Yellowknife (Jan 28/05) - Call it vaudeville, Yellowknife style. Next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4 and 5, Rick Poltaruk returns to the NACC stage to give us a taste of what we were missing during the 15 years he spent down south.

Poltaruk has put together two evenings of music, comedy and magic titled "Rick Poltaruk -- and still growing."

Rick Poltaruk performs with his band "Relics" at the CoolAID benefit concert two weekends ago. Poltaruk brings his variety show to NACC next weekend.

But the show has another purpose, besides demonstrating Poltaruk's work down south and that is to showcase local talent.

"To me, there are two categories of people in town, the musicians and the people who should know about them," said Poltaruk.

"I mean Chic Callas plays, what, 375,000 instruments?"

Besides the multi-talented Callas, Poltaruk will have his band "Relics" on stage, featuring Percy Kinney and Gary Tees.

The show will also feature trumpet player Mike Hilchey, saxophonist Howard McKay, percussionist John Powell and singers Kelley Merilees-Keppel, Connie Hinchey, Karen Rawson and Brodie Dawson.

Northern Skies' Ron Kent and Suzette Montreuil will open and CJCD's Paul McMullan will emcee.

When Poltaruk was here in the '80s, he did a concert called Rick Poltaruk and Friends, a Christmas show and other musical variety productions at NACC.

"Then those kinds of things were done all the time," he said. "Now for some reason, I don't see that happening any more for local musicians."

Poltaruk owes his magic skills to Edmontonian Bill Hart, who followed the vaudeville circuit with his parents.

Vaudeville began in the early 20th century when a theatre owner in Seattle was trying to book performers from New York, but had to make the two-week trip across the country and back worth the performers' while.

So he enlisted small theatres in towns along the railway route and formed what would become the first vaudeville circuit.

Poltaruk met Hart while doing a show with him.

"Something went wrong so I jumped in to help," said Poltaruk. "It's what you do."

In return for the on-stage favour, Hart taught Poltaruk what he knew about magic. Poltaruk eventually opened a magic shop in Vancouver, which his business partner still runs.

Just a trick

He was always amazed by people who would come into the shop thinking magic was real. Once a man came in raving about something magician David Blaine had done on television the night before. Poltaruk pointed out a box in the store to him. "You can do it for $14.95," he told the man.

"If I could do real magic, I'd pay my taxes like that every year," said Poltaruk.