Supernatural Chicago
Supernatural Chicago is an interactive and environmental show in Chicago's Excalibur nightclub. The show opened on the appropriately superstition-tinged date of Friday the 13th in February 2004 and As of 2015, in an open-ended run.
Honors
- 10th in TripAdvisor's "Top 10 haunted attractions" in 2008[1]
- City Pick, Time Out
- Best Bet, Chicago Tribune
- Critic's Pick, Metromix
- Recommended in articles by the Newsday, the San Jose Mercury News, the Baltimore Sun, and others
Features
A one-person show created and starring Chicago "necromancer" Neil Tobin, Supernatural Chicago is the longest-running theatrical magic presentation in Chicago. The show is an example of interactive theater, in that there is no "fourth wall"—two-way communication between performer and audience is a major portion of each performance. It is environmental theater, as well: its location, the landmark Excalibur, is a non-traditional theater space cited as a haunted location in several books and on such broadcasts as Sightings (A&E Network), Haunted Places (The Travel Channel), and Dead Famous (The History Channel). As such, the building is a crucial element of the audience experience.
Content
The show centers on Chicago's oral history of hauntings and other paranormal events. These stories are brought to life for audience members through interactive demonstrations of the purportedly psychic and magical so that, "[b]y the end, the show isn't about the stories, but about people's experiences with the stories."[2]
In a typical performance, guests may:
- Imagine driving home with Resurrection Mary
- Try to evade the Curse of the Cubs
- Examine the legend of the Devil Baby of Hull House
- Glimpse the spirit channeling of Lurrancy Vennum
Although such subject matter might make audience members expect a horror-style scream show, Tobin's dry sense of humor and restrained style ensure Supernatural Chicago is "more creepy-funny than scary-scary." He adds, "If you can handle The Addams Family, you can handle this."[3]
Citations
- ↑ TripAdvisor (2008-10-26). "Top 10 haunted attractions". Denver Post (online ed.). Retrieved 2014-03-28.
- ↑ Isn't It Necromatic? from Wednesday Journal, October 23, 2007
- ↑ House of Historical Horrors from Time Out Chicago, October 4–10, 2007
Sources
- Supernatural Chicago: Official Site
- Haunting Tales Fill Late-Night Haunt from the Chicago Tribune, October 27, 2005.
- Do You Believe In Magic from Shore Magazine
- Spooks and Spirits from Detours Magazine
- Check It Out, best-bet events for the weekend from the Chicago Tribune, March 12, 2009
- Creep City from the Daily Northwestern
- Paranormal Performer from the Pioneer Press
- Sith City from Red Eye/Metromix
- Stage Frights from Red Eye/Metromix
- Ghosts In The Footlights from Performink, October 26, 2007
- Things To Do In Chicago from Tripadvisor.com