Siegfried & Roy protege Romeo takes stage at The Mirage

Friday, May 24, 2002 | 10:22 a.m.

What: "Siegfried & Roy Present Darren Romeo, The Voice of Magic."

When: 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Where: The Mirage's Siegfried & Roy Theatre.

Tickets: $30.

Information: 792-7777.

There's something magical about music.

There's something musical about magic.

Darren Romeo discovered those two maxims when he was an adolescent growing up on New York's Long Island.

The 26-year-old entertainer has combined them into a career a magician who sings, a singer who performs magic in a fashion so seamless and appealing it attracted the attention of the legendary Siegfried & Roy. The two have made Romeo their protege and, some say, their heir apparent.

"Siegfried & Roy Present Darren Romeo, The Voice of Magic," debuts Tuesday as a matinee show at The Mirage's Siegfried & Roy Theatre.

In a prepared statement, Siegfried said, "Darren brings personality, charm, romanticism and youth to each show combined with the most powerful universal languages, magic and music."

"I am very, very excited," Romeo said during a recent interview. "I have been performing magic since I was 9 you can't imagine how I feel. This is so surreal. Even now, when I am so close to the scenario, it seems like some strange episode. The world is spinning."

But it is spinning in the right direction for the talented, young entertainer, who, as a child, performed magic at neighborhood birthday parties. During high school, he added singing to the act.

"Magic always came first, but I had a love of singing and I introduced that later on," he said. "It sounds cheesy. You just have to see it."

In 1994 Romeo produced and starred in a "creative interpretation" of "Phantom of the Opera," his first real test in combining music and magic. The act was performed at clubs around New York.

"I created an illusion to the 'Music of the Night,' " he said. "It was a real theatrical blend of a six-minute song and a one-minute effect."

In 1996, at age 20, Romeo landed the role of The Boy in the legendary musical "The Fantasticks," the longest-running musical in history.

But his love of magic soon caused him to leave the play and head West from New York. He began performing at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, Calif., where he caught the attention of Irene Larsen, widow of the Castle's founder, Milt Larsen.

"Irene was good friends with Siegfried and Roy and she tried to get them to come see me at the Magic Castle, but they could never fit it into their schedule," Romeo said.

In December 1999, Romeo got an afternoon gig performing at Flamingo Las Vegas.

"First, Siegfried came to see me," Romeo said. "And then Siegfried and Roy came to see me, and then the whole team (including their manager and producer)."

The magicians liked what they saw and decided to help the budding performer.

"It started off, they just thought it was nice to help a kid out," he said. "I had a very nice day show, but my production values were very limited. A producer friend of mine was helping me.

"Basically, Siegfried and Roy were going to help me with some props from their warehouse."

Then, in June 2000, Flamingo Las Vegas didn't renew Romeo's contract, and Siegfried and Roy became more involved in his career.

"This is a total collaboration," Romeo said. "Siegfried and Roy are amazing. You don't picture them so hands on, pacing with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.

"I have the benefit of absorbing a lifetime of their experience."

Romeo said Siegfried and Roy are not trying to reshape him into their image.

"People think they are trying to make me them, but they are trying to make me, me," he said. "Mine is a much more intimate show than Siegfried and Roy's. Their illusions fill the stage with special effects. Mine is much more of an intimate, one-man show."

Romeo said the last couple of years (since his involvement with Siegfried and Roy) has been a long learning process.

"I'm so impatient," he said. "Everything has to be now. They are from the old school -- it takes time to grow."

Romeo described Siegfried and Roy as a class act.

"They are very emotional people," he said. "And above all, it is so refreshing to meet people that have strong ethics and strong values."

Romeo says his show is not yet on the same level as "Siegfried & Roy," but having a matinee slot will give him time to grow and mature as a performer.

Roy, in a prepared statement, said, "Darren reminds Siegfried and me of ourselves at the beginning of our careers. He is a dedicated performer with an endless desire to please an audience."