“ILLUSION” explores the life of Julian Eltinge, beginning as a young boy in Boston in 1890. The son of a drunken, homophobic, Irish immigrant father and an abused mother, he worked hard and eventually became one of the greatest entertainers in the world attaining the same level of fame and fortune as Charlie Chaplin and Mae West. He even had a Broadway theatre named in his honor, but it all came crashing down in the 1920’s when Hollywood was rocked by numerous notorious scandals, such as the murder of William Desmond Taylor, and the alleged rape and murder of Virginia Rappe by movie star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. These shocking events brought widespread condemnation from religious, civic, and political organizations, and resulted in new restrictions for the film industry. For example, it became illegal for a man to dress as a woman...which is what Mr. Eltinge had built his entire career on. His life touched and enriched the lives of many, particularly women, although he never fully realized the impact he had made. He died nearly penniless after achieving so much. Through it all, he just wanted someone to notice him.