767: Randy Wakeman - I've Been Around for a Long, Long Years

Randy Wakeman has been around for many decades and was often seen lecturing and performing at magic conventions. Nonetheless, I have always seen him as an “underground” magician who appeals to the true sleight-of-hand experts. He is one of those guys who has “been there, done that, has the t-shirt” as he was one of the regular performers about the Chicago Bar Magic Scene before the turn of the last century. He has written several books on magic (card magic mostly) and is still relevant in our community as a performer, teacher and author.

While at the recent Senior Tour close-up convention in St. Louis, The Magic Word spoke with Randy as part of the convention report content. He was preparing for a workshop, so we didn’t get a chance to go in-depth as I had wanted. But we agreed to get together at the 4F convention in Buffalo a couple months later. True to his word, we sat down to complete our chat which results in this episode. The content of our chat in both places was a little disjunctive, so the editing required us to put the second conversation first then plug in the chat in St. Louis and finish with our talk while in Buffalo. This sounds more confusing that it actually is, but I know you will understand and enjoy our chat.

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716: Reza - On The Edge

Reza is changing the landscape of entertainment in Branson, Missouri. Long a tourist destination for tour bus groups, families and the geriatric set, Branson’s demographic is changing. And Reza’s cutting edge show is meeting and exceeding those demands with regularly sold-out shows. Reza is a name that is making impact far outside of Branson. His recent tour and television appearances have astounded over 30 million viewers from around the world on networks such as MTV, A&E, The CW, PBS, Reelz, CX, Fuji, and Telemundo as well as live venues including the Alamodome (San Antonio), Villanova Pavilion (Philadelphia), and Mundo Imperial Forum (Acapulco), to name a few.

Reza shares stories from his career from his beginnings in South Dakota where there were no magic shops and very few other magicians to talk to and learn from in the area. He discusses why he landed in Branson instead of Las Vegas and also about working with Criss Angel.

Please visit our sponsor, The New England Magic Collectors Association to learn about their upcoming convention, The Yankee Gathering from November 3-5, 2022

629: Escaping Reality with Garry Carson

It seems that illusionists are getting fewer in today’s entertainment world and the best way to see them in while they are in residence at a casino or showroom. Garry and Janine Carson have a show, “Escape Reality” in Branson, Missouri where they take their audience on a 75 minute whirlwind journey of illusion and fun. Their theater is not one of the larger ones in Branson, but they fill out the stage Having put their show in Branson in 2020 seemed to be bad timing, but tourism continued despite the pandemic and they captured the coveted awards of “Best New Show” and “Best Dinner Show” in the 2020 Best of Branson Awards presentation.

Branson, Missouri, hosts a lot of variety shows including magic. One of the many shows in town is “Escape Reality” with Garry & Janine Carson. After I watched his late afternoon dinner show, we retired to his dressing room to talk about his career on cruise ships to Las Vegas to Branson.