SHERMAN, TEXAS—The Austin College Theatre Program presents The War Wizard: A Tale of Magic and the Civil War in Beardsley Arena Theatre of Ida Green Communication Center on October 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on October 5. Produced by magician and philosopher Dr. Larry Hass of the Austin College faculty, the 75-minute performance is appropriate for the entire family. Tickets, free with a valid Austin College ID or $10 each, are available from Carolyn Cranford in Ida Green Communication Center, Room 103, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. She may be reached at 903.813.2281 for information.

Starring Diane Bray andEmmy Award-winning actor and professional magician Max Howard, this historically based show tells the true story of Gus Rich, a Southern veteran of the Civil War who made his living after the War with a traveling magic show. The performance is authentic in speech, dress, and style, and features actual stage magic of the period.

The production’s website provides the story of Gus Rich:

“Born William Augustus Reich in Salem, North Carolina, on July 16, 1833. “A third-generation tin smith of the Moravian faith, he was by turns a master metal smith, musician, inventor, entrepreneur, newspaper correspondent, Civil War soldier, magician, and traveling showman. He served at the Battle of Gettysburg as the bass drummer of the 26th North Carolina Regimental Band.”

“For three decades following the Civil War, in a horse-drawn wagon rigged especially to hold his apparatus and his tents, he traveled through North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, and as far north as Cincinnati and as far west as Indianapolis. Calling himself Professor Gus Rich, he presented ‘The Great Southern Sleight of Hand Show,’ which he proudly proclaimed to be ‘good, clean family fun ... guaranteed to amuse the ear, deceive the eye, and astonish the mind!’”

“On July 8, 1917, one week before his 84th birthday, Professor Gus Rich died. He is buried in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the beautiful old Moravian cemetery called ‘God’s Acre.’”

“The War Wizard reminds us that history is not made solely by ‘great men doing great things’ but also by ordinary men and women whose living and dying have given us our common heritage,” the website description concludes.

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives.