RIC NOYLE Ken Noyle's "Phantasma" abounds with theatrical storytelling, from ressurecting spirits of the dearly departed to just plain parlor magic.

‘Phantasma’ channels
entertaining spirits

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Review by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

Officially, Ken Noyle's "Phantasma" is a "theatrical seance." In simpler terms, it's great fun.

Noyle -- who performs in character as Knox Crighten, medium and psychic -- captures the imagination with a deft blending of parlor magic, storytelling, characterization and comedy.

The term "theatrical seance" means that he doesn't offer to contact the spirit of your dearly departed or anyone else you knew. Instead, the spirits he conjures are those who lived and died, and loved and killed, in old Chinatown. And if they're not all to be found in the history books, well, someone like them certainly is.

"Phantasma" offers storytelling that gets up close and personal, so leave your knowledge of "reality" at the door, step into the newly opened Indigo Opium Den and enjoy the ride.

Although Crighten and the "spirits" do most of the entertaining, audience participation is also important. Two lucky people are asked to surrender some small belongings before Crighten enters the room; he uses them later to demonstrate the art of psychometry in which the "vibrations" given off of one's personal possessions are "read."

'Phantasma' with Ken Noyle Where: Indigo Restaurant, 1121 Nuuanu Ave. When: 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays Admission: $25 (includes one drink) Reservations: 521-2900

Another audience member gets to help one of the spirits in an illusion involving a deck of cards and two slates. People who want to participate should sit up front, but those in the back of the room should also be prepared to be called upon.

As promised, "Phantasma" is stocked with stories about the ghostly or mysterious things that happened years ago in the immediate area. There's the mischievous ghost of a girl who died of measles but still loves to play; the days when opium and gambling were legal (or at least ignored as long as they remained in Chinatown); and the rusted music box buried with its owner that can still be heard playing "Danny Boy" at ... what was the name of the cemetery, again?

There are also tales of the plague and the murders and suicides that occurred RIGHT HERE IN THIS ROOM!! Although these tales may not come with all the "official" documentation of Glen Grant's ghost stories, they're good macabre tales, and Noyle is an engaging storyteller.

Be prepared for burning incense and music that establishes the ambience before the show starts. This is the Indigo Opium Den, after all, not a "smoke free" restaurant, so deal with it! The "opium bed" in the back of the room looks comfortable and big enough for two, but perhaps it wouldn't be polite to disturb the spirits of those who died in it ... or maybe they'd welcome some warm-blooded company!

Bottom line? I was entertained. And I think most fans of spirits and theater will enjoy it, too.

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