Time flies when your profession is your passion. For Jen Kramer, it seems like only yesterday she visited Las Vegas for the first time. Now she’s heading toward the 1,000th performance of The Magic of Jen Kramer at Westgate Las Vegas, with her career moving so fast the 10th anniversary of her arrival on the scene passed before she realized it.
“How could I have let a decade go by without throwing a party or something? I don’t know!” she says. “Missed opportunity there … It’s going to be 10 years from now in no time.”
Kramer was preoccupied with being in the moment at her 5 p.m. Westgate Cabaret shows, where her mix of magic and mentalism constantly creates new fans who line up after shows during meet-and-greets to share their enthusiasm about her signature quick-change trick illusion early in the performance and her new climactic trick.
The latter is the latest creation made possible by maintaining a fertile imagination. “That flow state is so real,” she says. “Sometimes when you’re exploring a different realm of magic like with the new finale that we’re doing in the show—it’s more grand illusion style—your brain starts thinking, ‘How can I apply this idea or that idea?’”
Not that Kramer is going to retire her oeuvre of card tricks, but an evolution into grand illusions would be a natural next step. She’s a veteran of the Strip’s magic scene now. The tricks she brought to Westgate Cabaret are increasingly enhanced by the possibilities she’s able to visualize based on the venue’s dimensions and capabilities.
“We wanted to do something big for the finale, so I’m making a big, sparkly purple motorcycle appear onstage,” she says. “It’s an absolute blast. It’s something very different than the material throughout the rest of the show, and that was part of the appeal of it for me, doing something than felt like a stretch and provided variety.”
It’s also the next step in Kramer’s goal of creating human connection through magic. “It’s all about making people feel like they’re 5 years old again, looking through that lens of wonder,” she says.
Westgate Las Vegas, 5+. westgateresorts.com
Click here for your free subscription to the weekly digital edition of Las Vegas Magazine, your guide to everything to do, hear, see and experience in Southern Nevada. In addition to the latest edition emailed to every week, you’ll find plenty of great, money-saving offers from some of the most exciting attractions, restaurants, properties and more! And Las Vegas Magazine is full of informative content such as restaurants to visit, cocktails to sip and attractions to enjoy.
