☆☆

Colin Tie knows how to set realistic, achievable goals. His Fringe show The Best Comedy & Magic Show You’ll See in the Next 45 Minutes (Probably) gives the audience the right idea of what to expect from the start. Tie’s sarcastic humor is a constant throughout the show. He’s certainly popular, especially with young families. The reviewed show was completely full, and even had latecomers standing in the back and at the sides once the seats filled up. While the magic he performed feels fairly basic by Fringe standards, and the show itself feels at times tonally confused, Tie has put together a solidly family friendly set that he performs well.

The Best Comedy & Magic Show is less focused on thematic cohesiveness and instead is composed of a series of magic routines that are perhaps simply Tie’s favorites. While these may be familiar to magic fans, and not always performed quite as neatly as Fringe magic regulars are used to, Tie’s young audience members certainly enjoyed them. An early highlight was Tie’s foam balls routine, which the young participant was visibly thrilled to see happen in his own hands.

Tie makes a real effort to involve as many of the children in the audience in the magic as possible. He is great at stage managing his younger participants, and gracefully allowing them to take the spotlight when they are unexpectedly funnier than him. Where adult participants are required Tie is clear about his needs and makes sure he gets folks onstage who can adequately assist in the task of the moment.

The majority of the show might be in Tie’s sarcastic comedy style, but he makes a few digressions that seem out of place. Some, like a rant against smartphones and tablets that has no apparent connection to the trick that he’s performing, feel like an attempt at comedy that just didn’t land with the majority of the audience at the reviewed show. Others, like his final monologue, feel like the bones of a second show peeking through, slightly more serious and perhaps more structured. It may be a mixed impression, but overall Tie’s approach builds interest for seeing what he might do next.

The Best Comedy & Magic Show You’ll See in the Next 45 Minutes (Probably) may not be the most consistent show, or the neatest magic of the Fringe, but Tie’s personable approach to magic does a lot to make it feel worthwhile. It’s particularly notable as a prospect for families with young children, as an accessible option that only requires a queue rather than a ticket. The children in particular will appreciate Tie’s magical performance.