Strand Theatre to present magic show, movie

The Strand Theatre in downtown Vicksburg will present A Night of Magic Saturday, Aug. 31.

The evening will begin with a live performance by Joe M. Turner, a native Mississippian and professional magician/mentalist for the past 24 years. Turner will share some of the world-class magic  that has taken him to 50 countries on six continents, from the Hollywood Magic Castle to the London Palladium, organizers said.

Turner moved from Brandon to the Atlanta area more than 30 years ago, and has recently relocated to Tennessee.

“Now that we’ve moved closer to home, I’m especially excited to plug back in to events in my home state,” Turner said.

Following Turner’s performance there will be a screening of “Lost in the Shuffle,” a new film by Jon Ornoy, which tells a story revolving around magic and magicians, including prominent Canadian magician Shawn Farquhar. Farquhar and Turner met in 2001 and have been colleagues and friends ever since, organizers said. In 2015, Turner became international president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, succeeding Farquhar.

The film, which recently enjoyed its world premiere at Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, features five of the world’s top sleight-of-hand artists. Event organizers said it looks at the seemingly endless amount of inspiration that magicians can draw from a simple deck of cards and explores a tantalizing theory from Farquhar, a two-time world champion, that hidden in the art of every standard deck are the clues to a cold case  murder.

According to Turner, “Shawn and Jon Ornoy are the masterminds behind this film, but I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with all of the people featured over the years. Juan Tamariz is a legend from Spain whose work I’ve studied for most of my career. Richard Turner has been a prominent figure in magic for almost as long as Juan. I was on an international virtual show with Michael Vincent earlier this year, and I just saw Shawn, Michael, and Alexandra Duvivier at a conference in Tacoma in July. It was an honor to be invited to help add a live element to the screening of this film, especially since so many of the people involved are friends. Their trust in bringing me in means a lot.”

Tickets are $20 at Highway 61 Coffeehouse, 1101 Washington St., and at the door. They are also available online at

shuffle.brownpapertickets.com