Review: DIRTY TRICKS with The New Bad Boys of Magic Brings an Imaginative Assortment of Variety Acts to the Newly Renovated Three Clubs Cocktail Lounge

Imagine my surprise, even before the September 15 DIRTY TRICKS with The New Bad Boys of Magic monthly event, when I walked into The Three Clubs to find the room where I have seen dozens of shows over the years now completely remodeled to look and feel like a real cocktail lounge performance space! And what a perfect place to sit up close and personal during the ongoing monthly comedy-magic variety show featuring Chicago natives and Los Angeles residents, now headliners at the world-famous Magic Castle, Daniel Donohue and Eric Siegel, collectively known as The New Bad Boys of Magic, along with a rotating cast of the world's foremost professional prestidigitators and other adult variety acts, making it an entertaining evening for the over 21 crowd.

Now in their second smash(ed) year - just wait until you see what they do with a full bottle of rum - The New Bad Boys of Magic continue to entertain audiences with their signature brand of character comedy and top-notch illusions, beginning with aforementioned bottle of rum which they make "disappear" yet suffer no affect from its potency, attested to by several audience members who volunteered to down a shot of the amber intoxicant prior to its disappearing act.

Other illusions mastered by The New Bad Boys included an audience member volunteered a $20 bill, which of course gets transformed into a fake bill never to be seen again. That is until a trick involving selected one sealed condom from a large fishbowl of options resulted in the same, signed $20 bill re-appearing later in the show. And just wait until they grab a large pillow at the end of the show which has been resting on the stage during the entire round of acts to be amazed once again about that same $20 bill.

But I have to say the illusion during which an audience member was asked to select a numbered jar from six available, and then having Eric Siegel fill a syringe full of a similar-to-the-rum amber fluid from it, which he then injected into his eye, was more frightening than entertaining to this viewer. Of course, it is an illusion but a very good one!

On the night I attended, (September 15), the duo was joined on stage by a variety of acts who offered their own unique ways of bringing wonder and laughter to the room.

First up was Pam Severns, a comedian and puppeteer and a 2019 Jim Henson Foundation Grant recipient. With her signature bow-in-the-hair style, on this night she brought a money-hungry squirrel to the stage with her, who pooped up from behind her jacket. But it was when she took a seat behind a table, then brought up a large-eared rabbit with whom she was on a date, that her act really took off. You see, the text-crazy bunny was more interested in typing on his phone than paying any sort of romantic attention to her. No doubt many in the audience have experienced the same thing these days given the amount of laughter each of his distractions created.

Nick Paul, a magic consultant on Netflix's Magic For Humans who appeared with the Bad Boys during their first Hollywood Fringe Festival show, presented his "Non Vegan Magic" by asking someone in the front row to select a card on which was written the name of an animal, who comically appeared later in his act after he seemed to change a red scarf into a shelled raw egg in the palm of his hand, thus proving the element of surprise fills the world with wonder, with an audience member appearing to select the right "hug" card and somehow getting the name of a woman to appear on a cell phone by calculations done by several audience members. That particular illusion astounded me in the apparent randomness of it.

Close-up/parlor magic legend and Magic Castle regular Pop Haydn (7x Magic Castle Magician of the Year), whose skill with making a rope appear to be cut in several pieces and then somehow being attached again via sliding-off knots, certainly seemed an impossibility until it happened. His endearing personality and enchanting smile add a real spark of everyday wonder to his act. I have seen Pop perform his rope illusion before but it never fails to amaze me how effortlessly he carries off the illusion.

Colin Campbell aka Kilted Colin, turned out to be a unicycle-riding bagpipe-player whose antics seemed too confined on the small stage, which stunted the humor of his act. While certainly a variety act, Colin seemed a bit out-of-place during the evening.

But my favorite entertainer during the evening was comedy singer/songwriter Kira Morrison, whose work was featured in the "Helpful Honda" ad series, though none of the adult-themed songs presented that night would ever be included given the subject matter about her dating life, from "I Got the Dick" about her latest successful first date, "You're My Office Crush" about inappropriate work relationships, and her embarrassing ode "I Pooped in a Hot Guy's House." The talented singer and guitar player had me laughing at each unexpected lyric as her stories were musically told.

Co-produced by Greg Karber, the next DIRTY TRICKS event is scheduled for Saturday October 19, 2019 at The Three Clubs, located at 1123 Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90038. Doors open at 7:00pm for cocktails and warm-up close-up, walk-around magic. The stage show begins at 8:00pm and goes until 9:15pm, with a two drink minimum per person. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online in advance at https://www.badboysmagic.com. Buy them before they disappear!

Photo credit: Teo Acosta

IN OTHER NEWS...

Both proud members of the Academy of Magical Arts at the world-famous Magic Castle, Donohue and Siegel are scheduled to appear at the Castle for four headlining appearance in October (10/23) and November (1, 2, and 3).

Later this year, be sure to catch The New Bad Boys of Magic on Fetch Me a Date, Facebook Watch's new reality dating show hosted by Mean Girls actor Jonathan Bennett and Rich Kids of Beverly Hills star Dorothy Wang.

For upcoming appearances, please visit https://www.badboysmagic.com/dates.

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