After 20 magical seasons in Hot Springs, Maxwell Blade is finally "going home" to where it all began.
Celebrating his 21st season in the Spa City this year, Blade will once again lease the Malco Theatre in the historic downtown district where his journey here began in 1995.
After Blade and his family moved to Hot Springs in 1995, he put the $12,000 he had to his name toward renovating the theater and began performing there in August of 1996. He moved out in 2007 and started performing at various venues in Hot Springs, including the Porterhouse and Poet's Loft downtown, before opening his current theater, the Maxwell Blade Theatre of Magic at 121 Central Ave.
Business has been booming for Blade, which influenced his decision to lease the Malco.
"I didn't purchase it -- I've leased it for a long, long time, because I can't keep up with the flow and the influx of tourists wanting to see my show," he said. "I'm doing three shows a day. I did 125 shows in 99 days this summer. I'm seeing a great influx of people in this town, like I've never seen before, and with all the developments it's going to get even bigger so I need to either step up or work myself to death."
Blade said the theater renovation will take approximately six to seven months and he estimates it will cost about $750,000.
"That's what it's going to take, because this is going to be over the top," he said. "New neon, digital marquees -- including the small ones outside -- it'll all be painted outside. It's going to look like Las Vegas. When you come down the street, that's what it will look like. I don't need to go to Las Vegas; I'm bringing it here."
Blade said he plans to salvage a lot of the "cool and retro" items that were left in the theater from his old performing days, including the old marquees.
"When we're done with this project it's going to be super cool. There's the old milk glass for the marquee; I'm going to salvage that. I'm thinking about covering the front desk area with that and lighting it so it looks like a marquee. Wouldn't that be cool?"
The theater was built in the shell of the Princess Theatre, which dates back to the 1880s, but was heavily damaged by a fire in 1935.
"This place is built like a fortress," Blade said. "I would probably be comfortable if a bomb went off if I was in the basement, I kid you not. These walls are all like 70-inch concrete walls; it's incredible. When I got this building in 1995 I spent 12 hours in the basement going through all the crooks and crannies. There were virtually heads lying around everywhere -- this used to be the beauty college -- and there were old dryers and all kinds of stuff. It was just creepy. I might make a movie down here: 'The Magic Lair.'"
Blade said sometimes he still finds old cards and confetti inside the Malco from his performing days of 20 years ago. "There are still remnants of me here," he added.
He plans to paint and repair the walls and build new restrooms and a 40-seat theater for close-up artists, to "keep the intimacy" of a smaller theater.
Blade's Odditorium and Curiosity Museum will also move to its new location right next to the Malco.
Though the theater renovations won't be completed in time to host this year's three-day Maxwell Blade Festival of Magic, set to run from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, Blade said next year's festival will be hosted in the new theater.
In addition to using the Malco for his own shows, he plans to open the building up to the community and other groups and attractions that may need a venue.
"It's going to be a lot of work but it's going to be worth it," he said. "I've come full circle in ten years. I'm getting to go back home."
Local on 09/21/2016