Magic tricks and a history of spiritualism is on tap at the Bing

There are more physicians than magicians who are Gonzaga Prep alums. However, Isaiah Daniels, class of 2015, was bitten by the magic bug when he was a kid and it inspired him to veer toward a road less traveled.

“I was in kindergarten and a magician came into school and that experience stuck with me,” Daniels said. “I like knowing how stuff works and is constructed.”

Daniels, 26, became a magician after being hooked by David Copperfield and Xavier Mortimer, a French magician, who has a cabaret style. The latter has had quite an impact on Daniels, who will host “Do Spirits Return: A Historical and Dramatized Look into Spiritualism” on Saturday at the Bing Crosby Theater.

“This is the second time I’ve done this particular show,” Daniels said. “The first time was at the Riverside Place (in 2018). It’s going to be a magic show, but most of the effects you’ll see are based out of the 1800s era of spirituality. We’ll take demonstrations done back in the day and we’ll modernize them and you’ll get some of the historical context.”

Magicians from the 19th century would often speak as skeptics when it came to mediums.

“The magicians then would note that it was simple magic tricks mediums would pull to fool people,” Daniels said. “They would try to convince people that mediums were just fooling people for profit.”

Daniels took that skeptical tone the first time he performed his show. There will be some of that skepticism when he takes the Bing stage but he’ll perform some of the magic from back in the day.

“We’ll replicate some of those things (from yesteryear),” Daniels said. “But those attending can seek their own understanding. I can’t say ghosts are real or not. This show will give you something to think about.”

Daniels has been working on his craft at Silverwood Theme Park, where he has had a residency for almost a decade from February to the end of October each year.

“I learned so much there, but this is my last season,” Daniels said. “I loved doing the ‘Phantasm’ show at Silverwood but it’s time for a change. I’m planning to move to Denver in the next year, but I don’t doubt that I’ll be back in Spokane. But I’m here now and it’s the perfect time for a show like this at the Bing with the Halloween season.”