We were at The Trickery last weekend for a magic show - our age group ranged from teens to senior…read morecitizens and we all had a blast. The highlight of our weekend in Chicago. Aaron and Steve are truly amazing magicians and performers - highly recommend!

We attended Trickery on Saturday 04/18/26. Aaron was adept at working with a diverse audience to…read moreinclude them and maintain control of his performance in a very intimate setting. Because it's BYOB you'll get the 20-somethings that feel they have to get loaded beforehand and then act the fool while attending (do you hear that "Neil"? No one wants the focus on you acting like it was your first experience with alcohol) but Aaron was skilled at bypassing them without causing tension or escalating bad behavior. Aaron's attitude is one of someone who has worked hard to make this little venture work, and he deserves respect and recognition for his obvious commitment and work ethic. His act included variations of tricks performed by other magicians, with his own twists. He is an expert at sleight of hand and distraction, which is considerably more difficult in a room about the size of an average residential living-room. He had an appropriate sense of humor aligned with an audience coming to Boystown, an overtly gay neighborhood in Chicago (if you're not familiar). However he wasn't garish, flaming, flamboyant, or offensive; he managed a perfect balance of innuendo humor and audience engagement without being cheap or ingenuine. The snarky one-liners will likely go over your young kids' heads (although bring them to an early show, your 9 year old doesn't belong in Boystown at 10 pm on a weekend), and he carries himself with class avoiding the use of profanity or graphic terms. Again, I can't overstate that his tricks were amazing, impressive, and captivating - as magic should be. You leave the show shaking your head and wondering how it's done - which truly makes it "magic". You would be hard-pressed to spend $36.36/person for an hour of live entertainment that can match Aaron's performance. Pro-tip: If you're driving there you will need to use an app to reserve parking, as there aren't garages like downtown Chicago and every street is filled with so many signs there's no way you will return and find your car not-towed or not-ticketed. Chicago does this on purpose to generate revenue; you'll see "street cleaning" on Tuesday from xx hour to xx hour, no parking when snow is over 2 inches OR any time from Dec 1 through April 1, loading zone, 15 minute stopping/standing with flashers, no parking, residential permit zone only, bike lanes, bus stop restrictions, etc. If you find street parking and think you've beaten the system, think again. Nobel Prize Laureates, Rhodes Scholars, Ivy League PhDs, Mensa members - you can meet them all at Chicago Central Auto Pound retrieving their vehicles. Stephen Hawking couldn't drive, but if he could and he parked in that neighborhood all the quantum mechanics in the world wouldn't make his towed car reappear from the Chicago Parking space-time continuum. The nice thing is if you do reserve parking and give yourself enough time you can walk to many, many restaurants and bars in the area that are open even after the 10 pm show ends. Thank you Aaron for a wonderful experience, you made my wife's birthday memorable for both of us.

Smarty Pants was fantastic at our recent event AND each and every time I've seen him perform over…read morethe years - which is many times (because many people see how amazing he is)!! It's not just his talent with super fun and surprising balloon characters but his adaptive nature and outstanding personality, engaging everyone at the parties/events. I would absolutely recommend him for all types of occasions : private or big birthday parties, festivals, block parties, - anywhere there will be children!! He is one less thing at your party you need to worry about because he is a sure thing! Truly, he is a whole family favorite!!

What a fun performer. I came across him at the Park Ridge Kiwanis annual pancake breakfast, where…read morehe was doing some entertaining mostly for the kids but definitely for the adults as well. It's through him that I heard of the Central Street Busker Festival that took place the next day and his line was loooong! Most recently, we went to his show last week that the Mt. Prospect Public Library held for spring break. That was very very well attended, with a long line of folks waiting to get in (and that's with all of us registered to attend!), but the show was a lot of fun. He did a little magic, a little comedy, and some fun balloon tricks. This guy has been doing this all his adult life--unless that's also a joke and part of his act--but regardless, he's great at his job. I'm looking forward to seeing him again and my little one having the chance to pick her balloon creation on her own.

Didn't get to try the food but had a cocktail and it was delicious. Can I remember the name of it…read morenope lol but I would have it again. Service is great very attentive even if you sit in the second floor. I love the close up magic performances during cocktail hour. I would say if you are on the first floor especially in the front row you get more magicians performing. So that is definitely one thing I would change when I go next time. I will buy tickets for the first floor preferably in the front. I enjoy the performance it was great and entertaining it definitely flew by but afterwards you can go back to the main bar and see the show. Overall it it's very entertaining and a magical spot worth exploring

Came by for a 4PM showing on a Sunday evening…read more Two of us ordered: french drop $15 maplewood son of juice $8 truffle fries $9 shrimp cocktail $24 ~$75 a tix Food was surprisingly decent, shrimp was quite good. You only need to arrive by 4. If you arrive earlier, you just sit at the bar -not supposed to film magic inside, tableside for an hour prior, was less impressed there since a few of them messed up / did the same trick as the group next to us John Carney was our headliner and he did a good job keeping the audience engaged, overall fun experience!

Dennis Watkins' The Magic Parlour -- Chicago…read more What a fantastic experience. If you're looking for something different to do in Chicago, put The Magic Parlour on your list. I'm a hobby magician myself, so I went into the show knowing that sometimes you can recognize the basic principles behind certain effects. But honestly, it doesn't matter. Dennis Watkins is an incredible magician and entertainer, and seeing the show up close is a completely different experience. The show is intimate, funny, entertaining, and incredibly well performed. You're close enough to see everything, which somehow makes it even more impossible. And here's my advice: Don't be the person who spends the entire show trying to figure out how every trick is done. I know you're going to do it anyway. I did too. But at some point, just sit back, enjoy the performance, and let yourself be fooled. That's part of the fun. Even as a hobby magician, I thought it was an amazing show. The combination of magic, storytelling, audience interaction, and Dennis's personality makes for a really memorable Chicago experience. Five stars. Go see it, have a drink, relax, and let the magician do his job. Small bonus out we had the VIP tickets. My wife was very awesome. It's a little intimate setting you get about another 20 to 30 minutes of Magic. Dennis asked for questions you have any doesn't really amazing magic and you get a free drink with a VIP ticket. Recommended but not required.

I have seen the magic of Dennis Watkins prior to The Magic Parlour even opening so when he…read moreannounced this theater as part of the Goodman built for magic, I was all in! I have been there for Dennis's solo show with my daughter and cousins and I treated my dad, my mom, and my family to Three Card Monte for his birthday as a way to spend time together. Three Card Monte was where the audience was seated at three tables and three different close up magicians rotated through. The magic was literally happening in front of your eyes! The variety in the three magicians was great--they had a variety of tricks, varying levels of sarcasm and humor, and overall, made it one of the best Sunday evenings I have had! Your ticket comes with a drink ticket--I don't drink, but they made me a mean Shirley Temple. My daughter bought a 2nd one at intermission and it was very reasonably priced. I made sure to have cash to tip my bartender. With Dennis's solo show, there was an option to pay to be a VIP where we got a taste of close up magic right after the general show. It was very cool and I recommend adding it on. If you love magic or even if you just know someone who loves magic, I recommend! A classy venue with top notch entertainment!

We just had a surprise party for our daughter's 5th birthday and hired The Great Scott as the…read moreentertainment. We were a little worried about finding something that would be fun for our daughter, while keeping the attention of our 9-year-old and our friends' 3-year-old. We had a wide range of ages and attention spans, to say the least! However, as soon as the show began, we knew we had a big hit with The Great Scott. All of the kids, and, well, the adults too, were laughing hysterically in an instant. We all went from laughing one minute to being mesmerized the next. The tricks would seem sort of simple but then there was always a head shaking twist that would confound us all. Which was great as we had a 7 year-old skeptic in the audience that was kept in check! The Great Scott put on a 45 minute show in which kids and adults alike were not just entertained, but were completely captivated. We all had a blast! At the conclusion of the show he made balloon figures for each of the kids which then provided round 2 of birthday party entertainment. All in all, a huge success and a super fun afternoon celebrating our daughter thanks to the talents of The Great Scott!

Scott is the best! He is engaging, flexible, thoughtful and 100% focussed on ensuring the…read moreexperience is memorable. I spent 9 months in the Middle East as a member of the Army Reserve and wanted to do something special to surprise my 6 year old triplets at their elementary school. Scott immediately "got it" and planned the perfect surprise that built up to an incredible moment. He was also an excellent ambassador to the school to ensure every aspect of the surprise was expertly synchronized. Scott, thank you!!!!

Young people love their snapgrams and their instacarts and whatnot. It's hard to grab their…read moreattention. But there is a solution for your team event! JAMES SANDEN - COMEDY MAGICIAN! We brought James in for a corporate team event for a group of about 40 Gen Z'ers (Millennials are so 2015, we're on to Gen Z now). James was incredibly easy to work with. He was responsive, easy-going, and amenable to some crazy tweaks in our schedule. He was upfront about costs and very reliable with communication. More importantly, James was an incredible performer. He mingled throughout the room of skeptics and quickly turned them into believers of the art of magic. James has an incredible gift of remembering names. I won't spoil any of his tricks for you but I think the most meaningful element of his time with our group was that he referenced everybody by name, breaking down all barriers and turning the audience into his champions. You should definitely hire James for a goofy, out-of-the-box, memorable event. His illusions might even be on par with Gob Bluth.

James provided entertainment for our 28 guests at Pomeroy Winnetka after dinner. He has a unique…read moregift of not just being an incredible magician but also has a great personality. He interacted up close and personal with our guests, got them laughing, and amazed. I am sure they are still telling there friends about that evening! I will also add that he worked extremely hard to keep everyone's attention focused on him and not the distractions of the restaurant. In the end I can firmly say HE WON!!

Nick came to my husband's 70th birthday party. Guests ranged in age from 80-25. At the end of the…read moreevening, all my guests found me to tell me how fantastic Nick was. Not only did his tricks blow them away, there was a point in the evening where we were laughing so hard we were crying. I would not hesitate to recommend him. Everyone loved him. We had a very disparate group, and he was able to bring people together and make the evening the overwhelming success that it was.

We hired him for a corporate event and was a little skeptical because magicians usually have corny…read morejokes and their tricks are lame..we had the home or of meeting Nick and Stephen and boy they were hilarious, entertaining, personable and his magic was awesome. Everyone in the office kept talking about them and trying to figure out how he managed to get the card in his mouth or the wine glass with fruits popping out of it. (Wished I recorded that one!) this was one of the best work outings I've ever been too!! Thanks Nick and Stephen!!! You guys were great!

I had the pleasure of having Mr Bob at my kids event on July 16th, 2017. Let me tell you, Mr Bob…read moredoes not disappoint! he was able to do entertain the kids very much, he always had a smile on his face and he was patient with the kids and made sure most of the kids(we had a big group) interacted. Best of all, He is Professional and prompt. I got many compliments, so I have to pass them along to you Mr Bob. Thank you very much for making my kids event a Successful one. To Mr Bob : My kids are still talking about your show, the other day they were having a discussion on how Mr Bob was so nice in letting them help you with a Magic trick. Thanks again Mr, Bob, hope to work with you again in the future!

After searching and searching I found Mr. Bob to entertain my son's 2nd birthday. He called me to…read moretalk about the day about two weeks before, then a day before, and showed up on time with all of his tricks the day of. He kept all of the kids entertained for about 45-50 mins with all of his magic and comedy. I had boys and girls that spanned 1 1/2 yrs to 11 and everyone over the age of four told me how awesome the magic show was and it was the best birthday party ever. His website states that his show is better received by kids ages 3 and up, and although that did prove to be true, the four 2 year olds I had there were still mesmerized by him for a good 15-20 mins. The adults also enjoyed the show. I highly recommend Mr. Bob for any birthday party entertainment. He was personable, prompt, incredibly nice and worth every penny.

We hired AJ to do strolling magic at a big backyard party with about 60 guests, and he was…read moreabsolutely fantastic. He worked his way around the party, doing close-up magic for different groups, and was funny, engaging, and genuinely impressive. Our guests LOVED him - adults and kids, all ages - and people were talking about his tricks long after he left (and still now, nearly a week later). AJ was incredibly easy to work with: responsive, professional, completely self-sufficient once he arrived, and great at reading the room and jumping in without needing any direction from me. As the person hosting a party with a million other things going on, I appreciated that! I wasn't totally sure what to expect when I decided to hire a magician for a backyard party, but AJ ended up being THE highlight. I will absolutely hire him again and highly recommend him for a party or event.

AJ will lift your party higher and make your guests smile wider! He brought an energy that was…read moreneeded to my gathering and got my guests interested and inquisitive. He can delight a child in the front row and have your aunt or uncle buzzing in the back row! AJ engages everyone, calls them out by name, brings them into the show. Don't hesitate, book him for your next big thing!!

We hired Julian for our baptism since we had close to 20 kids come to the lunch after. He did…read moregreat! All the kids loved him and he put on a great magic show! I highly recommend. He had the kids laughing the whole time and even taught them magic tricks to take home!

Julian performed for my son's 3rd birthday party and everyone LOVED him--kids and adults! He was as…read morefunny as he was magical. High energy show that engaged every single kid in the audience. He was so warm, fun and friendly, every kid wanted to volunteer for a trick with him. I have three kids, Julian remembered their names and did something special with each of them. He was easy to communicate with, arrived promptly, performed the exact amount of time agreed to and taught the kids a magic trick at the end of the show, even giving them each the trick to keep.