CRYSTAL LAKE — Dan Zamp stood around the corner from an elegant parlor on the third floor of Crystal Lake's Grand Victorian, very much giving off the vibe of a man unlikely to be impressed with what he was about to witness.
His wife, Peggy, looked equally skeptical.
About an hour and a half later, though, well ... count them as converts. With the help of his mistress of ceremonies, Angela "the ghostess" Wilgenbusch, the inimitable Midwest Mystic Joe Diamond had scored not only these two new fans, but also a roomful of others.
It all took place during his latest show — an intimate one designed for crowds of no more than 20 that's in a tucked-away "secret room" on Friday and Saturday evenings, Oct. 9-24, at 965 N. Brighton Circle, Crystal Lake.
"I don't have any clue what I'm in for," Mr. Zamp muttered before the show.
"That was ... interesting!" the Crystal Lake resident exclaimed after.
An award-winning performer in his early 40s, Diamond has been honing his craft since he was of single-digit age. The now southern Wisconsin resident who grew up in McHenry County has presented his unique blend of mentalism, mysticism, magic and more for decades for audiences small and large, locally and nationwide — including a televised 2024 "Penn & Teller: Fool Us" appearance filmed on a grand stage in Las Vegas.
His new Crystal Lake show, dubbed simply "MYSTIC," takes audience members on an interactive trek through intriguing bios of not just one but six historically significant mystics and spiritualists — plus a mystery seventh (no spoilers here) who truly wows the crowd. Tickets, ranging from $40 per seat to $100 for a VIP package that includes access to a post-show séance, are available at joediamondlive.com.
Among the six celebrity mystics around whom Diamond has built this show are author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of "Sherlock Holmes" fame, controversial American clairvoyant Edgar Cayce and artist Pamela Colman Smith, renowned for the rich imagery she created for the globally celebrated Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot Card deck, as well as for her collaborations with "Dracula" author Bram Stoker and Irish poet W.B. Yeats.
Sprinkling his narratives with well-placed dollops of humor, how-in-the-world-did-he-do-that card tricks, and mind-blowing feats of mentalism, Diamond takes rapt audiences on a wild ride right on to the reveal of the night's "Final Mystic" and a "Most Dangerous Game" finale that had this audience gasping.
Diamond said he's greatly enjoying his return from larger venues to a more intimate space where the entire audience can get up close to the mystique and participate in the evening's revelry, involving everything from a crystal ball to a rosary and a Ouija board.
"Twenty people is the perfect-sized group for a show like this," he said. "It's a chance to deepen the experience."
Dan Zamp's wife, Peggy, silently selected Janice Joplin when asked during the show to write down and think of a celebrity, living or dead, from any period in history, famous for any reason. She purposely chose a singer for whom she had no personal affinity, she said, in an attempt to throw off Diamond, who nonetheless figured it out quickly, as he did for several other audience members asked to do the same.
After the show, Mrs. Zamp was asked what she might say to other skeptics out there.
"Go," she said. "You will be amazed and extremely surprised. It's entertaining, it's fun and well worth it. I say GO, in all caps."
Along with his MYSTIC show in Crystal Lake, Diamond also is performing this Halloween season at The Maxwell Mansion in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, on Oct. 2-3 and Oct. 30-31. That show, titled "The Houdini Experiment," ranges in price from a $40 seat to a $125 VIP experience for two. See joediamondlive.com for tickets and details.
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