There’s always been an intersection—or at least a set of common interests—between comedians and magicians. Both groups are storytellers and performers, and both thrive in part because they require a little trickery behind the proverbial curtain. For magicians, it’s sleight of hand. For comedians, it’s taking an ordinary experience and presenting it in a way that’s so novel that it becomes hilarious.
Justin Willman is an expert on those intersections, being both a magician and a comedian himself. He’s appeared on Ellen, The Tonight Show, Conan, and Food Network, and his 2015 special, Sleight Of Mouth, ran on Comedy Central. His latest project, an as-yet-unnamed pilot, is in development right now at the network.
The A.V. Club talked to Willman backstage at Riot L.A. about the intersection of magic and comedy.
The A.V. Club: Why are magic and comedy such a natural fit?
Justin Willman: A joke and a trick are very similar, in that there’s a setup and a punchline. With a trick it’s got to be like, “Hey, here’s what’s going on. This would be impossible, boom—it’s possible.” For me, with a trick if you just go A to B with a joke where you say, “Here’s what I’m going to do” and then you do it, that’s boring and cliché. People get too ahead of you and that’s no fun…
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The bartender delivered another round to the couple at the end of the bar, and then laid a small black mat in front of them.
“Come on over,” he said, motioning to other patrons. “The more witnesses, the better.”
On Tuesday night at Cronin & Phelan’s bar and restaurant, on Broadway near Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens, things were in full swing for the bartender, Dave Cremin, 54, who provides both the service and the entertainment, doing bar-top tricks while serving drinks and food.
Lulls between drink orders turn into brief magic shows, and this one began with Mr. Cremin pulling a deck of cards out of his mouth, a dozen at a time.
Somehow the cards were dry. The couple reared back in laughter and amazement.
“Just to see the astonishment on people’s faces, that’s payoff for me,” Mr. Cremin said later. “To make them laugh and say ‘wow’ at the same time.” Read more..
Britain’s Got Talent magician Richard Jones has told how his lifelong ambition is to read the Queen’s mind
In Saturday night’s show viewers will watch as soldier Richard, 25, reads the thoughts of judges Amanda Holden and David Walliams in a bid to win a place in the semi-finals.
But Richard, a member of the Household Cavalry who plays for the Queen almost daily, says he’s desperate for the chance to reveal what the nation’s monarch is really thinking. Read more…
LAS VEGAS, NV (Mar. 20, 2016) – Vegas stars Jarrett & Raja, known as The Magic and Piano Guys, will be appearing on ABC’s hit TV show “Shark Tank” where they will stand before Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec. Air date: Friday, April 22, 2016 at 9pm
Jarrett & Raja were one of only 140 entrepreneurs selected from over 43,000 applicants to the ABC show, produced by Sony Entertainment.
The charismatic magic duo has also been seen on NBC’s #1 hit show, “America’s Got Talent” as semi-finalists and Howie Mandel’s favorite Wild Card pick (season 7) where they produced a full orchestra on stage. They also appeared in SyFy’s “Wizard Wars” with Penn & Teller (2014), BBC’s “The Slammer” (2013), and The CW’s “Masters of Illusion” hosted by Dean Cain (2014 – 2016). They can also be seen this summer on their third season of The CW’s “Masters of Illusion”.
The two talents came together in an impromptu performance at The Friar’s Club in NYC, and thus the act was born. They performed as a cabaret act in Greenwich Village, Lincoln Center, and at Hollywood’s prestigious Magic Castle. After moving to Las Vegas, they immediately landed a residency at The Regent Hotel in Summerlin. They could also be seen at the “Golden Rainbow” shows here in Las Vegas.
Since then, Jarrett & Raja have performed their live show to over 2 million people worldwide. The guys co-starred in “America’s Got Talent LIVE” at The Palazzo Hotel in 2013, where 5 of the TV show’s most popular acts comprised the lineup produced by Fremantle Media. They headlined in a $35M Mark Fisher production at Resorts World (Singapore) called “Voyage de la Vie” (2010-2012) that was directed by Phil McKinley (“ShowStoppers”, “Spiderman Turn Off The Dark”). The guys then worked with Cirque du Soleil director, Guy Caron (KA, Dralion) during their second year in Singapore. In 2009, they wowed audiences at the legendary Vegas show, “JUBILEE!” at Bally’s Hotel, and performed with the band One Republic at the Holiday Celebration at Americana in Los Angeles. They were invited, in 2008, to Budapest to magic consult on a feature film.
In 2005, Director Kenny Ortega (“High School Musical” and Michael Jackson’s “This is It!”) brought their show to London for special appearances with David LaChapelle, Pamela Anderson and The Pussycat Dolls. Jarrett & Raja starred in China’s “Elements” (2007), the prestigious Edinburgh Festival (2004), a sold out British tour (2005), and China’s Shenzhen Magic Festival (2003).
Magician Jarrett Parker studied under the legendary Harry Blackstone, Jr. and was mentored by the creative mind behind Doug Henning and numerous Broadway hits, Charles Reynolds. Currently he and Raja work with the brilliant mind of Johnny Thompson as a consultant for shows and television. Pianist Raja Rahman is a graduate of The Juilliard School, having studied with Seymour Lipkin, Jerome Lowenthal, Byron Janis, and Lev Vlassenko. Raja has toured Europe with legendary conductors Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Georg Solti, and Iona Brown. In addition, he has taught at The Juilliard School and currently teaches privately in Las Vegas. When not performing with Jarrett & Raja, Raja is a concert pianist with frequent appearances at the Met in NYC. He performed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in October of 2015. http://www.jarrettandraja.com Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/jarrettandraja
