☆☆☆☆

Audiences might expect a certain amount of cockiness in the attitude of a performer who would call his Fringe show The Professional Showoff. Andy Boyd isn’t like that. He might know how to do a lot of cool and unusual magic and circus tricks, but his demeanor throughout is friendly and welcoming, expressing appreciation for his audience members. The Professional Showoff is part magic, part homemade machine demonstration, and part juggling, and in all of those categories Boyd is exceptional.

There might be plenty of performance categories included, but the magic in particular is a recurring theme. Boyd frequently uses magic to highlight and punctuate the other elements of his show. A clear highlight is his final trick, which is so worth seeing that it would be worthwhile sitting through the whole rest of the show just for that trick—and Boyd makes sure that the preceding forty-five-ish minutes are plenty entertaining too.

Boyd’s fans may recognize that he has kept the same title for his Fringe show as last year, but he’s brought some new tricks and props. Particularly exciting is a very impressive robot-looking camera. Boyd demonstrates this on the audience and then uses the result for a unusual take on a magic routine. The creativity in his use of magic and its integration with the other skills that he demonstrates keeps Boyd’s work exciting even for magic fans. They might recognize some element of the trick, but Boyd will make sure they view it in a new light.

Much of the audience gets involved in Boyd’s show, in a variety of roles ranging from those that can be performed from their seats to some that are invited onstage. Particularly exciting is the opportunity to operate one of Boyd’s machines at will; audience members are advised to sit in the front row to have the best shot at getting to do this. Boyd might seem increasingly alarmingly talented as the show progresses, but he is evidently self-aware enough to know that not everyone has his skills, and makes sure to give his audience participants accessible tasks.

Boyd is a whole circus in one person, and in The Professional Showoff audiences get to witness some of his exceptional talents. Its lunchtime slot might make it feel like an early morning event by Fringe standards, but it’s worth a watch, whether as a lunch break or a way to start the Fringe day.