Suzy Says

It’s Magic

I actually went out on Saturday night! Can you believe it? It may well be the first time I have ventured out past sundown since I moved to Hooterville. Alert the media!

I am the anti-vampire. Guess I won’t be starring in any super-popular teen movies any time soon. How very disappointing.

The occasion called for dressing up, if you count Converse skull high tops, Urban Decay’s culty Midnight Cowboy eyeshadow, and a citrine choker, which I do. I was considerably outdressed by two vintage ladies, one of whom wore a splendid ash-grey wrap coat, clasped with a fabulous brooch and paired with matching suede heels, and her equally well-dressed friend, who would turn out to be one of the stars of the show.

Megan, Rob and I met up with Lu and Rick at Eagles Hall in Fort Bragg to attend a night of magic and music.

We hardly had time to settle into our folding chairs before the musicians appeared: drums, cello, violin, bass, saxophone, and conductor/pianist. Robert Goleman, the star of the show, appeared at center stage resplendent in a tuxedo, and began singing “It’s Magic”. He had no microphone, and his rich, warm voice filled the room to the rafters.

Robert is a multi-talented gentleman who runs one of the best nurseries in the West as well as being an actor, singer, magician, and total charmer. This show focused on his amazing talents for magic and singing. Besides putting his lovely assistant into a box and folding it up before piercing it with swords, he also sang the entire aria from the “Barber of Seville”. I hope you enjoy the photo of him above, since my taking it caused a public outcry. Well, one obnoxious woman gave me hell for forgetting to turn off the flash, but she got embarrassed on stage later, so maybe there really is karma. Ha!

My favorite trick was when he called for a happily married lady to join him on stage. This request was greeted by “Good luck!” or similar from a wag in the audience (possibly Obnoxious Woman’s spouse) and answered by the elegant lady I mentioned earlier. The magician took her ring and put it in a scarf. He asked her to hold the ring with one hand and a ring box in the other. He pulled on the scarf, and we all heard the distinctive sound of metal hitting wood. The magician was embarrassed and the lady visibly upset.

While the musicians sought the lost ring, the magician brought out a gum ball machine full of prizes in little plastic balls and gave the lady a quarter. She opened the prize and it was a plastic ring with a gorilla on it. She didn’t consider it an adequate replacement, even though it glowed in the dark and was adjustable. She tried again, and got a fortune saying something like “Magic is a girl’s best friend”, a sentiment with which she clearly didn’t agree.

The magician got a quarter from the audience, telling the donor that he wouldn’t get it back, and the lady tried again. This time, it was her ring in the little plastic bubble!

How did he do it?

It was a wonderful show, all the more so for being a small venue – we were four rows back – so the magic seemed truly magical.

Afterwards, we were standing outside talking about how amazing it was when the two ladies passed by us. I heard the brooch lady ask the ring lady if it was all planned beforehand. “No!” she exclaimed. “I was as surprised as you were!”