MagicSpace Entertainment has gone through several names during its three decades, all under the “magic” banner — including Magic Promotions, Magic Works and Magic Theatrical.
The company — which produces many touring shows, and promotes the American “Walking With Dinosaurs” tour coming to Consol Energy Center this summer — began when Pittsburgh-area native Lee D. Marshall signed magician David Copperfield 31 years ago, and he's been representing Copperfield ever since.
But the company has done much more than the magic of Copperfield. Today, MagicSpace produces and promotes shows including “Alton Brown Live! The Edible Inevitable Tour,” “Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour,” “Donny & Marie Christmas,” “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis” and “RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles.”
“Most days, it doesn't feel like I actually have a job,” says Marshall, 57, who born here and lived in Bellevue until he was 11. “That's the best kind of job to have, I think.
“I get to work with really creative people every day,” Marshall says. “In the entertainment business ... I've found a niche, that I can work with really creative folks, communicate with them on that level and also maximize the amount of money they can make in their careers.”
Marshall, whose childhood family moved several times and landed eventually in the Cleveland area, graduated in 1978 from Ohio University in Athens, which had a degree program for students interested in concert promotion. He finished college and entered the professional world in the middle of a recession and couldn't find a job anywhere.
“When I got out, no one would hire me,” Marshall says. “Instead, I started my own agency and wound up signing Boxcar Willie in 1981.”
David Copperfield signed with Marshall in 1983. The magic theme continues more than 30 years later with “The Illusionists,” a new show opening in November.
“We were the foremost producer of magic in the world,” Marshall says.
He points to his company's continuing work with Copperfield, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history.
“To be in a relationship for 30 years is a testament to a long, strong relationship,” Marshall says.
Five years ago, Marshall moved his company and family from Cleveland to Park City, Utah, where MagicSpace has an office, along with new headquarters in Salt Lake City.
Marshall had co-owned a ski house in Park City with a Pittsburgh friend for more than 20 years. They sold it, and Marshall bought a primary home for his family: wife, Shelley, and stepdaughter Emma, 13. He also has two 20something daughters, Jesse and Lauren.
“My wife and I decided this is a great place to live year-round, and decided to move out here,” Marshall says. “There are 315 days of sunshine a year. It's like Aspen or Vail is to Colorado. That's what Park City is to Utah.”
With the move to Utah, Marshall's company bought another entertainment company, The Space Agency. With the merger, came MagicSpace Entertainment.
Marshall isn't tethered to an office. He does most of his calls on his cellphone, and travels often to New York City and Los Angeles, where most of his clients are based.
Pittsburgh remains a special place to Marshall, who comes here usually once a year, both for his shows and to visit his cousins and extended family still here.
“My grandparents worked in the steel mills. They were Irish-Scottish immigrants,” he says. “My heritage isbased in Pittsburgh.”
Marshall credits the Pittsburgh work ethic for some of his success, along with strokes of fate.
“I came from working-class families,” he says. “Somewhere along the line, I got lucky, and who knows why. I still think those Midwestern values I was raised with show in everything I do.
“I was at the right place at the right time many times in my life,” Marshall says.
Kellie B. Gormly is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at kgormly@tribweb.com or 412-320-7824.
