Offering cards to coins to expert advice, Magic Inc. is Chicago’s one- stop shop for wannabe and veteran magicians.
From cards to coins to expert advice, Magic Inc. is Chicago’s one- stop shop for wannabe and veteran magicians.
Magic Inc. has more than a few tricks up its sleeve. Set foot inside the shop and you’re quickly greeted by affable clerks who also happen to be highly skilled magicians ready to demonstrate almost any i l lusion. On a given day, tricksters stop in to socialize and kill time comparing cardshuffling techniques, collectors breeze in on a hunt for rare magic books, and wide- eyed children cross the threshold to experience the wonder of magic— and its attendant accessories— for the first time.
The store claims to be “oldest continuously family- run magic shop i n North America.” Original owner Laurie Ireland founded the shop downtown as Ireland Magic Company in 1926. After Laurie’s death, his wife, Frances, continued to run the business before partnering with her second husband, Jay Marshall. The couple, now both deceased, relocated the store i n the early 1960s to Lincoln Square. It remained t here until earlier this year when current owner Sandy Marshall, son of Jay and Frances, moved the shop to Ravenswood. The i mpressiveness of Magic Inc.’ s longevity is outmatched only by its deep inventory, estimated to total some 10,000 items. Below are some of the most classic, novel, and interesting products Magic Inc. has to offer, plucked from the shelves by company manager Pedro Nieves- Bosque.
Svengali Deck
This cost- ef f ec t i ve deck of c ards can be used to perform upward of 125 card tricks. Rebranded by Wizzo the Wizard— from WGN- TV’s Bozo’s
Circus and The Bozo Show— i n 1 970 as T V Magic Cards, t he Svengali deck has been sold by the millions worldwide for more t han 75 years. $ 11.95
Clipped Scam
Created by local magic ian Luis Carreon, this play on the classic three-card monte scheme involving an engaging series of sleights of hand is sure to fool even the most assured spectator into thinking he can locate his card— but wait, it’s in the magician’s pocket. $ 14.95
Card- Toon
Created by acclaimed magician Dan Harlan, this trick has a spectator name any card before the magician shuffles the deck flip- book style, resulting in an animated stick- figure magician pulling a card from his top hat and turning it over to reveal— what else?— the spectator’s chosen card. $ 19.95
Betcha! How To Win Free Drinks For Life
Written by i nfamous con man Simon Lovell— with a forward by the FBI agent assigned to foll ow hi m— t hi s book i s perfect for teaching you how to score drinks when you’re strapped for cash. The trick? You need to endear yourself to your audience, something Lovell is an expert at. $ 25
Red- Hot Prediction
There’s nothing more embarrassing for a magician than asking “Is this your card?” only to be told “No.” But that momentary mistake becomes part of the trick when t wo wrongly chosen cards are turned over to reveal the number and suit of the correct card scrawled on the backs of the incorrect cards. $ 19.95
The Original Matchbox Penetration
After this product had a two- year absence from the market, Magic Inc. purchased the global manufacturing and distribution rights from Barcelona-based magic shop Selecciones Mágicas to bring this impressive sleight-of-hand trick back so you can transform a matchbox from empty to filled by a brick of gold. $ 150
CHICAGO MAGIC LOUNGE
The Chicago Magic Lounge takes inspiration from the historic bars specializing in close- up or tableside magic that prospered alongside the city’s trick shops in the 1940s. Magicians work the crowd from the floor, moving from table to table to perform their tricks as opposed to sweating alone beneath a spotlight onstage. However there’s also stage magic and bar magic— the venerable Bob Schulien, greatgrandson to magic innovator Matt Schulien, was bartending when I visited last year. You’re invited to let the magicians wandering the floor greet you with an illusion at your table, and the host might encourage you to approach the bar for some card- trick sleight of hand— all between sets by the main- stage headliner.
— KEVIN WARWICK Open run: Thu 7: 30 PM, Sat at 7 PM, Uptown Underground, chicagomagiclounge. com, $ 27.50-$ 46.50. 21+
THE MAGIC CABARET
Once upon a time, Chicago was a magic town. You could buy tricks and apparatus at Marshall Field’s and get a full- blown magic show with your dinner at Schulien’s. The waiters there invented what became known as the Chicago style of magic. It was up- close and personal, not too grand, but still astonishing, and best of all, it made the audience part of the show. David Parr and Joe Diamond re- create this golden age in The Magic Cabaret, using homely objects like books and lightbulbs and ( naturally) playing cards to bring their stories of old- time magic to life. The result is by turns funny, surprising, and spooky. But here’s the most amazing part: it really is fun for the whole family, not just the kids. — AIMEE LEVITT Open run: Wed 8 PM, Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln, magiccabaret. com, $ 20.
MAGIC CHICAGO
The monthly showcase presents a mix of well- respected locals and touring magicians. Upcoming headliners include Kenrick “Ice” McDonald, whose November 2 set is sure to be packed with dove illusions, and the veteran mentalist Max Maven on December 7.
Open run: first Wed of the month, 7: 30 PM, Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, magicchicagoshow. com, $ 25.
THE MAGIC PARLOUR
This hour- long magic show is exactly what it should be: funny, lively, intimate, and utterly baffling. House Theatre of Chicago member Dennis Watkins blends quick- witted improv and physical comedy with freewheeling patter as he performs classic illusions. Though his sleight of hand is impossibly subtle, it was the mind- reading tricks that seemed to have drawn several inquisitive skeptics back for another look on the night I attended. A curio- shop intimacy and cash bar encourage audience participation, and Watkins, with his Eagle Scout looks, clearly takes a mischievous pleasure in the unexpected. Just let your cell phone go off during the show and see what kind of fun he has.
— KEITH GRIFFITH Open run: Fri 7: 30 and 9: 30 PM; Sat 4: 30, 7: 30, and 9: 30 PM, Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe, 773- 769- 3832, themagicparlourchicago. com, $ 79.
O’DONOVAN’S
A longtime home of Chicago bar magic, the former Schulien’s keeps the tradition alive with a roster of close- up magic performers providing tableside entertainment three days a week. Stalwart master magician Al James performs on Fridays, while a handful of other sleight- of- hand artists fill in on Saturdays and Sundays.
Open run: Fri- Sat 6- 10 PM, Sun 5- 9 PM, 1801 W. Irving Park, 773478- 2100.