Tag: Mac King

Abbott’s Magic Get-Together is On – with Restrictions

Lance Burton the True Master Magician Performs in Happier TimesMaster Magician Lance Burton will be joined by the incredible Mac King, Jeff Hobson and Kevin James at this year’s Abbott’s Magic Get-Together.

Abbott’s owner, Greg Bordner, announced the good news in today’s Sturgis Journal.

But given the uncertainties in this time of a pandemic, nothing is certain.

“Probably the best quote you can put in the paper is, ‘we’re proceeding cautiously,’” Mr. Bordner said. “That’s how we’re approaching this and we’ll stay optimistic that we can go ahead and have the Get-Together this year.”

A big feature of the Get-Together are the big shows in the Colon High School gym but due to health and safety concerns, the seats available will be half of what they were in pre-pandemic times.

“It’s a different show every night, of course, but it’s the same people in the audience every night,” he said. “Where we used to sell tickets to any, some or all of the four different shows, this year we’re selling the tickets in four-night (packages).”

The price for the four nights is $300.  Considering the line-up, this looks to be a real deal.

“The shows will be of serious quality and they always have been, but nobody is working right now, so we have a great lineup of headline magicians that are dying to perform,” Mr. Bordner said.

Check out the full line-up at the Get-Together site here.

 

Mac King is Hitting the Road

060211_1853_MacKingCele1.jpgInside Magic Favorite Mac King wrote today that he’s “pretty darn excited to be be taking a weekend away from Las Vegas to do some rare east coast shows. If you live in Connecticut or Massachusetts, I’d love to see you!”

Click HERE for tickets to the Foxborough, MA show.

Click HERE for tickets to the New Britain, CT show.

Click HERE for tickets to the Southport, CT show.

He promises to be announcing more dates soon.

These excursions are not at the expense of his day job.  He is performing in Las Vegas in his beautiful theater at Harrah’s.  If you haven’t seen his show, you’ve missed a lot and while life is short, it isn’t so short that you don’t have time to see him either on the road or at his home in Harrah’s.

You’ll laugh, you’ll be amazed, and you may cry — we cry at supermarket openings so we’re no judge but if we were, we’d say you’re certain to cry when you see the audience interaction.   Very touching and special.

Bottom line: Do Not Miss Him.

Magician Nick Lewin’s Western Swing

Nick LewinThe chances are you have seen magician Nick Lewin before.  But then again the chances are you have not.  It’s that way with chances – they can go either way.  Regardless of the side of the fates you fall, you need to take time to see Mr. Lewin for the first time or again as he begins his Southwestern swing.

Mr. Lewin is to magic what oxygen is to many people; at least us.  He is an essential ingredient that keeps life sustained.  We have seen him perform many times and each time end up with what feels like a broken rib from our laughing and enjoyment.

Mr. Lewin performs effects that we know well but cannot comprehend how he performs them so effortlessly.  He performs magic that we assume must be based on one of the magic principles but we don’t which one or ones and we don’t want to know.  But on top of all that, he is funny.  Not just funny for a magician, but funny in the real comedic sense.  Finally, he is an outstanding actor.  When he explains something from the stage, audiences (or we) believe it.  He could say the landing on the moon was real, and we would accept it without question.

He has opened for Tony Bennett, Reba McEntire, Charlie Daniels, Paul Anka, Fortune 500 companies, as well as private functions for David Bowie, Steve Forbes, Jimmy Stewart, Lee Iacocca, Tony Curtis, Orson Welles, Steve Wozniak and others.  If that wasn’t enough – and it should be for anyone – he starred for five years in his award-winning one-man show in Las Vegas called “Comedy Magic.”

On the 27th, Mr. Lewin will be substituting for Mac King at Harrah’s in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He will take the stage at 1:00 and 3:00 pm.

On July 29th, he will be headlining Magic at the Tavern in Austin, Texas.  Joining him on the bill will be Rolando Medina (close-up expert) and Little Jewford, musician.  You can purchase your tickets here.

At the end of the summer, Mr. Lewin will be at TAOM 2019.

He also offers (for sale) some of his great effects at Nick Lewin Enterprises – of which we have purchased many and been delighted with each one.

 

Do not miss your chance to see Mr. Lewin.  He is a true Inside Magic Favorite.

Magician Mac King: Consistently Outstanding

Inside Magic Image of Mac KingMagician and Comedian Mac King puts on a fantastic show at Harrah’s Casino every afternoon.  We hadn’t had the opportunity to see him in his theater in many years.  His environs have changed dramatically.  He now performs in a beautiful showroom with plenty of seats, drink service, a wonderful stage and adoring fans.  A far cry from his considerably smaller stage and audience area back when we saw him last.  It is nice to see talent rewarded – especially in a town that eats its stars to clear space for the next act hoping to hold a room against the considerable economic forces that must drive the rapacious need to purge and procure talent.

Mr. King was on his A-game when we saw him from our perfectly adequate general admission seats.  It doesn’t seem there could be a bad seat in the house.  The sightlines all looked great and sound and light work was perfect.  He moves effortlessly with what the crowd gives him.  Sure, at this point in his career, he has likely seen just about every audience response and has pat responses for the interaction – but it didn’t seem to be rehashed from prior shows but spontaneous and genuine.

For example, he invited a woman to participate in a card effect and asked her to take a card from the deck and sign it so it could be identified later.  She did exactly as instructed but wrote her name on the back of the card not the face.  Whether he has confronted this type of audience confusion before, he worked the comic opportunity to its fullest extent.  She ultimately selected a card and signed it on its face.  He performed his miracle and she returned to her seat.  She wasn’t embarrassed or shamed – he allowed her to be part of the fun.  He even pointed out that the situation was likely his fault as he did not tell her to sign the face of the card.  He then did two or three call backs to the situation throughout the remainder of his act.

We were with our family – and it is a perfect family show with nothing to embarrass fans of any age – and they were impressed by the magic performed as much as we were.  Magicians watching other magicians can be a cynical lot.  We have seen or maybe even performed most of the tricks before.  We watch for the twist or the performance decisions magicians make whilst performing standards.

Yet, with Mr. King we were impressed by his originality and the degree of difficulty of the tricks performed.  He could have made his job much easier with readily available gimmicks or short-cuts but for some reason – some very good reason for which we are indebted to him – he chose to do rather difficult sleights in do-or-die moments.  We have great pride in our Classic Force, but if it was absolutely essential to hit it perfectly with an audience volunteer, we would choose some alternative.   Even a two-way deck would be too risky for us in such a situation.

Mr. King performed without a net and the audience would never realize how difficult he was making it for himself.  From the opening Cut and Restored Rope through the very last effect, he showed his mastery of the knuckle-busting sleights that we would not dare to perform even for loved ones who would forgive our failures.  Likely, that is why he is the oft-voted best afternoon show of Las Vegas and receives such thunderous applause twice an afternoon in his wonderfully upgraded digs.

If you happen to be in Las Vegas and want to see one magic show, do not foolishly choose to miss Mac King’s afternoon performance in favor of the glitzy here-today-gone-tomorrow acts.  Mr. King’s dedication to magic and entertaining audiences has been rewarded by longevity and repeat fans of families of many generations.  As we said, it is nice to see talent rewarded and it is just nice to see real talent exhibited.

Inside Magic Review: Five out Five – Our Highest Recommendation.

Mac King Inspires Kids and Adults

Inside Magic Image of Mac KingInside Magic Favorite Mac King received well-deserved, positive press in today’s Las Vegas Review-Journal for his tireless work to promote reading.  This is the fifth year Mac King’s Magical Literacy Tour has visited Las Vegas elementary schools to promote the magic of books.

Beverly Mathis, director of literacy for The Public Education Foundation, praised Mr. King effusively (see how we up our adverb choice when talking about literacy?).

“Mac King is fabulous, and we know how he motivates children to read,” Mathis said. “There’s a little book by Dr. Seuss, and the title is ‘Oh, The Places You’ll Go!’, and just think about that. Children can go anywhere they want, even though they’re right here at Bunker Elementary School. Reading opens up the world.”

Mr. King acknowledges that young audiences can be tough audiences.

“It’s hard doing magic for kindergartners and first-graders, you know?” he said. “They kind of believe it; they believe it’s real.”

“I started doing a few school assemblies when I first started at Harrah’s,” said King, “and I started seeing libraries in Las Vegas and thought, ‘Maybe we can get some more books in there.’  When I was a kid, I checked out a book about magic —Tricks Any Boy Can Do — from my school library, and it literally changed my life.”

Mr. King’s multi-award winning show runs Tuesday through Saturday afternoons at 1pm and 3pm at Harrah’s in Las Vegas.

Each student got a free book, courtesy of a book drive sponsored by local companies and the YMCA of Southern Nevada.

“Some of these kids, it’s the only book they’ve ever owned,” King said. “And that’s just appalling. But, for them, it’s like Christmas.”

Be sure to stop by Mr. King’s website at mackingshow.com

Magician Mac King Goes to Canada for 2 Shows

Image of Mac King in Cloak of InvisibilityInside Magic Favorite and perennial Las Vegas people’s choice award winner Mac King announced today he will be taking his outstanding one-man and eponymous show to Canada at the end of the month.

He will traverse the northern border for a show on February 28th in beautiful Ottowa and then head to the Toronto suburb of Burlington for a show on March 1st.

Mr. King will perform at two great venues during this rare sojourn from Las Vegas.  In Ottawa, he will bring his Cloak of Invisibility and other magical effects to the Centerpointe Theatre.  Show time is 7:30 pm.  If you miss him in Ottawa, you can see him in the beautifully appointed Burlington Performing Arts Centre when he takes the stage at 8:00 pm.

If you have seen Mr. King’s show before, you need no coaxing from this humble internet media outlet to book your tickets now.  If you have never seen him live, you need to make reservations immediately.  Seriously.

Magician Mac King Escapes for New Jersey

Image of Mac King in Cloak of InvisibilityInside Magic Favorite Mac King is to appear on Saturday, March 16th at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey for one nearly sold out show at 8:00 pm.  The theater is a long way from Las Vegas but just 1500 feet from the home of Albert Einstein.  We explore the obvious implications of this “coincidence” in our special investigative article today.

One of the downsides of being a headliners on the Las Vegas strip is . . .

Okay, actually we cannot think of many, or any downsides per se.  We suppose having people trying to force business cards for escort agencies into your hand each time you enter your place of work would get old and risk paper cuts but other than that, it seems like a pretty good thing.

And to be fair, Inside Magic Favorite Mac King is not complaining about being a favorite of both resident and tourists.  It is just an unfortunate truth that being a headliner means you have to appear live on stage at the venue for which tickets are sold lest you lose your headliner status and risk class action lawsuits by disgruntled putative audience members.

(By the way, according to our recent review of Clark County, Nevada’s civil court docket, there has not been a lawsuit against a headliner by a disappointed ticket holder that was described as “gruntled.”  It appears only the disgruntled are willing to pay the filing fees and cost of serving a summons to seek recompense for their alleged damages.

Interestingly,  we came across a lawsuit brought by a family who attended the Cirque du Soleil show “O” and found it wanting.  For some reason, the ticket broker told them the front row seats were for a show starring Oprah Winfrey.  The suit was dismissed at a preliminary stage of proceedings.  We were amazed that they stayed for the entire two-hour show apparently waiting for Ms. Winfrey to appear in the midst of the aquatic fete that is O.  See, Family Van Der Wallen Jag v. Cirque du Soleil, et. al., (Nev. Nov. 23, 2012)).

Mr. King performs ten shows a week and if he were performing them all on one day, he would have plenty of time to see the world but apparently his contract with Harrah’s requires him to take the stage at the beautifully appointed Main Showroom twice a day on five days a week; Tuesday through Saturday.  (We did the math, performing a show at 1:00 and 3:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday equals ten shows.  We were pretty certain Mr. King’s representation was correct but it is also good to check things for one’s self). Continue reading “Magician Mac King Escapes for New Jersey”

Vote for Magician Mac King Today!

Image of Juan Evo Morales AymaThere is no provision in the US Constitution establishing or regulating voting for magicians.  We have checked it out pretty carefully but didn’t even see the word “Magician” in the text.
But, as every good lawyer knows, sometimes it is what the document does not say that gives meaning.
Actually, we just made that up.  We cannot think of a single example that would support such a ridiculous proposition.
Nonetheless, we do believe the voting for Magician is a solemn duty of every  magic citizen and note that the campaign season is upon us once again.
In fact just this afternoon, Bill Voelkner, producer of the Mac King Comedy Magic Show, sent us a reminder to vote in the Review Journal’s Best of Las Vegas Poll.
These are the Categories to Vote for Mr. King:

Best Magician
Best Bargain Show
Best Las Vegas Attraction
Best All-Around Performer
Favorite Male Las Vegan

This year voters have three methods of registering their preference.
You can head over to the Las Vegas Review Journal’s special voting site and do it online through that web page; or
You can go to www.bestoflasvegas.com on your smartphone / tablet browser or send a text “BOLV” to 772937 from your smartphone.
It took us 22 minutes to decode BOLV.  It stands for “Best of Las Vegas.”
We assumed, wrongly, it was a typo for Bolivia and so we have apparently submitted thousands of votes to a completely unrelated on-line poll in that South American country.  Of course, if Mac King does unseat current Bolivian president Evo Morales, we will claim our rightful credit and attempt to gain some cushy patronage job from Mr. King.
We have included a picture of President Morales performing a pretty decent card trick above.

Mac King: Better than Copperfield

Inside Magic Image of Person Watching Our Double Wide HomeThe big time professional magicians spend buckets of moolah hoping to entice just one more customer in the door.  And these are magicians who have talent far beyond even the best of the best in our local Rings or Assemblies.  

The advertising consultants we've consulted unanimously agree the best type of advertisement is also the toughest to create, word of mouth. 

We were impressed by the praise heaped upon Inside Magic Favorite Mac King in a pithy review posted on Trip Advisor this morning. 

Under the title, “Better than David Copperfield” a traveler from the Midwest penned just a few sentences that likely has more power than any paid-for advertisement Mr. King could muster.

Mac King, who looks like a blonde Paul McCartney, is much more genuine and entertaining than David Copperfield, who comes off as jaded and almost contemptuous of his audience. I laughed at King's silly jokes in spite of myself because he seemed like such a nice guy. This show is definitely worth the money and time spent. Go see it!

We hate to see two fantastic magicians compared against each other in this way and hope that readers of the Trip Advisor site are able to overlook this poster's negative impressions of  Mr. Copperfield's act.  Not to sound too much like your mother, but we love both acts and each magician equally.  They are each special.

Additionally, we never saw Mac King as a "blonde Paul McCartney" but have noticed that each time we have seen his show at Harrah's in Vegas, Paul McCartney was not to be seen.  We're not saying this is like a "Dancing Bear – Captain Kangaroo" situation where the Captain would always just miss seeing the much-heralded dancing bear thus leading some to suggest that it was the Captain within the costume.  Still, it seems more than a coincidence and perhaps this citizen poster has a point. 

We have taken the liberty of requesting DNA from Paul McCartney and will compare it with that which we have sampled from a goldfish we perloined from Mac King's show.  Once we have the former Beatle's scrapings, we will post the results. 

If Paul McCartney provides a sufficient amount of DNA, we will divide it into smaller bits and sell it on eBay to pay for the rather expensive DNA Comparator 3000 Plus we purchased for this journalistic investigation.  Why not just sell the DNA Comparator 3000, some may ask.  

Continue reading “Mac King: Better than Copperfield”

Mac King Wows ‘Em at London’s Palladium

Inside Magic Image of Palladium Magic 100 Year CelebrationThe Las Vegas Sun reports that Inside Magic favorite and all around good guy and great magician Mac King took part in the prestigious Palladium Magic Show in London, England.

The show celebrated a century of Magic at the prestigious theater (“theatre” in metric).

Mac King told the paper of record for the town that keeps no records and admits nothing,  “I was mighty excited to be a part of the one-night event 100 Years of Magic at The Palladium. Playing the London Palladium is every performer’s dream. It was a great show and a wonderful audience.”

You (or someone you have who does such things for you) can see the poster and program for what must have been an incredible event here.

via Strip Scribbles: Monday, Sept. 26, 2011 – Las Vegas Sun.