Chautauqua most unusual entertainers came during the venue's early years
by Silvia Pettem
Chautauqua's auditorium has witnessed a variety of entertainers in its long history. Magicians, naturalists, and even animals performed during its earliest years.
"Maro," a magician, performed in 1898, Chautauqua's opening year. Supposedly, he was "an artist of marked ability and as clever with brush and pencil as with cards, coins, handkerchiefs and other common objects."
Baker W. Armstrong, Jr. was a young boy at the time, attending the summer resort with his parents. In 1928, he returned to give his own performance. By then, he spelled his name backwards to create his stage name of "Rekab, the Wizard."
After some magic tricks, his final act was to escape from a tightly locked and roped box, similar to an act of his more well-known predecessor, Harry Houdini. Rekab's assistants handcuffed him, chained him, and put him in the box, from which he kept up a muffled commentary. Then, after one of his assistants drove in the final nail, all was quiet.