Review: Siegfried Tieber at THE MAGIC PARLOUR

Magician Siegfried Tieber’s sparkling, genuine charm is every bit as magical as his tricks in his special engagement at THE MAGIC PARLOUR. As part of the Destinos Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, THE MAGIC PARLOUR hosts Tieber for a limited engagement including performances in both English and Spanish. The fact that Tieber, who was born in Ecuador and now lives in Los Angeles, can perform his mentalist tricks in two languages makes his feats all the more dazzling.

Like THE MAGIC PARLOUR’s resident magician Dennis Watkins, Tieber relies on a combination of enchanting audience interplay and jaw-dropping tricks for his act. Tieber’s set chiefly involves tricks with Rubik’s cubes, a deck of cards, and a stack of five books. While the books might seem out of place in that line-up, Tieber’s mentalist work with those tomes (including a dictionary) is astounding. Tiber invited audience members (including me) to jump to random spots in the titles...and he could recite the words on the page from memory. Again, Tieber’s bilingual abilities are particularly stunning here (While the performance I saw was in English, my second language is Spanish, and I know I would have enjoyed the show just as much in Tieber’s native language!)

Tieber’s card tricks also likewise rely on his uncanny memory, and as he informs audiences, his own mnemonic devices. His ability to identify patterns in the decks of cards was thrilling to observe, and it was a fun and unique variation on the typical sleight of hand. 

The audience engagement in Tieber’s performance is wonderful. He has a warm and wry personality — and that really helps seal the deal. He easily takes audiences along for the ride, and he was generous and welcoming with his chosen audience participants. It’s the combination of Tieber’s genial on-stage presence and his tricks together that make this edition of THE MAGIC PARLOUR really special. 

I was also invited to attend the Encore Room with Tieber following the main set. The Encore programming combines some additional close-up card tricks with audience Q&A. While the run-time was billed for 25 minutes, Tieber generously spent almost twice as much time with the engaged crowd. He kindly and patiently answered questions from two young audience members and was overall generous with his time and energy. It was a treat to see Tieber pull back the curtain on his background and some of the methods behind his magic (Although like any good magician, he made sure to keep the biggest secrets up his sleeve.) 

Siegfried Tieber performs a limited engagement at THE MAGIC PARLOUR, presented by Goodman Theatre and Petterino’s through Sunday October 20, 2024. Tickets are $70 for general admission and $85 for VIP admission, including the Encore Room.

Photo courtesy of Goodman Theatre

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