SNOW INSIDE THE WARNER by Dave Richards, Staff Writer George Bailey isn't the only one with a wonderful life. Consider the case of Erie native Bob Borgia, who'll appear at First Night Erie Dec. 31 for two big shows at the Warner Theatre. Four years ago, he was injured in a devastating Los Angeles car accident. Today he's on his way to the big time as an illusionist and master magician. Borgia stars in "Imagine Nation," an ongoing, $2 million production at the Genting Highlands Resort in Malaysia. At the show's end, he makes an airplane disappear. Food, too. Imagine the standing ovation for that. In February, he'll appear in two spots during "Madcap Magic," a Pax Network television special. This past summer, Borgia not only designed all the magic for R&B singer Brian McKnight's concert tour, but traveled on the road with him, too. Audiences saw microphones float in mid-air and McKnight vanish in thin air at the show's end. Borgia made punk-rocker Henry Rollins float in an isolation chamber for the "End of Something" video, currently airing on MTV. Next August, Borgia hopes to film his most spectacular illusion yet for a planned NBC-TV special, "World's Greatest Magicians." Audiences at home will vote on a favorite crop-circle design. Cut to Borgia, standing in the middle of a wheat field, cameras on him. He'll make that crop circle form around him in a 500-foot diameter. "I'm so passionate about (that illusion)," said Borgia, "It's a different direction, other than 'How am I going to vanish a building?' It's still this really cool mega-illusion, but it's also a cool interactive thing at home. And the payoff is something that's never been done before. The producers went berserk over the concept and idea." Borgia is equally impassioned about what's in store on Dec. 31. Never mind exotic Malaysia and distant wheat fields. He'll be on stage at the Warner for two shows conceived for his hometown audience.

"Honest, it's like a dream come true," said Borgia, who phoned from Malaysia at 4 a.m. his time just to talk about the show. "It's weird. I have such an amazing connection with my hometown. You're home is your home. And I have so many memories of growing up there. Jamie Stockhausen and Mike Marzka from fourth grade; they're still my best friends. I just love coming back there and doing shows." Erie audiences can expect a winter wonderland, no matter what Joey Stevens predicts. We'll have a white New Year's Eve. "I'm going to make it snow inside the Warner Theatre," said Borgia, who's flying in a nine-person crew to work the shows. "It'll snow in the entire theater. It's a real theatrical piece." He'll clone a person. He'll re-enact the UFO experience he had in Erie as a youth while driving with his mother and aunt, an experience so profound it influenced his career choice. He'll do a card trick that requires audience participation from everybody, not just one person. He'll also use elaborate backdrops, designed by buddy Tim Wilcox, who did the computer animation for the Jodie Foster film "Contact". Said Borgia, "It's all original computer animation that's used for my background. Video screens that act as my set... I can have any background I want. It's kind of neat. But I made sure it was subtle enough that it doesn't upstage me and bring the focus away from the show." For the highlight of his First Night shows, Borgia will borrow a bit from Houdini, one of his idols, for an escape trick. "I'm closing the show with the escaped over the audience," he said. "I'll have my hands locked on the outside of a box in a trunk, and my body inside. I'll go up in the air as high as we can go, about 60 feet. And from there, I'll make my escape, and the surprises will begin." The surprise for his parents came a few weeks ago. Borgia told his parents he'll fly them to Malaysia in March to see "Imagine Nation" in person. Franz Harary developed that show and starred in it, but visa problems forced him to leave after three months. He asked Borgia to take it over. "It's like Disneyland on top of a 6,000-foot mountain," said Borgia, describing the Genting Highlands resort. "It's paradise." He deserves it. He went through hell four years ago after flying through a windshield in an accident that seriously injured his cousins John and Susan. "It took a lot of regrouping and getting back on my fee. That accident changed my life more than I imagined," said Borgia. "Now, all the hard work is finally paying off."