The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
MYSTERY, MISCHIEF, MISDIRECTION
‘Carbonaro Effect’ namesake says, ‘Sometimes you have much better control of misdirection when people are closer’
“You know, I’m throwing some shaving cream in my bag,” Michael Carbonaro laughs over the phone in a recent interview.
The magician slash funnyman is known to pull out shaving cream on stage, lathering up his face and body to masquerade as various creatures — of both the cute and creepy variety.
But, according to him, Carbonaro is not sure exactly what kind of magical mischief his fans can expect from his magic-and-comedy shows Aug. 17 through 19 at Hilarities 4th Street Theatre in Cleveland.
“I’m really looking forward to surprising myself with what I do, so I don’t have a complete setlist even together yet with what it’s gonna be,” he says. “I think that’s part of the fun.”
His little-to-no-plan plan speaks to the high level of comfort and skill the 47-year-old pro has achieved in his lifelong career in magic.
Perhaps you’ve seen Carbonaro’s baby face on TruTV’s “The Carbonaro Effect,” which he executiveproduced and ran for more than 100 episodes.
The popular hidden-camera magic TV show is still in syndication worldwide and streaming on Max.
Though the prank show, in which Carbonaro describes as himself as the “Ashton Kutcher of the magic world,” could have kept going, he says — that it was his call to pull the plug.
“I had all these ideas for what I wanted to do with it, and I did all of those ideas and way beyond,” he says.
“You just sort of feel it,” he continues. “I wanna end on a high note. I don’t wanna keep dragging this out for as long as they’ll have me. I needed to look into other projects to do. So I made a conscious decision to end it.”
Although he says he wouldn’t say no to exploring how the show may return one day, he has other big ideas to pull out of his hat first. One of these ideas, he says, is an experiential show called “Hotel Carbonaro,” which takes place within the confines of, yes, a hotel.
“Kind of like a magic muppet show where there’s a live show going on and people from the audience are brought into different rooms for different happenings — and it’s awesome,” Carbonaro says.
He’s pitching this idea around but adds it’s not an ideal time in Hollywood, as “everything’s frozen and crazy” at the moment.
“Sometimes you have much better control of misdirection when people are close.” — Michael Carbonaro, on playing comedy clubs instead of larger venues
Carbonaro’s willing to be patient until the right deal comes along, something that matches his artistic vision.
“I always have to remember … when I was out there pitching a hidden-camera show, I had an offer from a network. And right out the gate, I had no other prospects but the (one) offer,” he says.
The problem, Carbonaro says, is they were not seeing him as the complete host and wanted him to sign a contract that didn’t allow him the kind of control he felt comfortable with, so he passed on it.
“And that was, like, when there was nothing else on the horizon,” he says. “I just said, ‘Nope, this isn’t what I want it to be. I’m not gonna do that.’ Then TruTV came along, and they totally got it, and I got all the control
and got to really develop that show and build it to the way I wanted it.”
So now, when he thinks about a new show, he wants that same feeling. — “the feeling of, ‘It needs to be right, and I’ll know when it’s right.’ I don’t want to go digging around, just taking any opportunity. I try to remember that every day.”
Plus, waiting patiently is a little easier when you’re as busy as Carbonaro.
Aside from his various tours around the country, Carbonaro recently has established a presence in Las Vegas. Long-time magic duo act Penn & Teller asked him to take over their theater for a limited engagement. It’s something they’ve never asked another magician to do, and they’ve asked him to do it twice.
“You know, you shouldn’t move through life seeking or needing validation, but it really is nice when you get it,” Carbonaro says.
Although it’s a major feather in his cap, Carbonaro
says he doesn’t think the takeovers made many other magicians all that envious.
“Aside from a select few, it’s a really wonderful group of people who are extremely supportive. The feedback’s been really great, so I’m always pleasantly surprised about how wonderful people are,” Carbonaro says about the community.
Carbonaro says coming from Vegas to smaller clubs across the country, such as Hilarities,for this comedymagic tour is something of an adventure. It gives him freedom to play with an act that’s a hybrid of comedy and magic, he says, and also allows him to pull off more complex stunts, thanks to smaller room sizes.
“Sometimes you have much better control of misdirection when people are closer,” he says. “It’s almost like in life when people are like, ‘Hey, back up, take a look at the whole picture.’
He adds with a laugh, “In this case, you can’t.”