Magicians aren’t just for kids’ birthday parties. Hiring a magician for either a stage performance or to roam the party dropping jaws with up-close-and-personal tricks has always been a sensational hit at big events, but in the last few years, the popularity of magicians as high-class entertainers has been soaring, and demand is higher than ever!
This has a lot to do with the increasingly respected role of magicians in popular television. As you might remember, magician Mat Franco beat out tens of thousands of other contestants to win the ninth season of America’s Got Talent in September 2014. Franco was the first magician to ever win the show, but his dazzling work captured the imagination of the judges, audience, and the whole country!
It’s possible that Franco’s victory was fueled in part by the popularity of the British-American television show Penn & Teller: Fool Us, in which magicians present the famous magical entertainment duo Penn and Teller with a trick, and if Penn and Teller don’t know how the trick was done, the amateur magician wins a trophy and a spot in their Las Vegas show. The show was picked up by The CW after it was cancelled despite stunningly high viewership in England, and has since given The CW its highest ratings for that time slot in the last five years!
The burgeoning popularity of magicians in the cultural spotlight has created an industry boom. The Denver Post reported last January that The Magic Castle in Los Angeles has seen a revenue increase from $8.7 million in 2012 to $14.8 million in 2014, and their 5,500-strong membership is an all-time high. They spoke with Becki Wells, the head of PR for the International Brotherhood of Magicians, who said that, “In the ’90s every casino in Vegas wanted a magic show, and then Cirque du Soleil came in and suddenly every casino wanted that. But the influence of touring productions and TV shows is bringing it back around.”
All signs point to a resounding YES for magicians in the entertainment industry, and if you’re planning an event, maybe you should consider hiring a magician! David Levin Entertainment can put you in touch with a fantastic selection of magicians for either a dazzling stage performance or some crowd work that will leave everyone amazed. Nothing captures the imagination quite like the impossible, and our magicians will have you wondering for weeks about their seemingly-impossible tricks! Call us about booking today!