For closeup magician Mat Franco, entertainment is all about reinvention. Heck, it’s even in the title of his hit show on the Strip, Magic Reinvented Nightly, a nod to the fact that he’s able to customize each show to the specific audience there that night.
But as Franco, one of the winners of America’s Got Talent (which led to his Linq show debuting in 2015), celebrates his eighth anniversary this year, he’s just getting started. Just as he reinvents his show every night, Franco has reinvented the show itself, adding many illusions, special effects and comedic elements to the all-ages show.
“Based on the long-running success of the show, we made huge investments in the theater and the show itself,” Franco said in an interview with Las Vegas Magazine earlier this year. “It’s exciting to see things happening and things in motion, and celebrating the small wins of each step in the process.”
But despite any changes Franco may make in any one show, one thing is going to always remain constant: his connection with the audience. Franco is a master in banter, drawing out even the most introverted customers to get them to give him juicy tidbits he can use later. In one performance I attended, he spent minutes talking to a clearly inebriated woman, coming up with dialogue that turned the potentially awkward moment into a comedy tangent to treasure.
Not to downplay the illusions themselves—far from it! When Franco displays the skills that won him a million dollars (and the distinction of being the first magician to win AGT), you will be picking your jaw off the floor numerous times. Highlights include a great bit with ramen noodles and an audience member’s money, a sleight-of-hand demonstration in which he pulls cards seemingly out of thin air, and a bit with a cardboard tube and a bottle of wine that may break your mind.
You may find yourself asking over and over again, “How did he do that?” Franco would look you right in your face and ask: “Why do you care?” Because it’s more about the way you feel, and on that basis, Franco has reinvented the Las Vegas magic show.
The Linq, ticketmaster.com
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