SEE/SAW: AN IMMERSION INTO A MAGICIAN’S MIND

I love being able to give a good review, and, sadly, I don’t often have that chance. But this is one of those happy occasions. The magic of Ecuadorean-born Siegfried Tieber is indeed… magical!!! Trust me, if you are in L.A. in the next month or so, you really do not want to miss this one!!! [Note: Much to what will be Mr. X’s chagrin, I have a feeling there will be plenty of exclamation marks in this review. But See/Saw warrants them! See?]

First let me tell you that I’ve seen an awful lot of magic in my time. In case some of you don’t already know this, I even starred as The Divided Lady in the country’s largest traveling Big Top circus when I was a teenager! (Oysh–don’t ask! My mother even wishes she hadn’t at the time!) So when I tell you how amazing this guy is, you have to trust me on it. I very, very, very rarely use that word! But Siegfried Tieber’s magic is the kind of event that word should be reserved for!

I’ll tell you about the entire almost-private See/Saw experience in a minute, but first I must rave about Siegfried himself. This guy is a genius!!! We all sat right up close to him, where nothing was hidden, and I still have no idea how he did everything he did! (And his sleeves were rolled-up the whole time!) I can often figure-out how magicians perform their illusions, including several on America’s Got Talent that I can decipher right away. But, I swear—Siegfried’s sleight-of-hand does not look like “tricks” at all; what he does is, indeed, magic!

His show is an hour of the most close-up magic I’ve ever seen. It could’ve been a lot longer, in my book. And I think also in the books of the other twenty-three people in the audience with me that day! (That doesn’t mean it was empty—there’s a twenty-four person limit for each performance, to ensure that everyone has a perfect view of the action. That’s one of the aspects of See/Saw that makes it so special.)

I should have expected Siegfried’s greatness; he won on Penn and Teller’s television show on the CW, Fool Us. Even they could not figure out how he does what he does!

But his excellence is not just in the amazing tricks that he does—it’s the total package. Siegfried is absolutely charming, delightful, personable, and talented–everything you would want in a close-up performer.

On top of all that, this show is very well-written. Siegfried keeps his well-thought-out patter going all the time. He even seems very happy to deliver it, although it must be his gazillionth time saying it all. I could not even tell the same story twice on my former TV show! I felt like I was copying from myself! Of course, Siegfried amends it a bit each time, I’m sure, to capture what’s going on with the new people he’s meeting there. And as with all magic, every show is a little bit different, due to the energy of that particular audience.

As the first act went along, I was confused as to how he seemed to know everyone’s name—I thought maybe all his friends happened to show-up at that performance. But it turns out that he mingles with the crowd before each show, which I didn’t know because I was too busy chatting with my new twin besties! (More on them in a bit.)

And then he involves all the people there in his show pieces. Not even one audience member is left-out of the interactive, intimate, very-close-up adventure.

The whole hour (plus a little bit) show, with an intermission, is all card tricks. But since he takes questions from the audience at different points in the action, he can change his schedule a bit at will. When I was there, one man asked him what his favorite trick is, and he on the spot showed us one with money, that I promise you was not at all planned! (But that meant that we missed-out on a scheduled one because he had to finish somewhat on time. Darn. If I had time in my uber-busy schedule, I would go see the show again, and not just to see the “red car trick!”)

I was up all night after I saw See/Saw, mulling-over the entire experience, so I have to review that for you, as well.

The only real surprise is the magic of Siegfried Tieber. But there’s one more that I don’t want to spoil for you, but I must, to tell you this story. So, if you’re planning on seeing the show in its limited run in downtown L. A., skip down to the next paragraph. Otherwise, continue here. Okay, ready—I finally met my twin! Actually, both of them. And now were triplets! Dahlia and Dia Taquali are the two adorable girls who usher you into the theatre, but separately. Only the most astute among us realize that they’re twins, which means that I’m the only one who ever figured it out!!! People are so unaware. So, not only do I love, love, love twins, in general, but these girls are darling. And they’re rocking my super-long, fringed hair!!! Which means that we’re now triplets! And, at twenty-five-years-old, we’re also the same age! What a fun way to start-out the See/Saw adventure!

The show takes place in an interesting edifice downtown. According to the producers, it’s in a “secret hide-away, nestled inside the former office of criminal defense attorney Max Solomon,” who worked with Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen. (Oysh.) Now it’s a production studio and cultural center for artists and musicians, so hopefully no machine guns hidden somewhere on the premises. The entrance is like “Joe sent me” in a parking lot! It’s right near the secret steps down to The Birds and Bees, which is the crazy subterranean speakeasy whose opening I reviewed here a few months ago.

Then there’s the attire notice—all audience members are “encouraged” to wear “cocktail attire,” even for the matinees! At first, I thought that was crazy, but when I saw how nice we all looked, I was very pleased. That made it a bit more special. I think they were inspired by the Magic Castle model, where no one is allowed in unless they’re dressed-up, per the private club’s dress code. I guess all people in the world of magic want it to be a classy journey, and I applaud them for that.

For the imbibers out there, there’s a small, attractive bar right in the room, at which you can grab a drink before the show or at intermission. The start time is announced as such to give the assemblage a bit of time to peruse the small exhibits that line the walls of the show area. Those are comprised of all interesting artifacts from Siegfried’s personal collection, including his “FU” trophy for fooling Penn and Teller on Fool Us. And then, of course, everyone can stay afterwards to chat with Siegfried, as I did, for, I’m sure, longer than he would have liked! (I’m kidding about that—we really had a lot to discuss, especially since we have several acquaintances in common, so we could have gabbed for the rest of the day! But, luckily for him, he had another show to do right after.)

The only time slot I could get tickets for was at 4 PM on Saturday. (That’s the sole matinee, by the way—the rest of the shows are at night, including one late night, which I imagine must be sooo fun!!!) I was not thrilled about that early time at first, but once inside, I was good. Siegfried’s show actually made me forget about time altogether! But when my friend and I drove away down the block on the way home, the evening got even better! That’s because I spied Grand Central Market! I had hardly even been aware of its existence, and had just only recently even heard of it, even though it’s been around for a hundred years now! And so have I!!! So, if you really want to make a night of it, I suggest eating there before or after the show. (I think after is better because I was literally in a food coma—I got into bed as soon as I got home…at 9:30PM! On a Saturday night, no less! That, from a party chick!!!)

I really had a wonderful time at See/Saw, on every level. So, I hope that if you’re one of my SoCal readers, that you do the same. And soon—this is a very limited engagement! And I have a real feeling that within the next year, Siegfried will be too famous to be able to do intimate shows like this anymore! From my mouth to God’s ears.

See/Saw running through October 15, 2017
Civic Center Studios
207 S. Broadway in DTLA  www.atlasobscura.com/events/seesaw