicle of San Francisco’s sumptuous past.

Evoking the atmosphere of a Victorian parlor Fridays and Saturdays at the Chancellor Hotel, Anthony and company weave together vignettes about San Francisco’s wide array of eccentrics.
“San Francisco protects and nurtures its eccentrics, rather than rejecting them like other big cities might,” the Chicago transplant says.

Anthony says the aim of the show is to “be truthful without being factual all the time, since sometimes legend outweighs the fact.”

Who are the “eccentrics?” Mary Ellen Pleasant: On one hand, Mammy Pleasant was a civil-rights activist who used her fortune to further the abolitionist movement, but was also rumored to have been a voodoo priestess.

Joshua Norton: The businessman who lost his mind proclaimed himself “Emperor of These United States,” and was embraced by The City rather than shunned.

Alma Spreckels: “The Great Grandmother of San Francisco” coined the term “sugar daddy,” supposedly invented the garage sale and persuaded her first husband to donate the Legion of Honor to San Francisco.

Anthony says additional legends may be added, possibly including contemporary characters such as Peoples Temple founder Jim Jones.

“I find that people who come to San Francisco … come here wanting to know what happened during the Gold Rush, what happened after the earthquake and want to know who these people are that the streets are named after,” Anthony says. “They really love hearing about The City and that’s why they leave their hearts here.”

IF YOU GO:
Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast
Where: Chancellor Hotel, 433 Powell St., San Francisco
When: 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays through July
Tickets: $30
Contact: (800) 838-3006; http://www.brownpapertickets.com

THE SAN FRANCISCO TRIBUNE:

Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast un show de magia y alegría
Tres fantástico magos y Buenos cuentistas se reúnen para relatar historias inéditas de las personas más coloridas y excéntricas de nuestra bella ciudad de San Francisco. Aparte de los excéntricos de la historia, también veremos en acción a tres excéntrico comediantes y actores en un show de aproximadamente hora y media de duración.
Los excéntricos de San Francisco es un show para todos, pero especialmente para turistas que llegan nuestra ciudad por una visita corta y gracias a Ruth Fraser, Walt Anthony, David Miller y Brian Scott, quines cumplen con una brillante actuación, aprenden mucho sobre nuestra venerada historia.
El recorrido empieza con caracteres singulares de principios del siglo XIX con relatos inéditos de la época de búsqueda de tesoros y del oro, con [personajes tan típicos como Mark Twain, quien paso el invierno mas frío de su vida en un verano en San Francisco; con famosas prostitutas y mujeres exhibicionistas de la altura de Lola Montez, o filantrópicas de un corazón de oro como la gran Alma Spreckels.
Este bello recorrido histórico es muy divertido y es siempre acompañado por increíbles actos de magia, como la mesa que se eleva sin ser tocada. Por más que nos matamos buscando, no pudimos ver ningún cable, un truco fenomenal; o por ejemplo el truco de las cartas que se terminan clavando en una espada solitas, estas eran las mismas escogidas secretamente por el público respetable.
Eccentrics of San Francisco's Barbary Coast es un show estupendo, merece ser visto por chicos y grandes; es un show de magia, risas y cultura general que se presenta en el Hotel Chancellor, sito en el 433 Powell St, San Francisco. Se presenta hasta el 4 de julio.
Informes: http://www.sanfranciscomagicparlor.com/

ROUGH TRANSLATION:

Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast -a show of magic and happiness-

Three fantastic magicians and good storytellers gather to relate unpublished histories of the most colorful and eccentric people of our beautiful city of San Francisco. Apart from the eccentrics from history, also we will see in action three eccentric actors and comedians in a show of approximately an hour and a half in duration.

Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast is a show for all, but especially for tourists who come to our city for a short visit, and thanks to Ruth Fraser, Walt Anthony, David Miller and Brian Scott, will enjoy a brilliant performance, and learn a lot about our venerated history.

The journey begins with singular characters of the beginning of the 19th century, with unpublished histories of the search for gold epoch, with personages as typical as Mark Twain, “who spent the coldest winter of his life in a summer in San Francisco”; with famous prostitutes and women exhibitionists of the fame of Lola Montez, or with the philanthropic golden hearted, big Alma Spreckels.

This beautiful historical trip is very entertaining and it is always accompanied by incredible acts of magic, as a table rises without being touched. However much we killed ourselves looking, we could not see any cable, a phenomenal trick; or for example the trick of playing-cards that ended up being stuck on a sword, and were the same cards chosen secretly by the respectable public.

Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast is a marvelous show, it deserves to be seen. It is a show of magic, laughter and culture that that is presented in the Chancellor Hotel, situated at 433 Powell St, San Francisco. It appears until July 4. Info at http://www.sanfranciscomagicparlor.com/

THE BARBARY COAST NEWS
http://www.thebarbarycoastnews.com/

A funny thing happened on my way to Union Square*

*(I was captured by magicians)

With an out-of-town visitor in hand—someone who’s seen most everything there is to see in San Francisco—my guest and I wandered out one recent Friday evening to see something completely different—a night of magic and storytelling at the Chancellor Hotel.

Calling their presentation Eccentrics of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast this group of four magicians and storytellers weave tales of the sometimes weird people and events of the early Barbary Coast into their magic tricks. So you get a little history with your entertainment!

Set in the Victorian Room, an intimate first-floor dining area inside Union Square’s Chancellor Hotel, legends of another time in San Francisco come alive. My guest loved hearing tall tales of vigilantes, Shangai Kelley (whose bar was, I believe, right down Pacific Avenue—a stone’s throw from The Commons), hookers and a voodoo queen—those individuals who peopled The City 150 years ago.

The performers began their magic presentations in April and will continue until July 4, 2009. The 90-minute show, which is available on Friday and Saturday nights only, begins sharply at 8 pm. The room accommodates a maximum of 40 people, so it’s important to reserve your space if you plan to attend.

Hi Walt,
Every time I try to go on the site (sanfranciscomagicparlor) my PC is showing me that you have a virus-TROJAN HORSE- on that particular site.
Please check this out because many people may get infected with the Trojan Horse and as a result may loose their PC memory etc.
I just thought you ought to know
Cheers
Roni

Thank you for the Heads-up Roni!
I'm forwarding your post to our Webmaster,
I looked at it and it seems OK but we'll of course double check!
Magically,
Walt

Roni!
Thanks again for the warning, I had my Webmaster check everything out and we're clean and good to go! Hate that the world has those things....
Walt