By Mike Weatherford for the Las Vegas Review-Journal..
The home stretch of summer preserves some uniquely Las Vegas traditions for magicians and the TV exposure that helps them. Especially the one in the green dragon costume…
Piff the Magic Dragon (John van der Put) sailed to the live competition of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” after Neil Patrick Harris, who makes no secret of his fondness for magic, used his “golden buzzer” to send the comic magician straight to the next round of competition at Radio City Music Hall starting Tuesday, bypassing the rest of the preliminaries.
In the long term, at least, that’s good news for “X Comedy — Uncensored Fun” at the Flamingo. Producer Angela Stabile says Piff will return to the show Sept. 3, so he would be flying back and forth to New York until the “Talent” finale Sept. 16 if he goes the distance.
But next week, he goes straight from “Talent” to the Edinburgh Fringe festival to do the long version of his act, “Breakfast at Piffany’s,” Friday through Aug. 29. Piff is being spelled in “X Comedy” by the funny juggling dude comedian Todd Paul, so audiences are still getting a strong variety show.
When you interview a comedic magic dragon, you get sarcastic answers. Because comedic magic dragons are quite smart aleck-y. But this particular comedic magic dragon is having a great week because he just got himself a golden buzzer on America’s Got Talent. PiffTheMagicDragon had a great set on his first appearance on AGT in round one, really impressing Howard Stern,Howie Mandel, and Heidi Klum in his first appearance earlier this season. He also got almost 3 million views on the clip that got posted on YouTube. http://theinterrobang.com/interview-piff-the-magic-dragon-golden-buzzer-americas-got-talent/
This week, Piff came back for round two, and had an even better week, grabbing himself a kiss from Heidi Klum, and a Golden Buzzer from guest judge Neil Patrick Harris. For those who aren’t AGT regulars, this means he doesn’t have to screw around with anymore elimination rounds, he advances straight on to the live finals at Radio City Music Hall. It also means he got sprayed with a whole lot of gold confetti.
Piff is no Flash in the Pan magic dragon. He has over 12 million YouTube views, five record breaking runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a stand out performance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, and six months in Vegas. His magic inspirations are Penn & Teller and calls Seinfeld his comedy inspiration, and his favorite television show is Adventure Time.
The IBang: Who is the judge that you most wanted to impress when you prepared for America’s Got Talent?
Piff The Magic Dragon: Howard Stern.
The IBang: How many costume ideas did you go through before you settled on this one?
Piff The Magic Dragon: What are you talking about? I’m a magic dragon. I work naked.
The IBang: Why do you think Neil Patrick Harris picked you for his golden buzzer act?
Piff The Magic Dragon: I think he wanted my sandwich.
The IBang: What was going through your head when you found out you’re going through?
Piff The Magic Dragon: I was totally transfixed by all the gold flying around the room. Dragons really love Gold. Mmm. Gold. Sorry, what was the question?
The IBang: Where did you learn magic?
Piff The Magic Dragon: When you’re a magic dragon it goes with the territory. I basically hatched out of the egg clutching a four of diamonds.
The IBang: Where does a magic dragon vacation when he’s not working?
Piff The Magic Dragon: By the sea.
The IBang: You perform all over the world, where’s your favorite place to perform?
Piff The Magic Dragon: Las Vegas. Because the whole world comes to Vegas. So it saves me the airfare.
The IBang: What’s the difference between performing for American vs. UK audiences?
Piff The Magic Dragon: American audiences are definitely more vocal in their support. English audiences are a bit more reserved.
The IBang: Are you a fan of any of the other acts this year?
Piff The Magic Dragon: Yes. Lots of them. Drew Lynch. Triple Threat. Heavenly Joy Jenkins. Many more.
The IBang: What advice would you have for someone who wants to get on AGT next season?
Piff The Magic Dragon: Apply and audition. Until you’ve done that it will be difficult to get on.
Piff the Magic Dragon goes straight through on AGT..
