“Luis Carreon, La Bestia” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

[rating=5]Luis Carreon, “La Bestia”, is—as the Spanish word means—the beast. He’s not only the beast but the best! Talented, convincing, and funny, he charms his audience with his well-crafted magic act. He calls himself La Bestia when he is proud of his success accomplishing a difficult magic trick. But at the next moment, he can be self-deprecating. He will intentionally make a mistake and say, “Oh, no!” or “Uh-o!” and then astound us by doing the trick far better than anybody could imagine.

Great stage magic requires masterful sleight of hand and deception, and Carreon is fast and clever throughout his entire 70-minute performance. His opening feat is amazing when he changes rose petals into coins and uses fire to do so. This is well worth the cost of admission. As for the rest of the show, he does not disappoint and holds us in rapt attention. He does things that other magicians do: like borrow a watch and pretend to ruin it before he eventually returns it in one piece. He does tricks with dollar bills; the higher the denomination, the more unease there is among the audience in the (unlikely) event that he should destroy it. Carreon’s use of props is somewhat reminiscent of the vaudeville stars. But he also does tricks that are unique to him. One of his best is to correctly guess random cards in a row that audience members randomly pick out of a card deck; with the last card he guesses mysteriously materializing in a picture frame behind glass. We watch him increase in height and return to normal. The very last trick of the evening has to do with the use of spray paint to create a replica of a famous piece of artwork. You’d have to see this trick (and the others) for yourself.

Carreon has one up on his competition. With his origins in Mexico and his upbringing in suburban Naperville, Illinois, he smoothly integrates both the English and Spanish languages into his act. He jokes in each, flips from one to another in the same sentence, and never loses his audience, usually because either his magic trick or his comedy routine ties everything together. He is equally entertaining among native English speakers and native Spanish speakers—and especially among those who are bilingual. Above all, he messes with those who lack familiarity with Hispanic culture. For example, I really liked the part of his act when he pulls out a stuffed animal and repeatedly refers to it as a baby Yoda (of “Star Wars” fame) when it is actually meant to be a chupacabra. For those of you unfamiliar with what a chupacabra is, it is a legendary creature in the folklore of the Americas that is considered a cryptid animal. Maybe it exists in real life; maybe it doesn’t. Thought to be a “blood sucker of goats”, a chupacabra can theoretically suck the blood out of any living being, including dogs, sheep, and cattle. If you see through Carreon’s act, he likens himself to the innocent baby Yoda: innately intelligent, wise, and a bit naïve. He intentionally acts a bit goofy when he parades himself on stage, and he seems harmless when he guesses a card—and then sweeps up the floor full of cards. (You’d have to witness this for yourself to see why it’s so funny.) Beneath this façade, however, he is the devious chupacabra: the cagey and deceptive beast, getting ready for the kill. His magic is so effective that he devours his prey by his ability to hide in plain sight. Carreon is the mythical beast who has materialized into the great magician and has thus become real!

In this regard, he can be a bit scary but in a good way. Hence I loved this one line when he called up a volunteer to the stage. He told this one young woman quietly (but loud enough for me to hear it), “Don’t worry. I won’t make you disappear.” His timing is brilliant. He is a master in using pregnant pauses. His act is better than you think, especially if you think about it.

Carreon is the current “Artist-in-Residence” at the Chicago Magic Lounge. What this means is that a new magician with a nationwide reputation is featured every several weeks, starting on a Wednesday evening. The magic lounge is also known for its table magic before the main attraction. One location is at the performance bar upfront before and after the show. Another location is inside the cabaret theatre itself: where doors open at 6:45 p.m. for cocktails and lite bites and where field magicians perform right in front of you at your table. This time around when I visited, we were treated to two separate ad hoc magicians. The first one had me hold a folded five-dollar bill and a folded one-dollar bill in my right hand, and we watched as the bills traded places. The second one had my guest pull out a dollar bill from his pocket and had him wrap it around a rubber band. We watched in fascination as the bill moved from one rubber band to another. And there was nothing strange about the rubber band; it acted perfectly normal—and we kept it as a souvenir!

All in all, it was a fine evening of prestidigitation and laughs. It is apparent that people want to be in the presence of others to take in live entertainment. And the night I attended, we had a full audience, watching with “post-COVID exuberance.” (Note that the night I was there, no masks were required and few people wore them, although I wore mine for the most part anyway.)

While Carreon’s performance is nicely lighthearted and could be suitable for children, the venue requires that that a patron must be 21 or older to enter; 16+ if accompanied by parent or guardian. Patrons at the performance bar MUST be 21+.

“Luis Carreon, La Bestia” is playing through September 28, 2022, at the Chicago Magic Lounge, 5050 N Clark Street, Chicago.

Tickets are $45 and up.

Performance schedule: Wednesday nights – 7:00 p.m. seating; show starts at 7:45 p.m.

For more information about the show and to purchase tickets, go to: https://www.chicagomagiclounge.com/purchase-tickets-la-bestia
or contact the box office at 312-366-4500.

For general information and information about other magic shows at the venue, visit: https://www.chicagomagiclounge.com/ or email info@chicagomagiclounge.com.

COVID requirements: Please be sure to bring your proof of vaccination to be checked at the door. Masks are optional. (Note that with the B.A. 5 variant of COVID, cases in the Chicago area and nationwide have increased tremendously over the last week. Overnight the media has reported a significant increase in cases, so masking requirements might need to be reinstated again in Chicago.) Check out https://www.chicagomagiclounge.com/health-and-safety-preparedness for the latest information before your visit.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Luis Carreon, La Bestia”.

Street parking, metered. Check the hours.