Rip Van Winkle - Revisited
by Jim Gerrish

The Rip Van Winkle Illusion was invented by Edwin Brush (c.1940), and is an excellent one-man vanish. reappearance/ quick-change Illusion that works on the smallest platform stage up to the largest theatre stage. It is easily transported and assembled and requires no assistant to make "both" characters appear in the playlet.

Edwin Brush's effect as described by Floyd Thayer:

"A small cabinet is seen standing on the stage. The cabinet is about three feet high, three feet wide and six feet long, composed of curtains on a light skeleton framework, with curtain at front, which raises and lowers.

"Performer enters cabinet and lies down, and front curtain is raised, showing magician asleep. Soon a Dwarf (little, bent-over, old man) enters with a huge knife and looks around. He finally spies cabinet and stealthily approaches.

Suddenly he raises curtain, but cabinet is seen entirely empty. He throws knife to the floor in disgust and disrobes, when he proves to be the magician himself!

"Rip Van Winkle will be found to possess all the rare and practical advantages so much desired by club, lyceum or Chautauqua entertainers. It can be worked in any church, school or hall without the use of floor traps or other troublesome stage details, and can be easily made at very small cost. ( Spellbinder's Note: Brush himself used the illusion many times on the Chatauqua circuit.)

"Another attractive detail is the fact that complete baggage weight will not exceed 50 pounds. The method of get-away is most ingenious, as the very thing upon which the getaway depends is proved entirely innocent."

Jim has redesigned the illusion to be made from PVC Pipe, as well as making other "improvements" to bring it up-to-date. He notes that Brush's original theme of "Rip Van Winkle" may be out of date, so he proposes using it instead for a variety of modern themes, described in the e-Book, that are better suited to today's audiences.

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