Sunday, March 13, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

MIKE WEATHERFORD: Co-star stands by her man

Nathan Burton fielded two common questions before locking himself in a clear box with seven showgirls for seven days.

The first was about how he would relieve himself. That one he's not forthright about. Magicians have their secrets, and Burton was either naive or bluffing when he said quitting solid food three days before the stunt took care of the issue.

The other question was what his wife thought of the idea.

"She doesn't mind this at all," he told a CNN reporter.

The real answer isn't so simple. If the stunt is still going on as scheduled today at the Desert Passage mall -- at this writing, it couldn't be predicted -- you can probably ask her yourself. She's the one holding the clipboard, lining up new showgirls to go into the box every four hours.

"I'm still not in love with the whole stunt," Sarah Burton said Wednesday, just an hour before Burton launched the attention-getting promotion tied to his exposure on the E! reality show "The Entertainer."

You see, the two have been billed as Nathan Burton and Sarah during the past five years they have performed in "Showgirls of Magic" and "V -- The Ultimate Variety Show."

"People think of me as an assistant but I'm definitely not an assistant in my eyes," she said.

She was an assistant to another magician when the two met 10 years ago. They spent a year in a long-distance relationship. Serious long distance: Japan and Finland. Eventually, she said, they decided "if we don't join forces and bring our talent together, this relationship isn't going to work."

Co-billed, the two brought a touch of mime duo Shields & Yarnell to magic. Instead of the usual levitation, Sarah dressed as a doll and a giant hair dryer "levitated" her during Aqua's "Barbie Girl."

But the duo "missed the boom" that made Las Vegas synonymous with magic. "Because Vegas has changed so much, there's no way to get your name out there," Sarah said.

Except for reality shows and crazy stunts.

"I hated it. I absolutely hated it," she said of the idea he hatched before the TV show came along. "I think it's a stunt for a single man, not a married man."

But she has her dreams and knows he has his. Sarah is the one who found out about "The Entertainer" because she has been taking acting classes and going to auditions in Los Angeles.

Whether you suspect there's illusion involved in the stunt, it's still an ambitious and expensive self-financed venture. Burton's ultimate goal is to reinvent himself and sell a show called "Reality Magic," sort of David Blaine meets comedy magic.

"This is his Super Bowl," Sarah said. And she understands it so well that if some of the women needed to fill 198 slots don't show up, she's the one suiting up in a showgirl outfit and going into the box with him.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays.