champions of magic

CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC: HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR TOUR 2025

☆☆☆☆

No good magician, nor performance artist of any type, backs away from a challenge. And to be part of an ensemble show when engaging in an artform that thrives on forging a unique identity is certainly that. Here at World Magic Review, we are wary of ensemble shows for exactly that reason, but the Champions of Magic prove that not only will they not back away from that challenge, but they will spend over a decade becoming quite possibly the best at it in the business.

The Champions’ show kicks off with an immediate burst of energy, with not a moment to lull an audience into it when there is so much trickery to accomplish in 90 minutes. This could go either way, and in the beginning the laughs are light, but the Champions’ effusive energy, particularly on the parts of magicians Richard Young and Sam Strange, ultimately wins them over.

This show has it all – cardistry, “close up” magic, grand illusions, mentalism, and escapology, and more. The four performers: the aforementioned Young and Strange, Liberty Larsen, and Fernando Velasco spread the disciplines between themselves, but still share so much stage time and assist in each other’s tricks so much that the entire show feels cohesive and well plotted. The Champions favor classic tricks that a magic fan is likely to be familiar with, but do an excellent job of constructing narratives around them in a way that make them feel unique. Not only that, but the Christmas theme is lightly, but cleverly, woven within the show.

The most and least compelling of the storylines are actually done by the same magician, Fernando Velasco. Velasco thrives with his variation on a Spirit Cabinet that connects the audience with the most famous Christmas ghost story. It is equal parts cheeky and earnest, and is delightful to see included in a non- Spiritualist centered magic show. He does misstep elsewhere, however, by missing an easy opportunity to localize a Houdini inspired escape when performing in Milwaukee, WI. Houdini grew up in nearby Appleton after his family moved to the US, and moved to Milwaukee for a portion of his young adulthood, which would undeniably make Milwaukeeans consider him a local boy and win any magician to call it out their favor. Coupled with fellow magician Larsen making nervous ‘windy city’ jokes when struggling to keep a card tower stable (and on a day the Packers lost to the Bears! Oh the controversy!), this unfortunately gave the impression that the simple work of making a few adjustments to connect to locals was not made a priority once tour cities were chosen.

Regardless, the Champions of Magic have created a fun holiday experience with this show, which easily delights the children of their audience and charms the adults too with their unfettered silliness and joy to be performing. Group magic shows are a difficult balance to maintain, and the Champions do it better than any other contemporary act.

CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC

☆☆☆

Champions of Magic is the summer blockbuster of magic shows, or at least aims to be- it is the Avengers of magicians. It is not your average, every day magic show (if there is such a thing), where you have to commit yourself to embracing one style, one skillset of magic. Instead, you are given four different magic shows in one, meshed together in an unforgettable night of wonderment.

The first of the magicians to kick off the show was a young magician with an old-school style, Edward Hilsum, conjuring doves with impressive flair. The magicians cycled their acts through the night, so we saw him again a few times over the course of the show, but one of the particularly impressive aspects of two of Hilsum’s three sets was his ability to remain captivating with a wordless act. In fact, his talent at maintaining attention meant that I did not even realize he hadn’t said a word until several minutes into the show!

Following Hilsum’s fist set was that of Alex McAleer, the mind-reader. I’ve reviewed McAleer here before, from his Edinburgh Fringe show. Here he had a much larger stage, and one he managed dominate impressively. Mind reading more than any other form of magic relies on audience participation and response, and McAleer undeniably had the personability and flair to make the crowd comfortable and increasingly eager to interact. Over his sets he wowed the audience with his skill at seemingly picking thoughts and images straight out of their minds, knowing everything from a card they were thinking of to unexpected personal details.

Fay Presto took the stage next, taking what initially seemed like it would be the most standard magic staple into a completely different, funny direction. Doing classic magic tricks can verge into boring the audience, I have learned, but she turned this potential around into something unexpected, a delightful turn of magic refusing to take itself too seriously. Presto particularly excelled when including children in her acts, her encouragement making them visibly increasingly confident with being onstage and involved.

The final part of this show was done by the magician duo Young & Strange. Their act coming last was a commendable choice, as they provided a burst of silly, snarky energy. While bordering on ridiculousness, the dedication of the two in playing off each other absolutely worked. Young & Strange were the epitome of a big finish, pulling out all the stops with huge intimidating mechanics, bright lights, a sweet story, and a glamorous assistant.

Champions of Magic truly was a great show of astonishing talent. If any criticism can be found, it is not in their abilities, but in the cohesion of the overall show. The range of different specialties was a positive, however, the acts suffered in that it seemed not much effort had been put into segues. It made the show more fragmented that it needed to be, and displaced the audience’s energy. There was so much good to outweigh this problem, however, and Champions of Magic was a astounding, delightful show, all the magicians astonishing the audience in their own unique ways.

Champions of Magic will be continuing their tour with shows through the UK, venues and dates can be found here.