Review: Celebracadabra Week Two

Celebracadabra week two, with its theme of kid show magic, promised to be interesting. And in true reality show fashion, the series' creative team set-up contestants and placed them in the worst possible position when performing for children.

Cheap Costumes Equal Cheap Magic
Right off the bat, I was disappointed when I learned that the magical celebrities were required to wear costumes. I can’t believe the timing as I recently wrote an opinion piece where I identified a costume as one of the five biggest mistakes that beginning magicians can make (please click here to read the story).

As I've written before, costumes have a place in magic entertainment, but only when they support the theme of the effects and show. What I rail against is the idiot in the Sponge Bob costume, thrift store clown garb or cheap wizard robe showing up at parties armed with no presentation and a box with a coloring book and ball and vase.

It’s the lowest form of magic entertainment, if you can even call it "entertainment." And without magical or entertainment skills, the costume becomes a humiliating hindrance.

By making the beginning magicians wear costumes, the producers dropped a significant obstacle that guaranteed that the celebrities would be less likely to connect with audiences.

Characters
The show begins on a solid note when host Jonathan Levitt tells contestants that they "have to be a character," but he then gives them a hundred bucks to purchase cheap costumes. It's the character not the costume that’s important.

Apparently, the contestants had to choose characters and costumes without consulting their coaches, which was a significant handicap. From what I can tell, they didn't know what tricks they were going to perform and couldn’t use this information to guide them towards a character.

After winning last week's street magic segment, Hal Sparks got to choose a costume for Lisa Ann Walter, the contestant he felt was the biggest threat. His choice resulted in Walter being dressed as a human ketchup bottle.

But in the biggest triumph of the series thus far, Walter’s comedic instincts and engaging personality combined with Silly Billy's experience with kids resulted in an entertaining kid routine. I think it was the best routine.

While C. Thomas Howell won the show with what the judges felt was the best performance, I found his portrayal of a cowboy one-dimensional and somewhat obnoxious. Playing for kids doesn't ask one to play sillier, stupider and louder, and certainly doesn't require one to grossly overact. In his interview, Howell stated that he had an advantage because he's got three kids. However, he misses the point. The key to children’s magic is to connect and be a kid at heart.

In her segment, Kimberley Wyatt portrayed Dorothy from the "Wizard of Oz." I have a feeling that her choice of character was the result of wanting to produce a dog. Her performance was a painful reminder of what not to do when performing magic under any circumstance: "I have an ordinary basket and it’s empty." Unless you’re performing a sucker trick, the kids will eat you alive.

Unknowns
There's lots that we don't know when watching the show. Unlike the street performances last week where each contestant drummed-up his or her own crowds, this week, there was a formal show. In these situations, one's order in the line-up and who you follow plays a factor.

The show didn’t state how long each contestant had to fill, but each apparently worked up several tricks. While we know that each was given a hundred dollars to buy a costume, we don’t know the budget for their show props. Some acts, such as that by Wyatt, had fairly pricey props that had been customized to her theme.

Also, what can magic coaches do and not do on stage? Some contestants had their coaches on stage working as assistants, and some, like Walter, had her coach work the crowd during her intro, which probably helped. Most of all, we're not seeing the acts in their entirety and the editing can heavily influence our impressions, whether unintentionally or intentionally.

Week Two
While the magic performances were second rate, as I stated last week, it's great to see a TV show that acknowledges the difficulty of performing magic well. These contestants are making polished magic pros look good.

A big deal was made out of ANT's phobia with clowns. Max Maven joined this week as a judge, replacing Franz Harary. Judge Jeff McBride gleefully ejected ANT by stating his name like a buzzer in a game show and ANT’s own coach, Asi Wind, was equally ecstatic at his departure.

The show’s clown-phobic villain is now gone. It's difficult to see what conflict, if any, lies ahead.

More Reading:
What Makes a Great Magician?