The Statue of Liberty. The Great Wall of China. The famous Honus Wagner baseball card and a chicken named Elvis. What do these things have in common, you ask? They have all been part of the magic of David Copperfield.

Tonight, “The Magic is Back” when master illusionist David Copperfield performs at Stephens Auditorium. With his current “Beyond Imagination” show, the magic man himself will go where no magician has dared go before.

Copperfield will transport himself and his audience on a journey into the unknown. Among the show’s highlights are ghostly illusions using a specially reconstructed haunted chamber; walking through the slicing blades of an enormous, two-story industrial fan; sawing a woman in half (cutting vertically, not horizontally), plus much more.

The illusionist’s show is exciting enough to raise the dead, literally. He has reconstructed a haunted chamber using the charred remains of the Barclay House, a residence known for its scandalous past, much like the Bugar House here on campus. It was almost entirely destroyed by fire during an electrical storm in 1927, trapping everyone inside. Copperfield will conjure up the spirits of those who perished in the blaze, leaving hearts pounding after his death-defying encounter. And he’ll do it all without the aid of a Ouija Board!

Keeping to the theme of spirits, members of the audience will gather around a large table and, using only their fingertips and total imagination, cause it to rise into the air. The table not only floats, it travels across the stage, dances and spins out of control.

And, just when you thought the indoors were safe, in one of his most dramatic illusions, Copperfield uses nothing but his bare hands to produce snow which magically fills the theater.

Copperfield has redefined magic as a performing art beginning at an early age. He was performing professionally in his home town of Metuchen, N.J., at the ripe age of 12. Soon after, he became the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Society Of American Magicians. By the age of 16, he was teaching magic at New York University.

Where others would think it can’t be done, Copperfield’s approach is: yes it can! “The secret,” he said in a press release, “is to consider nothing impossible. Then start treating possibilities as probabilities. Before there can be wonders, there must be wonder. In my show, I try to transport people on a journey of the imagination, much in the same way as a great film director does.”

Some of Copperfield’s journeys have included making an airplane surrounded by a ring of spectators vanish, making the Statue of Liberty disappear and levitating himself across the Grand Canyon.

He has walked through The Great Wall of China, been the first person to escape from Alcatraz, plunged over the precipice of Niagara Falls and tore up and restored the Honus Wagner baseball card (worth $500,000) before its nervous owner, hockey superstar Wayne Gretsky.

What is believed to be his greatest illusion, besides snagging uber-model wife Claudia Schiffer, Copperfield met up with his old foe: gravity. “Flying: Live the Dream” unlocked the mystery of human flight, sending him soaring through space without wings, strings or camera tricks.

This particular illusion is close to Copperfield’s heart. “Ever since I can remember, I have dreamed of flying … not on a plane or in a balloon, but a dream of pushing against air, riding the wind and flying. For years I tried and failed, but I knew that as long as I didn’t quit trying, I was not beaten.”

The average time it takes him to create a new illusion, from conception to performance, is two-and-a-half years. Some illusions, such as flying, took over seven years to develop. Touring is quite a feat as well. The illusions require a jumbo jet all to themselves, not to mention the 35 employees that accompany every tour.

With so many people involved, one has to wonder about what must be Copperfield’s most amazing trick: keeping his secrets from getting out. Well, every person who works, directly or indirectly, for or with him, must sign secrecy agreements.

Destined to be a spectacular show, David Copperfield blends mystery and romance into sensual illusions which dazzle the mind and move the heart. Tickets are still available for both shows, 5:30 and 9 p.m. Ticket prices vary and can be purchased at the Iowa State Center Box Office and at all Ticketmaster centers.