By Judy Carmack Bross
The Physician Magician Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz
“Doctors are masters at transformation, and magic is not about deception or tricking people, but about giving hope.”—Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz
It is no illusion that whether he is on stage at his Rhapsody Theater in Rogers Park or in a Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine classroom, neonatologist Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz proves why magic matters. Known as the Physician Magician, he not only performs his all new illusions on stage at the Rhapsody Theater, but also brings in other world-class magicians and offers music, improv comedy, great food and bar service for often sold-out audiences. In the classroom he relates magic to developing deeper human relationships between doctors and their patients addressing medical burnout and patients’ lack of trust, making a magical transition to hope.
Being a magician, he has said, “is not about technology, it’s about the relationship. It’s about meaning. And it’s the same with medicine. It seems like doctors these days are so harried, with insurance sand paperwork. We’re busy filling in the fields on a computer and not even looking at the patient. There are time pressures, productivity pressures. The reaction among my colleagues is, ‘I really want to connect more with my patients, but I don’t have time.’”
Dr. Rosenkranz says the skills modeled by his seminar’s guest magicians help young doctors develop positive rapport with patients. “That’s my not-so-hidden agenda is to get students in my seminars to think about these things that really are the essence of what our profession is.”
Dr. Rosenkranz, who will perform an all-new show at the Rhapsody in May, magically transformed the 1912 building originally called the Morse Theater into a haven for magic as well as music with Musical Mondays and jazz at the Rhapsody bar.
“The Rhapsody Theater is unique as it provides internationally acclaimed headliner magicians with the opportunity to create and perform brand new work for Chicago audiences. We are curating the best of the best. The professional staging elements rival those of an off-Broadway theater venue, and artists are able to stage full-length productions that simply couldn’t be accommodated in any other magic venue in the city,” he said “Performing this month is Andi Gladwin who asks everyone in the audience to bring their own deck of cards, be it Uno, Tarot or playing cards for his act called ‘Shuffled’.”
Dr. Rosenkranz was born in Mexico City, where his late father, George Rosenkranz, emigrated to escape the Nazis and assembled scientists at Syntex, as research director, subsequently developing the birth control pill and doing breakthrough Steroid research.
As a child in Mexico City Dr. Rosenkranz had no interest in magic, developing his passion for it in his thirties. “In Chicago I was lucky to learn from the great American magician Eugene Burger who became my mentor and best friend. He is one of the reasons magic has had a great renaissance in recent years.”
Dr. Rosenkranz, who earlier in his career performed at the Royal George Theatre, is currently working on his show for May, developing illusions “that no one else in the world is doing.” He also offers performances in Spanish as “El Medico Mago,” sometimes performing in each language on the same day.
Growing up in Mexico he was fascinated about the approaches and attitudes concerning the Day of the Dead as well as shamanism in Southeast Asia and the Philippines. “I have lost both my parents but feel that I am able to connect with them every day, not in a séance or theatrical way, but in my show I love talking about my parents.”
“I have studied illusions that were popular 100 years ago and early 20th century spiritualism and have made them relevant for today’s audiences. We are all looking for a deeper purpose, and when a person walks out of the theater or the classroom I want them to feel empowered and optimistic.
“After COVID, people are slowly going out more and more and we vary our programs. We have an outstanding mind reader Ross Johnson once a month, a real master of intuition,” he said. “And in Mary and June, David Williamson presents a full length original piece which combines comedy and magic.”
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Rosenkranz lives on the Gold Coast with his wife and three daughters and is Assistant Professor in Clinical Pediatrics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He holds Bachelor and Master of Science Degrees from Stanford University. He obtained his Medical Degree from Cornell University Medical School, completed a Pediatric Residency and a Fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Northwestern University.
Dr. Rosenkranz is the Co-Founder of Inovamed, a health care services provider in Mexico. Inovamed is credited with the successful financial and quality-driven turnaround of one of Mexico City’s oldest private hospitals. He is primarily interested in the development of innovative and effective patient-centered, quality driven health care delivery models for multiple settings and communities.
For the Rhapsody he sets an equally high bar.
“My goal is a lofty one, I love music, and would like more Mozart there and more poetry. I have been involved with the Lyric Opera and the Harris Theater and it is important to me to bring arts and culture to all neighborhoods. And I want our magicians to continue to be the best of the best, and ones that really can’t be seen anywhere else. With illusions there is real artistry, you can see amazing underpinnings, storylines and messages.”
The Physician Magician told us: “Magic is a belief-engendered area where we believe that two coins have been changed into three, or that the magician has elevated a person. You suspend disbelief and within that scope and framework elevate your passion. Doctors need to know more about performers and what it takes to reach out to a patient and develop trust, it is at the very core of being a healer.”
