After fighting the considerable traffic that was heading to the nearby Hollywood Bowl, I finally arrived at the Magic Castle to enjoy a mid-week visit. While I wasn’t able to catch every show in each room, the Palace and close-up rooms featured strong, entertaining acts.
This week’s Palace line-up is an excellent one. The ever-amazing Whit Haydn, who is host, was dressed in Western duds to promote his upcoming Soapy Smith event (this Friday-see below). His voice even took on a western drawl when he presented his fun standards: Silk to Egg, Mongolian Pop Knot and linking rings.
Valérie offered a pleasant Palace surprise. This performer from Switzerland has mostly been described as a “quick change artist,” but this is only one aspect of her enchanting presentation. She impressed the crowd with a visual, magical routine that was set to popular music and left a considerable impression. As I later walked through the halls, I kept hearing spectators and magicians alike talking about that amazing “quick change” artist. Valérie is a must see this week.
Christopher Hart closed the show with his impeccable card manipulation, clever torn and restored sheet of music and, of course, “the hand.” If you’ve never had the privilege of enjoying Hart’s act, he’s a top pro who is always worth seeing.
I enjoyed Lou Serrano’s set in the Close-up Room. Serrano is a true worker who’s an accomplished sleight of hand artist. It’s easy to see why he’s so successful in the corporate magic markets. He performs an energetic, rapid-fire show that opens quickly and runs through a fast-paced, crowd-pleasing set that includes Torn and Restored Transposition, Chop Cup, Ambitious Card and Floating Bill.
To benefit the Dai Vernon Fund, the Academy of Magical Arts is holding a special party celebrating the 97th Anniversary of the Shooting of Soapy Smith on Friday, July 8th. The Inner Circle will be filled with con men, swindlers, thimble-riggers, grifters, shills and rubes, all dressed in their 1890s finest, for The Magic Castle's 2nd Annual Soapy Smith Day Party. There will be an extra charge of five dollars to attend this event.
The buzz I heard was that the Castle is expecting a busy weekend. And don’t forget to check that Hollywood Bowl schedule to plan your arrival.
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
