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Welcome to Illusionati, the theatrical magic show about whether there is a secretive club of elite magicians controlling all who would dare to perform the art, you know, like the Magic Circle (just kidding). This concept is created by a magician by the name of The Great Baldini, and is performed with great enthusiasm even if not with great finesse.

The first part of The Great Baldini (henceforth referred to as Baldini)’s show sets a tone that the show may actually be theatre with some magic thrown in for garnish, which may not have been a bad idea going forward, although it was not the idea chosen. Over the hour we see Baldini vacillate between this former structure of basic tricks forced into the story he wants to tell, or at times, a story forced around a couple of genuinely new, creative trick presentations. These fresh presentations are delightful to see in an creative field so desperate for innovation. Unfortunately, in this show they seem under-developed, dragging on far beyond a reasonable audience member’s expected attention span, which dilutes the effect of the ultimate reveals.

Likewise on the theme of inconsistency, Baldini’s attempts at humor throw off any chance for the audience to be drawn into the show. He is too silly to take seriously, but not funny enough to be entertaining. At times this makes the experience of attending the show feel like watching a child perform magic. You nod and smile along encouragingly, but are mostly left wondering if it is all going to be over soon so you can stop performing back at them.

Similarly to that experience, there is no ill-will felt to the magician. Baldini seems like a legitimately amiable and well intended performer, with a perfectly good concept for a show, just one in need of a creative director and a more coherent vision of how he wants to tell the story.

More information on The Great Baldini can be found here.