Both magician and MD, Chicago doctor sees healing power in his hocus-pocus

SHARE Both magician and MD, Chicago doctor sees healing power in his hocus-pocus
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Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz is reviving his show “The Rosenkranz Mysteries: Physician Magician.” | PROVIDED PHOTO

Listening to Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz talk is much like listening to an astronomer talk about the stars: It feels mystic and dreamy and makes you wonder why you have been living in a one-dimensional world for so long.

Basically, he will make you believe in magic again.

“People go to a magic show and assume they know what they will see,” Rosenkranz began during an interview. “But early into the show, people realize that they are about to see something very different and that impossible is just the beginning. Impossible is where the amazing starts and this show teaches people that.”

Indeed, the one-man, 90-minute live show, “The Rosenkranz Mysteries: Physician Magician,” has changed many a life since its first production back in 2016. Set for a March 27 return, the show essentially melds medicine with magic via the  insights of Rosenkranz, a longtime faculty member at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who created the show in an effort to demonstrate that magic could mean much more ‘”than cutting a woman in half or making a lion disappear.”

‘THE ROSENKRANZ MYSTERIES: PHYSICIAN MAGICIAN’ When: March 27-May 6 Where Royal George Theatre Cabaret, 1641 N. Halsted Tickets: $50 Info: www.therosenkranzmysteries.com

“Saying we are healthy is sometimes a deception, and medicine is a performance art,” explains Rosenkranz, who liked magic as a young child but took a break from it a bit as he became an adult. “That’s why this show is so different. I wanted to do a show that had meaning and I wanted to create a show for a thinking audience. I wanted to show that you could not only see magic before your very eyes, but also receive an uplifting message.”

He had a vision. But he needed help bringing it to life.

That’s when Northwestern graduate Jessica Fisch came in.

“We talked over the phone for the first time for two straight hours in which he gave me a crash course about magic and medicine,” said Jessica, who serves as director for the production. “I was completely intrigued right from the start that he wanted to put on the thinking person’s magic show and his thinking that magic and medicine share a DNA.”

“She empowered me to tell the story,” Dr. Rosenkranz added.

The two say they are thrilled to see how the show has grown in the past two years. “This year’s show is like a version 2.0,” laughs Fisch. “It’s the deepening of an incredible idea.”

There is a shadow on this year’s production, as a special piece of the show is no longer here to inspire. “Eugene Berger was one of the greatest magicians you never heard of,” said Dr. Rosenkranz of his magic mentor, who was best known for his “The Art of Magic” special on PBS and “Mysteries of Magic” on TLC. “He passed away last year, but he taught me from the start that magic could have great meaning. He showed me that I was correct in my thinking that medicine is a performance art and health is an illusion.”

Added Fisch, “We are missing a piece of our team, so this is the show where we can pay homage to him. And even though I’m the director, I always told the both of them that I didn’t want to know how the magic worked. I wanted to stay in the dark so I can experience what the audience is going through.”

And while the show itself is a moving experience, both Fisch and Rosenkranz agree that watching the audience’s reaction is what truly fulfills their creative spirit.

“A show like this demonstrates why live theater matters, especially in this day and age,” explains Jessica. “It’s filled with moments that you feel with not only the person sitting next to you, but everyone in the theater. It makes people smile. The world is crazy, but this is the kind of show that helps feel alive and free and released from the weight of the world.”

Rosencranz adds that applause is rare from his audiences “because they are awestruck. A quiet audience means that you affected them. I always greet my audience at the end of the show, and they all act as if they leave feeling refreshed and ready to do that project that they have been putting off for a month. And that’s when I know I’m making a difference.”

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