☆☆☆☆

Newly arrived sister show to the ridiculously popular 1 Hour of Insane Magic, the thematically named 1 Hour of Insanity may just have one magician rather than three, but more than makes up for it in insanity. The performers spend most of the show separately demonstrating their skills, although they do join in each others’ acts at times. It’s popular with a good crowd even the day after 2-for-1 tickets ended—while the show may be new, the talent of the performers has evidentially already gained renown.

Each performer is highly talented in their own right. The two most obviously visually exciting are perhaps the circus performers. Hunter the juggler transfixes the audience with his juggling skills, injecting playful humor into his performance. Meanwhile, Miss Lily Phoenix’s excellent hoops routine surely demonstrates an insane amount of skill, and she brings along a variety of exciting hoops for her part of the show. While circus women who sign on to the same show as a magician run the risk of taking on “assistant-y” roles, and Phoenix is no exception, her fellow performers do at least return the favor, glamorously assisting her in accessing her props.

Comedians and magicians may not have the same reputation for being visually exciting, but this is an hour of insanity, and the resident comedian and magician give it their all. Comedian Josh Glanc emcees the entire production, and also includes the audience in a couple of his own sets. His invitation to join in on the clowning is happily accepted, and a whole band of audience participants has a great time onstage with him. Magician Tom Bolton also brings an exciting series of tricks, including a card finding routine that gets plenty of the younger members of the audience involved.

There is plenty of audience involvement in 1 Hour of Insanity. A family friendly show, there are plenty of children in the audience, and plenty of ways for them to get involved in age-appropriate ways. There are also moments that call for adult involvement, and the performers balance these well throughout the show. The audience is always a wildcard and Glanc experienced this the most at the reviewed show, with one of his participants not behaving in the way that Glanc expected. Glanc dealt with this well, playing the situation off in good humor and quickly pivoting to an audience member who was willing to join the fun.

1 Hour of Insanity is quickly proving popular, often selling out and seemingly always selling well. It’s like a family-friendly version of Fringe legend La Clique, perfect for circus and variety fans who have children, or even adults who prefer to enjoy their variety shows without the risk of getting covered in butter and other substances. For a bit of everything and a lot of craziness, 1 Hour of Insanity is the show to go to.