This Halloween 2026, for the 100th anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini, we’re thrilled to bring Houdini Speaks to the Living back home to Texas, for a four-night run at Round Rock’s Penfold Theatre.

Come help us summon the spirits of two of the most impactful figures of the twentieth century as they try to answer the question, “CAN THE DEAD SPEAK??”

Starring Patrick Terry as Harry Houdini and Robert Matney as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

🔮 SPECIAL EVENT — OCTOBER 29
Join Eric Colleary, Cline Curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center and author of Houdini’s Library, for a post-show conversation about Houdini, the Ransom Center’s extraordinary collection, and the research that helped inspire the production. 

🎃 HALLOWEEN — OCTOBER 31
Our final performance falls exactly 100 years after Houdini died on Halloween 1926. Stay after the show for a spooky treat…

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The Hidden Room and the Harry Ransom Center proudly present this original work, meticulously researched from the Ransom Center’s Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle archives. Produced with the generous support of Gerry Ohrstrom and Larry Starr.

The year is 1924. Harry Houdini is at the peak of his fame, touring the country with performance-lectures that expose fraudulent mediums and challenge the growing Spiritualist movement. At the same moment, his friend (and eventual adversary) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is lecturing in passionate defense of Spiritualism, convinced it represents a profound philosophical and moral evolution for humanity.

Drawing directly from letters, essays, diaries, photographs, and published writings, Houdini Speaks to the Living stages their collision of belief systems with precision and restraint. Approximately 75% of the text is verbatim, constructed entirely from primary sources, allowing the audience to hear these men largely in their own words as they grapple with the human desire to reach beyond death.

Recommended for 10+

Running time 70 minutes