Synopsis
Houdini Speaks to the Living returns for a special one-night engagement at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Auditorium at Lincoln Center, on March 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM.
Starring Patrick Terry as Harry Houdini and Robert Matney as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this acclaimed Hidden Room production brings two towering figures of the early twentieth century face to face at the height of their ideological divide.
Admission is free.
RESERVATIONS
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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.
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 enduring question of belief, proof, and the human desire to reach beyond death.
Recommended for 10+
Running time 50 minutes
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.
This project is supported in part by the generosity of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin.