Random thoughts about "Champions of Magic" 2022

Last chance to catch Champions of Magic in Canada this year is in Peterborough on December 9th.

 

On Saturday Kidlet, and I made the trek to Kitchener's Circle In The Square.  

• The last time I was at CITS was for one of the very first conventions hosted by the Canadian Association of Magicians.
• All of the theatre staff were super helpful, professional, and generally fabulous! 
• While not mandatory, a good number of the patrons and ushers were masked.
  
• The show is about an hour for the first half, with a 16 minute intermission, and about an hour in the second half.
• As always with this show I am genuinely afraid of posting spoilers.  The less you know going in, the more you'll enjoy it.

 

Champions of Magic, a family-friendly world-class magic show, is coming to the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Dec. 9. https://t.co/ITeKqW0BKs

— Ptbo This Week (@PtboThisWeek) November 24, 2022

 

 

We teased a few years back about a Champions of Magic Concert Album.  The show has matured to the point where it has a wonderful toe tapping soundtrack!  Going back to the 1930s with "Sing, Sing, Sing," to the 1960s with "The Girl from Ipanema," to the 1970s with "Live and Let Die" and of course the 80's hits transporting you back to 1989  Las Vegas!

On with the show...

Note to parents of young children:  The music can be very loud at times throughout the show.  There's also a smoke machine involved.  Forewarned is forearmed.

There's a videographer on hand to capture close-up miracles and project them nice and big on a screen so everyone can see!

 

 

Regular readers of the blog have probably guessed that this would be our summary of the show:

So. Much. Fun!

It's possible that between one half to two thirds of this show is new compared with their 2019 presentation.

• With every passing year, the cast are more authentic and the show feels more organic.  Which translates to a demonstrable increase in entertainment value!
  
  
• Hollie England, Alex McAleer, Fernando Velasco, Richard Young and Sam Strange all do what they do very well! 
  
  

If memory serves, there are no standard card tricks in the show!

• As Strange, Velasco, and Young all indicated in their interviews, this show is very different from the one presented in Oshawa in 2019, and significantly different than the one mounted in Toronto in 2018.
   
  
• There are more whole cast moments, making the show less of a patchwork piece and more of a thoughtfully woven production.
  
  
• There's LOTS audience participation with both children and adults!
  
  
• Visually stunning!
  
  

Whether you're new to magic or are a professional magician, there's something for everyone!

• McAleer's material has undergone a significant change and he's introduced two new very strong pieces.  The first, a very visual effect with a young mentalist in training.  And the second a beautifully constructed homage to Keller.
  
  
• England is net new to the show from it's 2019 iteration.  She showcases a strong skill set and talent that is intensely theatrical!  (I'll never look at a cup of tea the same way again.)
   
  
• For those who have seen the show already, not to worry!  The cornerstone crowd-pleasers are still in the show, tweaked and refined!
  
  
• Aerialist Michelle Mazzarella dazzled from above.
  
  
• Velasco succeeds in breathtaking, heart-stopping escapes and then some.  Even though I've seen him do many of these things before, everything he does makes me nervous!
  
  
• Young and Strange have carefully pruned their wonderful grand illusions and introduced some new things in their place.  Even after having seen them perform a similar set twice before, Young and Strange are remarkably entertaining to watch.  One can't help but get caught up in the fun they are having on stage!  They've introduced a collaborative piece with Velasco that has a very strong audience reaction.
  

While excellent magic is at the core of this experience, it's clear that the focus is providing a fabulously entertaining evening.

They definitely hit their mark!

• This was the third time seeing the show and we were thoroughly entertained!  There are so many moments of joyous laughter, and periods of being completely enthralled in the spectacle.
  
  
• It is clear that the acts and the scripts are a work in progress and continue to be thoughtfully curated, updated, and revised.  It gets better every time!
    

We highly recommend it!
(Even if you've seen it before.)

 

@ChampionsMagic are here Friday December 9. Grab your tickets now to witness the most breathtaking and unforgettable tricks you’ll see this year! https://t.co/dbF6Cn2Wek pic.twitter.com/KB5ynxstHr

— Peterborough Memorial Centre (@PtboMemCentre) November 30, 2022

 

 

Disclosure:  Kidlet and I were guests at this show. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own. I did not receive compensation for the writing or the publishing of this article.