A Magical Night of Story-Telling- “Message in a Bottle”

Highly Recommended **** If you love magic and watching magicians, Sean Masterson is a wonderful magician to watch. If you love great story-telling, Sean Masterson is a perfect one to watch. He combines his story-telling with the magic that he performs and we are very fortunate to have The Magic Lounge where you can witness this amazing magician do “his thing”!

Have you not heard of Chicago Magic Lounge? It is the best kept secret out there, but if you are into magic, both tableside and onstage, it is the place to be. Located in the back of what appears to be a laundomat on North Clark Street in Andersonville, it is a triple threat for magic lovers. There is the Chicago bar magic, where while you are in the waiting area of the actual theater, you can enjoy a cocktail and witness a magician doing bar magic ( this was started in Chicago many years ago). After awhile, you are invited into the “library” where you see some of the many artifacts of magic history and then as the walls open, you move into the amazing Cabaret Venue where you see the stage and the levels of seating that make every seat one where all the action can be seen.

When you are seated, you will find a great selection of beverages and some amazing things to eat. From olives to Shrimp and some tremendous slider choices as well. For the next 30 minutes, magicians will visit the tables doing magic right there. Yes, you will be involved and part of the evening ( no matter where you sit). I did a small trick but since I was solo and doing a story, I asked them to pass on me so I could observe rather than be! In the table to my left, there was two young ladies, Emma and Colleen. When Sean Masterson took the stage, Emma was one of many he invited onstage to participate. By the way, he selected people from all the levels of the venue, so there was no way to escape.

I have seen many shows at this venue and found that Mr. Masterson’s style was unique in that he told us a story about two famous magicians and their competativness. Harry Kellar was known as “the Dean of American magicians”. His challenger was Alexander Herrmann, a German claimed that Kellar used mechanical props, thus was not a true magician as he was. Masterson tells us many stories of these two men and as he does, he performs, with audience assistance some amazing magic. Both of these magicians were represented by the same agent, Michael B. Leavitt who published a book depicting the rivalry between these two master of magic, and now Masterson uses this book and the story to  illustrate the illusions as performed by Him.

His powerful show will continue at The Chicago Magic Lounge located at 5050 N. Clark Street thru June 29th with performances as follows:

Wednesdays  7 p.m.

There are different performers on different nights. Tickets are priced from $45 and can be purchased by calling312-366-4500 or online at www.chicagomagiclounge.com

Parking is street and metered. Check the meters for time limits.

Monday is a fun night at the Lounge- Music and Magic $25 all seats.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Message in a Bottle”.