Magician setting illusions on fire

Forget about the show reviews you read in these pages. Someday maybe, Antonio Restivo may be worrying about that stuff. But as I chat with him on this afternoon, we're waiting for a more important critic.

That would be Martin Casillas, fire inspector for the Clark County Fire Department.

You see, Restivo is planning to open a show called "Ignite" at the Greek Isles. It gets its name by dressing up various magic illusions with fire effects. And he's opening it in an old-school showroom built years ago by Debbie Reynolds, as a place to sing show tunes and joke about being Carrie Fisher's mom.

No one wants to see the quaint little venue go down in infamy like the Rhode Island rock club that caught fire during a Great White concert in 2003. "We want to be in the news for having a good show," says Restivo, who was a fire-breathing circus performer for years before settling into steady work in "Tournament of Kings" on the Strip.

Today's scrutiny is "nerve-wracking," he admits. If fire inspectors don't like what they see, "We have to cancel the show." And that would be after the hotel paid to fire-proof showroom fabrics, and female dancers have taken fire safety classes and been coached on details, such as drinking lots of water because fire eats up oxygen onstage.

A trio of inspectors arrive, and the news that Restivo has invited a reporter to watch the inspection sets off a flurry of calls back to the office. But once that's cleared up, Restivo leads the inspectors backstage, where they talk about where and how torches will be lighted, and who will light them.

"I need you to have wet rags in case of emergency," Casillas tells them. "I've done a fire show before where a guy caught his hands on fire."

Then it's out to the stage, where Restivo steps the inspectors through the show sans music or choreography: "Just the good stuff," he jokes.

He demonstrates the illusions, showing them the kill switches in case something goes wrong for a performer boxed inside.

The only hitch is when Casillas calls for a tape measure. He determines that torches lining the front of the stage are only 9 feet from audience members and must be moved back to 15 feet.

It all turns out to be pretty routine. Part of that, you maybe could guess, is because there won't be any explosions or heavy-metal flashpots in the Greek Isles. "He doesn't have enough ceiling clearance (for) comets or mines," says Casillas, who inspects the rock concerts as well. With a 14-foot ceiling, the flames can't be more than 10 feet.

So what's the review of this important critic?

"This is Vegas, I have to say," Casillas says with a shrug. "Any other town I would probably be oohing and ahhing. But you're talking about every show in the city has a flame effect."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.