Up to More Than the Usual Tricks

Ouch . . . ick . . . yikes: That knitting needle through the arm bit, that swallowed mouthful of sewing needles--no wonder Theatre West Youth Theatre’s reservation line and a program insert warn parents that its latest show, “Abracadabra: A Magical Vaudeville,” is for preteens and adults. They, presumably, are mature enough to realize that it might be a tad risky to try emulating magician Charlie Mount’s captivatingly comic but wince-making bag of tricks.

Actually, most of professional magician Mount’s entertaining show is tamer than the few pointed, painful-looking illusions he does, and the littler kids who did attend a recent performance were having a good time. Even when you know how the trick is done--or think you do--Mount is a kick to watch, as much for his deceptively simple illusions and trickery as for his relaxed humor and easy rapport with the audience, many of whom Mount enlists in the act.

Dressed in a clown’s patched tux and tennis shoes, Mount plays the first part of the show without words, against a vaudeville-style, illustrated backdrop. Out of an old-time steamer trunk onstage, he draws scarves, needles, a plastic ball that floats, bits of red sponge, a jar, needles, interlocking rings, a saw and so on. He frames each trick with eclectic musical accompaniment--hurdy-gurdy, the “Pink Panther” and “2001” themes, a tango--and well-timed, comically exaggerated movement.

During this part of the show, Mount coaxes audience members to join him onstage, miming instructions; one lucky “volunteer” gets a sword through the neck; another, placed on a board propped up on chairs, seems to defy gravity.

Mount’s played-for-laughs efforts in silently getting his impromptu co-stars to understand what’s expected of them are a deliberate part of the fun.

In the last half of the show, the music stops and Mount uses speech from then on. He calls for volunteers here too, and by this time just about everybody wants to participate. There’s a disappearing ball trick--the audience is in on this one; only the volunteer is clueless--handkerchief and card tricks, and an egg trick. The big finish is “Houdini’s East Indian Needle Illusion”: Mount “swallows” sewing needles, which come back up threaded on a single thread.

The lights come up, but it’s not over yet. Mount invites the audience to join him in the lobby, where he does a few tricks, this time up close, before sending them on their way.

BE THERE

“Abracadabra,” Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West in Los Angeles. Sundays at 1 p.m. $8, kids; $10, adults. (888) 551-WEST. Running time: about 50 minutes.