by Joel Elkins~

Disillusioned: Confessions of a Serial Magician was written by and stars Matt Marcy, a self-described dork who took up magic to impress girls. Disillusioned is part one-man show, part magic act, part audio-visual presentation and part audience participation. Hidden among all these component parts can be found a few laughs and some decent prestidigitation.

Marcy recounts his life growing up as a shy, geeky kid in a white bread family, striving, but inevitably failing, to be cool. Like so many childhood geeks before him, he turns to magic, to a world of smoke and mirrors, of tuxedos and piercing gazes, to a world where a David Copperfield can land a Claudia Schiffer. Despite his passion for the medium, however, his initial forays fail to engender the desired coolness and, more importantly, fail to impress Nadine, the focus of his grade school puppy love. His sentiments mirror those of many: “I love magic, but I hate magicians.”

His story is told through monologue, self-deprecating humor, PowerPoint^® slides, pre-recorded videos, prop comedy, magic tricks and dramatizations with his “lovely assistant” Jules Hartly. It is tightly produced but slightly cliché. Given a chance to stray, however, Marcy is quite engaging during the audience participation portion of the show, where by far the biggest laughs occur. To quote the late Art Linkletter, “People are funny.” And Marcy is able to bring that out.

Disillusioned: Confessions of a Serial Magician is performed Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through June 19.

The Imagined Life Theater is located at 5615 San Vicente Blvd., just west of Hauser

Ticket prices: $22.00 online, $25 at the door

Reservations online at www.DisillusionedShow.com or by phone at (800) 838-3006.