THE MAGIC PARLOUR Releases Tickets For Performances in 2025

It’s been one year since third generation magician Dennis Watkins welcomed the first audiences to his new custom magic theater, established in partnership with Goodman Theatre and Petterino’s—and opened the doors to unprecedented success. After nearly 300 public and private performances for double the number of audience members served in any previous year, The Magic Parlour at 50 W. Randolph will continue to astound and delight audiences into the new year: tickets are now on sale for performances between January – March 2025.

In partnership with Chicago Latino Theater Alliance’s 2024 Destinos Festival, Watkins turns the spotlight on three world-class Latine magicians—Siegfried Tieber, Luis Carreon and Mago Gozner—when these artists take over The Magic Parour for Chicago Latino Theater Alliance’s 2024 Destinos Festival, through October 20. Tickets for Siegfried Tieber are $70 (general admission) and $95 (includes a 25-minute VIP Encore Room experience following the show). The 3-Card Monte performance, featuring Tieber, Luis Carreon and Mago Gozner (October 16) is $70. To purchase, call The Goodman Theatre Box Office at 312.443.3800 (12 Noon – 5pm daily) or visit TheMagicParlourChicago.com/Destinos.

This Halloween, Watkins also offers audiences a very special treat as a spookier form of magic that Chicago hasn’t seen in decades creeps into “The Spirit Cabinet.” Dennis Watkins’ two-performance Halloween engagement takes place October 30 at 7:30pm and October 31 at 8pm. Tickets are $95 (general admission) and $125 (includes a 25-minute VIP Encore Room experience following the show).

Performances of The Magic Parlour, now on sale through March 31, 2025, take place every Thursday through Sunday. Tickets are $85 (includes the 90-minute performance + complimentary beverage) or $115 (includes the performance, beverage and “The Encore Room” 25-minute VIP experience). To purchase tickets, call The Goodman Theatre Box Office at 312.443.3800 (12 Noon – 5pm daily) or visit TheMagicParlourChicago.com. The Magic Parlour is recommended for audiences ages 12+; while there is no inappropriate content, this elegant experience is designed for adults 

Hailed as a “star attraction dazzling audiences in an elegant underground Loop parlor” (WBEZ), The Magic Parlour is “90 minutes of mind-boggling fun that would make Houdini proud, offer(ing) warmth, intimacy and a great close-up view of the magic being performed right before your eyes” (WGN Radio). In a first-of-its-kind creative collaboration, Watkins teamed up with Goodman Theatre and Petterino’s restaurant to establish a permanent home for Chicago’s longest-running magic show—an intimate evening of classic magic and mind-reading previously hosted for more than a decade at the Palmer House (opened on New Year’s Eve, 2011). The audience participates in much of the performance as Watkins wows the room with classic sleight of hand, unbelievable mind-reading and magical wisdom passed down from his grandfather. The space at 50 W. Randolph, situated adjacent to the Goodman in Petterino’s transformed lower-level area, continues Watkins’ famed tradition of the VIP experience in The Encore Room, an upgraded ticket option for guests seeking an exclusive 25-minute interaction following the performance. Immediately following the performance, up to 20 guests are escorted to a private space where Watkins performs up-close magic. 

A co-founder of The House Theatre of Chicago, Dennis Watkins has collaborated as an actor, writer, director and/or designer on 30+ world-premiere plays with companies including Lookingglass, Steppenwolf and Goodman Theatre. After studying theater at Meadows School of the Arts and the British American Drama Academy in London, he launched The House Theatre with Artistic Director Nathan Allen and cohorts from school on Halloween of 2001. His appearance in the title role of Death and Harry Houdini—including performing Houdini’s infamous Water Torture Cell escape in every show—earned him a Joseph Jefferson Award.

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