There’s magic in a show that can capture the attention and joy of adults and kids alike.
Before the show even began, close-up card magic welcomed visitors into the lobby, setting the tone for the night and inviting excitement from the very beginning. By the time the Conjurors — George Younts, David Reich, Jamison Scott, C. Williams and Zach Key — took the stage, the audience was ready.
The engagement during the show was consistent and fun. Performers handpicked volunteers throughout the night, making the audience itself a large part of the act. At one point, we were prompted to shout “Abracadabra” in unison to complete a trick. When it worked, the room filled with laughter.
In another moment, the Conjurors questioned audience members between tricks, pulling everyone into the act rather than asking us to simply watch.
The show included the classic illusions executed well. Long silks were pulled from mouths, handkerchiefs vanished and a Sherlock Holmes-themed mind-reading segment had a performer reading words from a completely blank book. What elevated many of these familiar tricks was the humor woven throughout and the use of music and personality.
C. Williams performed rope tricks, detaching and reattaching rope to a hip-hop beat, an act that slowed the pace of the show. Other magicians before him had incorporated the magic ropes in their acts, and so the bit felt familiar by the time he reached it.
David Reich’s segment similarly struggled to match the energy that the other acts had built and the non-card segments grew slightly repetitive.
Reich was followed by Zach Key, whose easy rapport with the audience set him apart. Key worked the crowd, replying back to remarks quickly with wit.
In one standout card trick, he had three volunteers pick a color, suit and number, only to reveal the exact card with this combination printed on three separate balled-up pieces of paper that he had handed the volunteers before asking.
Two other moments will stick with you, for very different reasons.
The first belongs to Jamison Scott, who set up two animal traps to maximum tension. A volunteer signed a card, which was placed among a set of cards on top of the traps. Scott then blindfolded himself and leaned down to retrieve it.
The audience groaned the moment he moved toward the traps. Both traps snapped, and Scott leaned his head down in pain. As he slowly stood up straight, he held the signed card in his mouth. The relief was immediate and loud, and the applause that followed was louder.
The second moment belonged to Key again, who closed the show on a reflective note. After acknowledging the negativity in the world, he invited the audience into a card trick in which torn and shuffled cards were passed around the room before perfectly matching with halves we had been told earlier to set aside.
The audience looked around in amazement, searching for confirmation that the trick had succeeded.
Even if you’re well past the age of believing magic is real, the Lowcountry Conjurors are certain to pull you in just as much as the wide-eyed kids around you.
“We are all different,” Key said, “but we are also all the same.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO:
“Magic Lowcountry Jamboree” will next perform on June 5. The event starts at 7 p.m. at Cannon Street Arts Center, 134 Cannon St., and lasts 75 minutes. Admission: $12.
Jai’La Du Rousseau is a magazine, news and digital journalism graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
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