How To Build Your Own National Touring Company

Murray Hatfield and Teresa

“Illusions…A Magic Spectacular!” has been an annual tradition in Canada for over two decades. Created in the 70’s by Great West Entertainment it has evolved into one of the largest tours of its kind in the world.

At first the tour consisted of a week or two of dates in cities in western Canada and was headlined by Hollywood Illusionist – Chuck Jones. Chuck produced the show six or seven years and then Ray Pierce became the headliner/producer for three years.

In 1986 Murray Hatfield was invited to be the first Canadian act ever featured on the tour. The response was overwhelming, and the following year GWE offered him the headline spot. He held that position for three years and then in 1992 Murray was invited back as producer, director and star of the show. He’s been there ever since.

During the 25 plus years that the show has been in existence many of the best magicians in the world have been a part of the tour. A partial list of the guest performers includes Lance Burton, Joseph Gabriel, Mr. (and Mrs.) Electric, Goldfinger & Dove, Greg Frewin, Juliana Chen, Terry Seabrooke, Mercer Helms, Abb Dickson, Nathan Burton, Mark Kalin, Mike Caveney, Tina Lennert, Shawn Farquhar, Eric Buss, Stan Allen, Ardan James, Jade, and many more. This year alone the guest performers have been seen previously Entertainment Tonight, Tom Snyder, Comedy on the Road, Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, Martes 13 (Spain), the Paul Daniels Show (London) and Evening at the Improv as well as in Casino?s from Las Vegas to Atlantic City.

Over the more than two decades that Illusions has been in existence it has grown from a one week tour of four cities in Western Canada to 85 shows in 27 cities over six weeks. It is recognized within the business as one of the top three tours of its kind in the world and in the twelve years that Murray has been in charge ? close to twenty million dollars has been raised for Canadian Charities including; numerous firefighter associations, hospital wings, burn units, hospices, and more.



Murray Hatfield and Teresa

“Illusions…A Magic Spectacular!” has been an annual tradition in Canada for over two decades. Created in the 70’s by Great West Entertainment it has evolved into one of the largest tours of its kind in the world.

At first the tour consisted of a week or two of dates in cities in western Canada and was headlined by Hollywood Illusionist – Chuck Jones. Chuck produced the show six or seven years and then Ray Pierce became the headliner/producer for three years.

In 1986 Murray Hatfield was invited to be the first Canadian act ever featured on the tour. The response was overwhelming, and the following year GWE offered him the headline spot. He held that position for three years and then in 1992 Murray was invited back as producer, director and star of the show. He’s been there ever since.

During the 25 plus years that the show has been in existence many of the best magicians in the world have been a part of the tour. A partial list of the guest performers includes Lance Burton, Joseph Gabriel, Mr. (and Mrs.) Electric, Goldfinger & Dove, Greg Frewin, Juliana Chen, Terry Seabrooke, Mercer Helms, Abb Dickson, Nathan Burton, Mark Kalin, Mike Caveney, Tina Lennert, Shawn Farquhar, Eric Buss, Stan Allen, Ardan James, Jade, and many more. This year alone the guest performers have been seen previously Entertainment Tonight, Tom Snyder, Comedy on the Road, Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, Martes 13 (Spain), the Paul Daniels Show (London) and Evening at the Improv as well as in Casino?s from Las Vegas to Atlantic City.

Over the more than two decades that Illusions has been in existence it has grown from a one week tour of four cities in Western Canada to 85 shows in 27 cities over six weeks. It is recognized within the business as one of the top three tours of its kind in the world and in the twelve years that Murray has been in charge ? close to twenty million dollars has been raised for Canadian Charities including; numerous firefighter associations, hospital wings, burn units, hospices, and more.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.