Do not be fooled by his easygoing nature, Louisville drawl and suit that looks like your grandmother’s plaid couch. Comedy magician Mac King is slick. He’s a pro. You’ll never even see how he tricks you.
King, who’s been performing on the Las Vegas Strip for 15 years, specializes in close-up magic, a skill he learned from his grandfather, who used to point him to his magic books when King asked how he did a trick. His friend Lance Burton, a magician who for a long time had his own show on the Strip, convinced King to make the move to Las Vegas. At the time, King didn’t think his style of magic would work in a big room. “It turns out Lance was right,” he said. “My show is really a close-up magic show. It all depends on me. So the tricks aren’t giant. The key is to make those smaller tricks play to the back of the room.”
Fast-forward to today, and his tricks still resonate on a bigger stage. All the while, he’s sizing up the audience, first looking for a man wearing a watch. “I’m always able to find a guy who is expressive and ready to participate,” he said. His first volunteer is a woman who’s told she’s going to participate in the Houdini Challenge Naked Rope Escape—more specifically, she’s going to get naked and he’s going to tie her up. “She’s the first person up in front of the audience. There’s so much audience participation in the show that how she reacts shows you how willing people are to come up later.”
Then there’s his love of Fig Newtons, a recurring prop. “My grandparents had Fig Newtons in the house when I was growing up and we would eat them while they were telling a story. But the way they got into the show was an accident.”
King was performing at the legendary Magic Castle in Los Angeles and stayed at a friend’s house while he was sick. He asked for Fig Newtons and a jug of orange juice.
“The next night I go out to do my show and I’m doing an earlier version of the card trick. The woman is supposed to reach in my jacket pocket and come out empty-handed. Instead, she reached in and came out with a handful of Fig Newtons. I didn’t know they were there.” The gag stuck.
Much like that innocent prop, his 75-minute show is clean enough to be on television. “I think that’s the hard part for me,” he said. “There’s the perception that it’s a kids’ show. Initially I did this same show at the Improv and Funny Bone’s. I didn’t have to clean it up. I’m flattered that everyone from eight years
old to 88 enjoys it.”
Book Smart
Mac King may be mostly known for his Las Vegas Strip show, but he’s also very active in his community, particularly schools. His latest effort, the Magical Literacy Tour, resulted in the donation of 3,500 books to four at-risk schools as part of Nevada Reading Week last month. “I greatly enjoyed sharing the love of reading with my new pals, and the enthusiasm was priceless,” King said.
Harrah’s, 1 & 3 p.m. Tues.-Sat., starting at $32.95 plus tax and fee. 702.369.5111
