Grand Illusion

Magicians are an easy punch line in these post-Arrested Development days of sharpened irony. People like to feel like the smartest person in the room, and magicians are all about deception and confounding your expectations. And that's precisely why we need magic — it's beneficial to be reminded that seeing isn't always believing, that you don't know as much as you think you do and that the man onstage is indeed pulling a fast one. Keith Jozsef is an excellent magician. He can vomit deck after deck of cards onto a child's head, make a quick joke and then barf out even more cards with a suaveness that belies his actions. He can make it snow indoors, he can summon and communicate with the deceased in the afterworld, and he can tell you what you're thinking — and even if he can't, he'll make you believe he can. Every year around Halloween, he produces a cabaret-style magic show in the old style that baffles and chills an audience. Tonight is that night. Keith Jozsef UNspeakable Acts: A Breathtaking Evening of Illusion takes place at 8 p.m. at Soulard Preservation Hall (1921 South Ninth Street; www.keithjozsef.com), and it's well worth your time to attend. Tickets are $20 to $50.
Fri., Oct. 26, 2012