Kurtz
Seinfeld of mentalists
He has long had a standing offer to give a cash reward to anyone who can prove he uses paid stooges in the audience or that he has planned electronic devises to facilitate his mind-reading. And he has not yet had to shell out.
"People can look all they want," Kurtz says between sips on an espresso. "I want to close all possible doors for skeptical audiences before I start the show. I have nothing to hide."
The lanky Kurtz did not move to Montreal to become the next Reveen or Uri Geller. No, he came to hoof with the experimental troupe Montréal Danse. When that didn’t pan out, he took to the comedy circuit, then the sorcery route to cover his rent.
He sees himself as the anti-David Copperfield. "The only way I can compete against shows like that with all sorts of special effects and theatrics is with my mind. This is a show with nothing but that." Which makes Kurtz the Seinfeld of mentalists.
Kurtz does admit, though, that his powers are occasionally misconstrued offstage. "I’ve had people come up to me on the street and ask point-blank, "Is my wife cheating on me?" I’m not a therapist. I can’t give people advice. Heck, I’m in therapy myself," he says, possibly kidding.
Well and good, but has he ever forgotten where he left his car? "Not since I stopped drinking."
Gary Kurtz performs Just an Illusion? In English tonight at 8, and in French tomorrow and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts. He will do another English show May 19 at 2:30 p.m. Cost: $40.95 to $53.95. Call 514-842-2112.
