Despite defections, ‘Magic Show’ trudges forward

Friday, Jan. 30, 2004 | 8:25 a.m.

Magicians keep disappearing from the "The World's Greatest Magic Show" at the Sahara.

Gone are Sylvester the Jester (Dan Sylvester), who billed himself as "a real live cartoon," and his replacement, Arden James, who billed himself as an "animated illusionist" (translation: pantomime artist). Also missing is Zieda Lavavootnish -- the Latvian Mistress of Magic.

Host Jeff Hobson's last day will be Thursday. He begins his own one-man show, "Money and Madness," at the Excalibur on Feb. 9.

But fans shouldn't be alarmed about the turnovers. It isn't an indication of a show in distress. Producer Jeff Feeney told the Sun during an earlier interview that the all-magic revue was designed to be "modular."

"It isn't dependent on one entity," Feeney said. "If an act is sick or can't perform because of another engagement, we can still have a full show."

Or, if the act doesn't catch on with audiences it can be yanked and replaced -- such as Sylvester the Jester.

The newest magician in the cast is Chris Hart, who joined the production last week. You might recognize Hart's hand -- it was Thing in two movies: "The Addams Family" (1991) and "Addams Family Values" (1993).

A core of magicians have been with the show since it premiered in October, including Kevin James (not the star of "King of Queens"), Joseph Gabriel, Nicholas Night, The Majestix (Stacy Jones and Michael Giles), Billy Ferguson and Ken Harvard.

Each magician brings something unusual to the program, keeping the show alive and interesting. Hobson is the most comedic of the troupe, and his talents will be sorely missed.

He appears sporadically throughout the evening, joking with the audience, performing sleight of hand, eating fire and doing card tricks. But mostly, he elicits laughs.

Hobson's humor is woven around his magic.

"Bringing a child to Vegas is like taking a hooker to Disneyland. What are people thinking?" he says after his fire-eating routine.

Modeling a garish jacket, he says, "I call this my Liberace starter kit. Isn't it wonderful? I really shouldn't wear it. When I do people look at me like I might be a little bit, you know ... but I'm not. I was, but I'm not anymore. But I could be again, sir.

"I was talking to my wife about all this. I said, 'Chuck.' No, I'm not, but you're not sure, are you Sparky?"

The performance I attended recently included, in addition to Hobson, all of the regulars who have been with the production since the beginning, and the short-lived act of Arden James, Animated Illusionist.

James has an unusual act that isn't really magic, but is magical in a sense. Much of his routine is illusion in terms of pantomime, not magic, which might be why he had a brief tenure with the show.

Tuxedo-clad Gabriel rivals Lance Burton when it comes to magic involving birds.

Gabriel produces pigeons from fire, from cloth and from a boa scarf. He picks a white feather from the shoulder of his jacket, seemingly accidentally landing there from a previous bit, and from the feather creates a yellow parakeet.

In one illusion Gabriel puts a pigeon into a trance, levitates it, tosses it into the air and turns it into a white cloth.

Nicholas Night was one of the most unusual magic acts.

As he says during the routine, he combines the art of magic with the magic of art.

In one illusion, Night rubs off a canvas a painting of a woman -- and the woman appears onstage.

In another, he seems to randomly select items from a trash can to produce a tricycle with a rider who pedals across stage.

"The World's Greatest Magic Show" might be an overstatement, but so far the entire cast of magicians that have performed in the production have been good enough to merit a show of their own.

How long before they all follow Hobson and pull a disappearing act?