Masters of Illusion Live Tour comes to Beaver Creek

The Masters of Illusion Live Tour is coming to the Vilar Performing Arts Center this Sunday, bringing three of the world’s best magicians to the stage. The tour includes two showtimes on Sunday: one at 4 p.m. and an evening performance at 7:30 p.m.

Masters of Illusion is a long-running television show on The CW Network that features over 60 magicians performing different acts each episode in front of a live audience. Each of the magicians on the show is hand-selected to join the group, ensuring representation of a broad diversity of skills and specialties within the show.

On the Masters of Illusion Live Tour, three of the illusionists from the larger group perform live on stage, taking turns to stun the audience with their respective talents. This Sunday, the Vilar will host the work of illusionists Michael Turco, Jonathan Pendragon and Dan Sperry.

Turco has been a part of the Masters of Illusion team for eight years. He made his national television debut in 2011 on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and has since been featured on numerous prominent network shows as well as headlining his own show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

“It’s like a family,” Turco said. “It’s a group of magicians that perform all different types of magic — large scale grand illusions, close up magic, escapes, comedy magic — every type of magic that you can think of is performed in the show, and that’s the cool thing about Masters. Once you become part of the family, they’re all just fun to work with, and it’s super exciting to be able to travel the world and do what I love.”

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Turco specializes in grand illusions, and said that he does a lot of acts that require audience participation. While the television show, now on its 12th season, has had great success in sharing the experience of stage magic with the world, Turco said there is nothing like seeing the illusions live in person and getting to be a part of the action.

“The cool thing is you’re not watching us on TV, you know, we’re going to be live and in person right in front of you,” Turco said. “You’ll come on stage and you’ll really be a part of the magic, not just watching it from your couch at home.”

Alongside Turco will be Pendragon, who is considered one of the most influential magicians of this century. Pendragon is known for developing a new style of magic called “Physical Grand Illusion” that puts emphasis on physical performance instead of the props that are typically the center of a grand illusion act. He ​​has spent decades stunning international audiences with illusions based on years of physical training, including dance, gymnastics, and martial arts, and has performed at three Presidential Galas in Washington D.C. and for the Queen of England.

“Jonathan Pendragon has been in the magic world for well over 50 years, it’s crazy,” Turco said. “For me, it’s cool because as a young kid I used to look up to him and watch him, and now I get to share a stage with him. He does a lot of grand illusions, he tells stories, he does some close up pieces as well.”

The third illusionist in the live show is Dan Sperry, who has a distinct style of magic and performance that is all his own. Dressed in all black clothes with gothic makeup and hair in style reminiscent of Marilyn Manson, Sperry calls himself a “shock illusionist” and an “anti-conjurer.” His cutting-edge acts incorporate voodoo magic, while remaining light and comedic enough to be kid-friendly.

“Combining the art of magic with the macabre, his totally unique and edgy illusions initially capture the imagination of crowds across the globe. But it is his unhinged, shockingly eccentric humor and audience interaction that makes his live show a truly unique experience that has been dubbed, ‘Totally icky, yet totally awesome’,” the Masters of Illusion website reads.

Turco did not have the words to describe Sperry’s act, and said it is something audiences need to experience for themselves.

“He takes things to the next level when it comes to magic — you’ll think something is happening and then he’ll totally change it, revert it to something else,” Turco said. “You’ll have to see the show for yourself to find that out.”

The Masters of Illusion Live Tour plays all over the world, from 5000-seat to 50-seat venues and everything in between. Turco said that the types of acts that they choose to display will change depending on the type of venue, but that the skill level is always first-class.

“Either way, you get a great show,” Turco said. “If we’re doing huge grand illusions in a space that seats three to five thousand people that’s great, but if we’re in a smaller venue like where we’re going we might take out the smaller stuff and do some stuff up on a screen, which is cool because I love that type of magic. It’s great for the audience to be a part of that and be able to see it from so close up.”

Tickets for Sunday’s show are currently available on the Vilar Performing Arts website. For more information, visit VilarPAC.org and MastersofIllusionLive.com.