Teller, of Penn and Teller, has come a long way from busking in Headhouse Square. But he will always be a Philadelphian first
The Central High grad is back in his hometown with Penn to celebrate 50 years of their magical partnership
Teller the magician lives in Las Vegas — where he and the magic duo’s other half, Penn, have performed for decades. His home holds many treasures, like his collection of Houdini memorabilia and library of magic books. Some of the most precious things on display on the wall behind him during our recent Zoom call were paintings by his parents, Joe and Irene Teller, who met at the Graphic Sketch Club in Philadelphia around 1936.
They raised Teller, 77, near the old Hahnemann Hospital and frequently took him to the Academy of Music’s children’s theater where they sat in the nosebleeds. The historic venue is “very deep in my veins,” says the typically silent performer.
He was thrilled to be returning to the venue Thursday for Penn & Teller’s 50th Anniversary Tour, celebrating a career of international magic fame that has landed them book deals, Broadway runs, and reality competition shows (from Penn & Teller: Fool Us to The Masked Singer).
The Central High grad chatted with The Inquirer about busking in Headhouse Square, his love for the Mütter Museum, and why he still identifies as a Philadelphian.
The conversation has been edited for brevity.
You’ve been in Vegas for decades now, do you miss Philadelphia?
Philadelphia is very much my home. Vegas has been where I have lived for a long time, but I think of myself not as a Las Vegan, but as a Philadelphian. You can’t walk down any street of Philadelphia and not feel the history underneath your feet, and not feel your history in the buildings all around you. And Vegas, of course, is the opposite of that. Vegas is a completely artificial creation in the desert, which is fabulous. It’s a playground, but it doesn’t feel quite as real.
You and Penn (who is from western Massachusetts) first performed together as buskers in Headhouse Square in the early 1970s. Did you enjoy it?
Our first group, the Asparagus Valley Cultural Society, was a three-man group [with Weir Chrisemer, who introduced Teller to Penn]. At that time, the area was brand new, and no one really had thought of it as much of a venue for street performing. One of the cool things about street performance is that you have such a direct measurement of how good your show was. If people want to give you a lot of money afterwards, it means they really enjoyed the show — it’s a better test than selling tickets at the Academy of Music, because people buy their tickets beforehand.
What was your act?
Penn juggled balls and knives and blindfolded an audience member and juggled around her. I produced silver dollars and swallowed needles. I swallowed 100 needles and six feet of thread, and brought the needles up threaded. It’s a trick that’s still active in our repertoire.
Wow. What’s it like returning for a hometown show?
I’m besieged by people that I grew up with. One of my old friends from my high school drama class is coming to the show. And lots of magicians. Marc DeSouza now has a magic theater [in a converted old bank in Glenside] called House of Magic, and I imagine I’ll be going out and seeing what he’s done.
Anything else on your agenda while you’re here?
My parents’ house on Cherry Street [where we moved after living on Summer Street] still stands. I’ve kept in touch with the owners and I’m going to visit the house and see what it looks like nowadays. As a kid, I didn’t have a big budget for magic books, and I was fascinated by magic, so I would walk from our house over to the Philadelphia public library’s children’s department, and that’s what I did the last time I was in Philadelphia. I might go to the Mütter Museum, which I understand has gotten some of its problems cleared up, which is great.
You’re referring to the recent change in leadership at the museum, which has experienced significant turmoil in recent years. I recall you signed a petition criticizing Kate Quinn, the previous director. Why is it so special to you?
I knew [longtime Mütter director] Gretchen Worden, rather well for many years, and loved the way she allowed the museum to be everything that it could be. It could be serious science, it could be humor, it could be horror, it could be beauty. I’m very passionate about that. The movement to make it a little more conventional seems like it’s not taking advantage of the years of incredible work that she did to create a museum that was a true work of art. Every single thing there, when you look at it makes you think about yourself. It’s so humanizing.
Can you give us a little preview of your 50th anniversary show?
We’re gonna do stuff with jelly beans and dreams — the piece is called the “Battle of Dreams,” it’s a war between the audience and us on stage — and balloons. We’re going to have Penn try to do a magic trick in Spanish, which he’s not very good at. And we’re going to give the most definitive defense against the claim that we might ever use stooges. Anyone who claims that we might be using stooges will get on stage and be part of a trick.
Penn & Teller 50th Anniversary Tour, May 15 at 8 p.m. Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., Phila., 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.com.