Magicians labor in shadow of big names, but they’re tenacious..
By Mike Weatherford for the Las Vegas Review-Journal
“Welcome to my new stage,” Jan Rouven says. Then, as he steps down from it to a folding chair that serves as the halfway point to the floor, “It’s not a step, it’s a leap.”
Nice one. But it’s not even the best metaphor of the conversation.
I’ve come to talk to Rouven about his step/leap to the Tropicana. The new show opens Friday at a relaunched property with promise so far unfulfilled. It also puts him on the same intersection with David Copperfield and Criss Angel, two more famous magicians with bigger marketing budgets.
To make things even more interesting, Rouven’s old room at the Rivera has been taken over by Dirk Arthur, who opens there Dec. 1. Arthur is calling his show “Wild Illusions,” while Rouven’s is still called “Illusions.”
Arthur is “a clever marketing guy, obviously,” Rouven says.
“Don’t be nice,” chastises his manager and show producer, Frank Alfter. Then he adds, “Everything is good, but they could have avoided this one. It’s confusing for the customer.”