Copperfield Survey Results

Last month, I asked a simple question of anyone who has seen Copperfield’s current Las Vegas show: “Is it good or bad?”

The responses are in. Drum roll, please...

66% of respondents said the show is…

The other third said it was good.

This is just about the least exciting result for me.

A movie with a great Rotten Tomatoes score and a movie with a 0% score can both be worth watching (albeit for very different reasons).

But a movie that’s two-to-one negative isn’t good—and not bad enough to be interesting.

I will say that anyone who took the time to write in and give their impression of the show said that it wasn’t good. Phrases like…

“tired”

“uninspired”

“he only lives for his museum tours”

were echoed throughout those emails.

And there’s a surprising number of non-magicians saying the same if you read the reviews of his shows:

“The performance was interesting and creative, but we were disappointed by the routine manner in which Copperfield presented his material. It seemed rote—like he’s presented this hundreds of times before and was not actively engaged with his audience but just giving another presentation.”

“I found his presentation a bit lackluster, and I can't help but think that he might be approaching retirement, especially after performing 500 shows a year.”

“David Copperfield was hard to understand, talked too fast, and seemed bored with his own show. Totally phoning it in. My daughter commented, ‘He is so over this.’”

“There were also a few suspected plants in the audience and also a few happy clapping staff members who hid in the aisles and at the end of a trick stood up and started rapturous applause which gave a false atmosphere. David himself looked fed up and a bit bored.”

To be fair, there are many positive reviews as well (although those seem pretty generic).

But the bad reviews are particularly biting. Saying “you seem bored by your own show” is just about the worst criticism I can imagine.

I’d rather see a bad show done with enthusiasm than watch someone sleepwalk through a “fine” show.

Look, Copperfield’s the reason a lot of us ever picked up a deck of cards. Sp hearing he's going through the motions now is depressing.

Seventy is too young to spend your life doing something without any passion.

And the plants in the audience? Come on, David. You’ve eliminated one of the surest ways to inject some unpredictability, spontaneity, and life into the show.

Yes, but real people might not give the response I want.

Oh, grow up. You’ve been performing for 50 fucking years. You need to have every interaction scripted? Sad. What’s the point? Film your act and just show it as a movie every night if you want to play it that safe.

Or be a man and burn it all down. Invest your energy in doing something new. Something that scares you a little and demands you be engaged with the show as you perform. It will add decades to your life.

Might I suggest getting thrown in jail for a long weekend and taking the cards off the black guys in the corner playing Spades in order to show them magic tricks? My understanding is that this is a reliable way to kickstart (or in your case, reinvigorate) a career in magic.