![\"(Clockwise](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/IMG_9441.jpg\")
<\/a>(Clockwise from left): Chris Ruggiero, El Ropo, Christopher Hart, and Albie Selznick. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
Magic Monday<\/em> is a perfect-length show of magicians and variety acts at the intimate Santa Monica Playhouse every Monday night (duh) through September, and is tons of fun. At least it was on the night I<\/em> saw it; there\u2019s a different line-up each week. (Check their website below if you want to know before you go. But I have a feeling it\u2019s\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0excellent. And you can see\u00a0it\u00a0every week and witness a different show each time, which is an added attraction of the five-month-long production.)<\/p>\n Albie Selznick and Chris Ruggiero juggling, (of course!) Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n The host, (who\u2019s also the show\u2019s producer,) is always the same, though. It\u2019s\u00a0Albie Selznick, who is a well-known magician himself, so he knows how to choose just the right cast each week. And he keeps the whole show moving right along, doing little bits himself when warranted. I was very impressed that he even\u00a0juggled<\/em>\u00a0a bit when I saw it! Who knew? (And it was\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0a magic trick\u2014the guy can actually juggle!)<\/p>\n Christopher Hart and his young assistants. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n So this is the group of performers I saw:<\/p>\n Seasoned veteran magician Christopher Hart ably stepped-in at the last second for someone who had to cancel, and he was a delight. Not only did he do a bunch of eclectic illusions, but he showed-us some of the hand exercises he does to keep his famous phalanges in shape. No kidding\u2014his hands played Thing in\u00a0The Addams Family<\/em>\u00a0films! So we saw a movie star that night!<\/p>\n Chris Ruggiero. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Then came cute, crazy, charming juggler, Chris Ruggiero. As many of you know, I was once in a circus myself, so I saw all the acts pretty close-up back then, but never in such a small space as this theatre, nor\u00a0so\u00a0up-close, so Chris was an especial revelation! My friend Marc and I even grabbed each other,\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0moved our bodies back as far as they went in our seats, when Chris jumped on an exercise ball and juggled\u2026giant knives!!! It was all very impressive.<\/p>\n I did not have a clue what to expect when super-tall, cowboy-hatted Phil Van Tee (aka El Ropo) got introduced. But that man is a\u00a0riot<\/em>!\u00a0 He basically does close-up rope tricks. Like ones with\u00a0knots<\/em>, not\u00a0lassos<\/em>. (The latter would have been crazy in that petite space.) As impressive as those tricks are, it\u2019s his\u00a0patter<\/em>\u00a0that\u2019s so entertaining. He had us in constant hysterics. I didn\u2019t want him to stop.<\/p>\n El Ropo, making even his audience assistants laugh! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n The entire show was so enjoyable. Marc had been a bit leery of just what it would be, and at the end, he was so happy that he had trusted me once again, (as all of you should do, too!) Since I had seen Magic Monday<\/em> once before, I knew we could not go wrong with it.<\/p>\n One of my favorite aspects of the evening is the pre-show. A magician does close-up magic for everybody in the courtyard before the audience moves into the Playhouse for the actual\u00a0stage\u00a0<\/em>show. Seeing magic right in front of your own eyes is, well, magical! This time it was Stephen Bailey, who goes by the moniker \u201cOutstanding Steve.\u201d He did more of an act for the entire assemblage, rather than going over to each group individually, as the man I saw last time did. There were a lot of people there, so it was probably better this way. Having someone perform out there early on like that really sets the mood for the evening.\u00a0 It\u2019s such a fun, summery feel.<\/p>\n Outstanding Steve, working in the courtyard. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n A staple of the production is a free raffle for passes to the exclusive Magic Castle. (The prize is just complimentary\u00a0admission<\/em>; the winners still have to pay for their very pricey dinner. But since it\u2019s the only way most people will ever get to visit that iconic private entertainment club, where\u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0once worked, by the way, it\u2019s still worth it.)<\/p>\n So now you all know how to un-bore your Mondays! And trust me\u2014that really is<\/em> magic!<\/p>\n Magic Monday<\/em>\u00a0running every Monday (duh) through September 30, 2019<\/strong> MAGIC MONDAY 2019 Sort-of sadly for\u00a0social-minded Angelenos, activities in our town are notoriously nonexistent on Monday nights. Theatres are dark, clubs are closed, restaurants are slow, and those of us who are still yearning for a night out are pretty much out of luck. But not in Santa Monica at this time of year, where\u00a0Magic<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Santa Monica Playhouse\u00a0 1211 4th Street\u00a0 Santa Monica\u00a0 310-450-2849\u00a0\u00a0www.MagicMondayLA.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"