Friday, May 20, 2005 | 8:48 a.m.
Dirk Arthur is a fine magician.
He is noted for such large-scale illusions as materializing trains (an Amtrak diesel engine), planes (actually a helicopter) and automobiles (a Lamborghini).
And he entertains his fans with some breathtaking stunts involving his cast of cats -- including a variety of tigers and panthers.
Arthur also sometimes uses ducks and chickens in his act, but we won't get into the fowl part of his routine since, apparently, they were plucked out of the most recent reincarnation of his production.
You would think with his talent, his years of experience (he was a specialty act with "Jubilee!" at Bally's) and some interesting illusions, that he would be more comfortable in front of an audience.
But for some reason his transitions are hesitant, uneven and lacking in the smoothness of a more polished performer -- say, for example, Rick Thomas, whose afternoon time slot Arthur is now filling (Thomas has left the Tropicana for the Stardust).
Arthur gives the illusion of seeking some sort of validation after each routine. He is too eager to please.
But while his mannerisms may have been glaring in the past, suddenly they are hardly noticeable.
Why?
Arthur has sexed up his act.
The chickens are gone, replaced by chicks.
Four beautiful, voluptuous, energetic dancers all over the stage, distracting fans from the magician's weaknesses.
Arthur should have injected sex appeal into his production a long time ago.
The women create a lot of energy in a show that sometimes suffers from anemia -- at least it did when he was performing at the Silverton a couple of years ago, or more recently at the Plaza.
Not anymore. The leggy assistants keep the fans pumped up, dancing to such numbers as Benny Goodman's 1938 classic, "Sing, Sing, Sing."
The show seems to move so fast you hardly have time to realize you have seen most of his material before (such as the giant drill that is on the verge of penetrating his chest when he disappears and then re-appears at the rear of the room).
Actually, the show does move faster -- not only because of the dancers and some abbreviated routines, but because it is only a 50-minute performance instead of his usual 90 minutes.
The person responsible for the re-energized magic show is David Saxe, whom Arthur brought aboard as producer.
The 35-year-old Saxe has been producing sexy shows since he was 16 and working with his sister Melinda, a magician and former dancer.
In addition to producing and co-producing shows at the Aladdin's V Theatre ("V, the Ultimate Variety Show"), Saxe is producer of "Showgirls of Magic," a topless show at the San Remo.
While Arthur may lack charisma, he doesn't need it when he can focus attention on the dancers. And isn't distraction the key to magic?
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