Comedy Magic Done Well

On Sunday at the Castle, I had the pleasure of seeing Dana Daniels in the Palace of Mystery. Usually the Palace shows are divided into three acts with at least three different magicians, plus an MC who binds the show together and also performs shorter bits of his own magic. But Dana got the entire 45-minute slot to himself.

There's a reason: his show is brilliantly scripted and serves the same function as the more standard Palace structure. He plays a non-magician who's forced to perform when none of the (three) scheduled acts show up. It's tough to blend comedy and magic -- most magicians are better at one than the other -- but Dana's show is hysterically funny and magical, and his various magician characters all stand out.

(For a glimpse at what happens when a comedy-magician gets angry, PLEASE check out Patton Oswalt's "My Weakness is Strong" special on Comedy Central. You won't regret it.)