Theatre of Magic - TV Tropes

"You have the magic!"

Announcer: "The Theatre awaits!"

Theatre of Magic is a Physical Pinball Table designed by John Popadiuk with art by Linda Doane. it was released by Williams Electronics under its Bally label in 1995, and went on to become the best-selling pinball machine of the year.

The game casts the player as an aspiring magician performing a show in the theatre. With the help of the spinning Magician's Trunk on the playfield, you must pull rabbits out of hats, escape from a strait jacket, saw assistants in half, instantly transform into various animals, and perform other illusions. Particularly skillful players can enter the basement and invoke Midnight Madness, but only a Master Magician will be able to perform the Grand Finale and leave the audience mesmerized.

Theatre of Magic remains popular with many players today, though some think there's too much emphasis on shooting the Magician's Trunk. Pinball fans often get into heated arguments when comparing it to Pinball Magic; Theatre fans praise its non-linear gameplay, fast action, and player-friendly rules and design.

A digital version of the game was formerly available as part of FarSight Studios' The Pinball Arcade collection until their license to all Williams and Bally tables expired on July 1, 2018. Another digital version is currently available for Pinball FX3, along with a remastered version that includes the typical Zen Studios flair.

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"The next performance is about to begin!" "Shoot for the magic Tropes!"

• Almost Out of Oxygen: The "Trunk Escape" illusion, which locks the magician in an underwater trunk, then gives the player a limited air supply (time limit) to complete.

  Announcer: "The air pressure is building!"

• Ambiguous Situation: while the player's role is a Stage Magician, their actual position is ambiguous. The woman on the backglass and speaking during the game is referred to as "the assistant" in the rules sheet, and during the escape tricks she tells the player "You must break free"; yet if the mode is completed, the DMD shows that she was the one escaping. So are we her, or are we helping her, or vice versa?
• Amusing Injuries: Get a Secret Ball Lock, and you'll be treated to an animation of the announcer falling down a very tall staircase.
• Animorphism: The "Metamorphosis" illusion, where the magician turns into various animals, such as a dove, a tiger, or a cobra.

  Magician: "I am only an illusion..."

• Announcer Chatter: Very excited chatter, at that.
• Anti-Frustration Feature: In addition to a ball saver, the game has a pair of "Hocus Pocus" targets on the left side. Hitting either one will activate a pair of magnetic ball catchers, one at the top of each outlane. They stay active for 15 seconds or until a ball starts to drain, whichever comes first, and will shift the ball back to the inlane when triggered.
• Boring, but Practical: Repeatedly shooting the left orbit is arguably the best strategy for getting a high score - It is a very safe, repeatable shot that does many things that synergize with each other. It advances towards and starts the Theatre Hurry-Up, whose value is built up by the jet bumpers where the ball will end up on a weak shot to either orbit. The T-H-E-A-T-R-E letters themselves add to the end-of-ball bonus, which can be multiplied by completing the rollover lanes above the bumpers. And once the bonus multiplier is maxed out, further completions of those rollovers award 5 million on the spot. To top it all off, there's a gate toward the right orbit's exit that ensures a strong enough shot returns to the right flipper, ready to - you guessed it - shoot the left orbit again.
• Bowdlerise: The Pinball FX version gives the magician's assistant a more modest dress that covers up her cleavage.
• Combo: Scoring bigger combos prompts excited exclamations from the Announcer.

  Announcer: "Amazing!... Marvelous!... MAGNIFICENT!"

• Company Cross-References:
  • During "Hat Magic", the third item produced is a telephone, and the person on the other end yells, "MOVE YOUR CAR!"
  • During "Metamorphosis", one of the animals the lady turns into is a snack bar attendant who says "Here's your hot dog."
• Escape Artist: The "Trunk Escape", "Safe Escape". and "Strait Jacket" illusions.
• In-Universe Game Clock: The clock is advanced by shooting the right orbit or as a Skill Shot award, but When the Clock Strikes Twelve, it will run backwards.
• Large Ham: The announcer.
• Magicians Are Wizards: although the game's art is themed around stage magic, the tricks are described as performed using actual magic.
• Match Sequence: The magician produces two doves from her hands, which fly off and produce the final number.
• Ms. Fanservice: The magician on the backglass has a prominent cleavage. She gets a higher neckline in the Pinball FX version.
• Pinball Prop: Features a spinning locked trunk.
• Pinball Scoring: This table played fast and loose with seven- or even eight-digit rewards. It wouldn't be uncommon to see a Replay at value cross the billion point threshold...or more.
• Pull a Rabbit out of My Hat: The "Hat Magic" illusion, which produces rabbits, doves, and a telephone.
• Random Drop: Open the trapdoor and shoot a ball into it, and you'll get a random award from the theatre basement.
• Saw a Woman in Half: The "Tiger Saw" illusion. Hits to the captive ball show a tiger sawing something in half, alternating between a woman and a pinball machine.
• Shout-Out: The padlocks on the sides of the cabinet are from the "Joos Lock Company", a reference to longtime Williams' mechanical engineer Joe Joos Jr.
• Show Within a Show: The "Video pinball" Video Mode.
• Signature Style: Theatre has all the hallmarks of a John Popadiuk pin — a magic theme, prominent use of magnets, a captive ball target, out-of-the-way pop bumpers, and a spinning Magician's Trunk toy.
• Skill Shot:
  • Hit the trunk after launching the ball to receive one of three player-selected rewards.

  Announcer: "Amazing skill!"

  • When you lock or vanish a ball, you get to launch a new one. Hit the captive ball to advance the clock.
• Spelling Bonus: Shoot the ramps to spell MAGIC to enable the multiball locks, and spell THEATRE for a five-second opportunity to shoot the trunk and collect the Theatre Bonus. The Grand Finale requires spelling MAGIC THEATRE in 60 seconds.
• Spikes of Doom: During the "Strait Jacket" illusion, the magician must escape while trapped between two spiked walls closing together.
• Spinning Clock Hands: Midnight Madness has the clock hands moving backwards towards noon.
• Staircase Tumble: Getting a Secret Ball Lock shows an animation of this on the display.

  Announcer: "This ball is full of magic!"

• Timed Mission: All of the illusions, the Theatre Hurry-Up, Video Mode, and the Wizard Mode are timed.
• Video Mode: One of the random options in the Basement is Video Pinball. You play for 30 seconds, trying to hit all six targets for an extra ball.
• Wall Crawl: One of the sides of the Magic Trunk allows the pinball to cling to it.
• When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Advancing the clock to midnight starts Midnight Madness; the clock goes backwards from midnight, and each shot to the Magic Trunk scores either 2 million times the hour or 10 million, whichever is more.
• Wizard Mode: "Grand Finale", which is only available after starting all eight illusions, spelling THEATRE, advancing the clock to midnight, and playing Theatre Multiball at least once. The Finale itself gives you 60 seconds to make 12 major shots and spell MAGIC THEATRE. You get 50 million points per letter, and another 500 million if you pull it off.

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